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CNN Saturday Morning News

Candidates for Governor of California have until 5:00 p.m. Eastern to file

Aired August 09, 2003 - 09:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning in California, where it's dollar day for the multitudes who want the state's top job. Today, hundreds of potential candidates for governor must fork over $3,500 for a filing fee to make their campaign official.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us live from the Los Angeles County Election Center. Good morning.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, you're right, it's absolutely D-day today. And it will be interesting to see exactly how this day shapes up. We'll know a little bit later how many of the 680 hopefuls statewide actually turn out to be serious candidates. Now, they have until 5:00 p.m. Pacific time today to turn in their nomination papers, their filing fee, and their signatures. And then we'll see how that list actually works out.

Now, I want to show you this list. There are 150 hopefuls in Los Angeles County alone. Among some of the names on this list, Michael Jackson, no, not the pop star, and Gray Davis, not the governor, and, of course, Larry Flynt is on here. And topping the list is Angelyne (ph).

But by far the most public person at this point is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor. He kicked off his campaign yesterday by appearing at the Inner City Games Los Angeles, an afterschool intervention and prevention program for inner-city kids. He says that he's ready to take on anything that's thrown his way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: Nothing will hurt me, everything is going terrific. I will have a positive message for everyone. And I think that politicians make a mistake, that I will be the first one to speak out, if it is Republicans or Democrats alike. It makes no difference to me.

I just -- when I see something wrong, I speak out. And I see something wrong, for instance, right now in Sacramento, and therefore I speak out. And I will be campaigning, and I want to be the next governor, so we can clean house in Sacramento.

GUTIERREZ: Governor Davis fought back on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER," HBO)

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I'm not sure what he has in mind, but I can tell you that as governor, leadership is more than just snappy one-liners. Leadership is pulling people together and getting work done for the people you represent. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's not so hard. But it's bringing diverse people together, getting the job done for the people of California. And snappy one-liners only get you so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: And the man Gray Davis beat back in November, Republican businessman Bill Simon, is also expected to show up here at this office to file his paperwork today.

We were told by Arnold Schwarzenegger's press person that he would turn out this morning to also file. There are rumors circulating that he may send a representative instead.

It will be interesting to see how this day exactly turns out. Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, and you have a front-row seat.

A question about Gray Davis for you. He's not allow to go on down and pay the filing fee and sign up because of a court decision, is that right? What his next step?

GUTIERREZ: Well, that will be interesting to see, Carol. Yesterday, there was a last-ditch effort made by Gray Davis's supporters. They filed a lawsuit claiming that some of the signatures on the recall petition were not valid, that those people were not even residents, those signatures are not legal, and that therefore the recall is not legal.

But that was thrown out of a Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday afternoon, and so that election is on on October 7.

CALLEBS: All right. Thelma Gutierrez, we're going to wrap you up, because we have a live press conference going on right now. Thelma Gutierrez, many thanks.

MIKE ABRAMS, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN: ... rockets are filled with nerve agent GB.

Compared to the day that we thought we were going to begin this week, Wednesday, this is absolutely a gorgeous day. On Wednesday, we had lots of wind, lots of rain, it was a bad, stormy day. Today, there's virtually no wind. It's a beautiful, sunshiny day. And a lot of our supporters in this community now are ready for us to begin to make this community a safer community.

What we started yesterday afternoon is a seven-year process. We have hundreds of thousands of weapons, more than a half a million, not quite a million, hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons with nerve agent GB, nerve agent VX, and mustard agent to destroy in our facility.

We are absolutely convinced that the more than 750 people that we have working on this project, people who live in this community, people who shop here, go to church here, their families are also employed, their children go to school here, all of these people, these 750 people, have a mission to make this community a safer community.

And the way we're going to do that is to use the facility that we were permitted to build, test, and operate in 1997. But that permitting process began in 1990. We began construction in '97, we concluded construction four years later, and now, 13 years after we submitted our permit request, we are ready to begin operations.

And those operations began yesterday afternoon with the delivery of the first load of M-55 rockets. Those M-55 rockets have nerve agent GB. Our current plan is to destroy all of the weapons that we have that have nerve agent GB. After a transitional phase, we'll begin the treatment and disposal process with nerve agent VX weapons. And then we'll conclude with the least-hazardous weapons to this community, the mustard weapons.

The weapons that we have besides the rockets include artillery shells, rockets, landmines, mortars, and a few ton containers, large barrels, that have just one type of agent, mustard agent.

We are ready to make this community safer. It is somewhat personally a concern of mine that some people have been calling me and asking, When are we going to start operations? And that will be at about 9:00 a.m. this morning.

I get the impression that they want to put on the hoods that Calhoun County has provided from a facility at McClellan, contracted and operated by Syntec (ph). Those hoods are not necessary today. We're not doing anything that is dangerous for this community. Some people may think I'm being flip, but we are actually part of the solution.

The storage of chemical weapons is 34 times more risky than the operation at the facility. We're going to operate the facility safely. We have 750 people who want to go home at the end of their shift. We have built a facility that has the maximum protection of our workforce in mind, the maximum protection of our community in mind, as well as safeguard of the environment.

We are ready to operate, and in about 50 minutes or so, we ought to begin the process that includes, we will pick up the first rocket, we will put it on a conveyor belt. Obviously it's not Donovan and me doing that work. We have two highly trained Westinghouse employees who are going to put that rocket on a conveyer system.

That rocket will move into a room we refer to ECRA, the explosion containment room A. In that room, we will drain the agent, agent GB. There is a holding tank on the first floor of the facility, and we will hold agent for approximately four weeks at this point. This is an operation just beginning. We are not moving agent directly from the weapon to an incinerator. That will happen in about four weeks' time.

Burning liquid agent in a liquid incinerator is something that we have agree with the community to do, say, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., or on the weekends. The burning of rockets comes after we have drained the agent. We drain the agent...

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: OK, we are listening to Mike Abrams. He is a spokesman for the U.S. Army talking about a planned burn at an incinerator in Anniston, Alabama, in an effort to get rid of nerve weapons, as well as mustard gas. They plan on starting that sometime in about 50 minutes.

The chemicals won't be burned for four weeks. They will be burning some liquid chemicals in limited burns on the weekends, as well as 6:00 p.m. in the evening until 6:00 a.m. in the morning, until nearby schools, businesses, and some homes undergo some safety measures that need to be completed.

Now, this burn is going to be allowed after a number of environmental groups lost their battle to have it postponed. This has been months, if not years, in the making. And this is a story CNN will continue to follow throughout the day.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Eastern to file>


Aired August 9, 2003 - 09:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning in California, where it's dollar day for the multitudes who want the state's top job. Today, hundreds of potential candidates for governor must fork over $3,500 for a filing fee to make their campaign official.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us live from the Los Angeles County Election Center. Good morning.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, you're right, it's absolutely D-day today. And it will be interesting to see exactly how this day shapes up. We'll know a little bit later how many of the 680 hopefuls statewide actually turn out to be serious candidates. Now, they have until 5:00 p.m. Pacific time today to turn in their nomination papers, their filing fee, and their signatures. And then we'll see how that list actually works out.

Now, I want to show you this list. There are 150 hopefuls in Los Angeles County alone. Among some of the names on this list, Michael Jackson, no, not the pop star, and Gray Davis, not the governor, and, of course, Larry Flynt is on here. And topping the list is Angelyne (ph).

But by far the most public person at this point is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor. He kicked off his campaign yesterday by appearing at the Inner City Games Los Angeles, an afterschool intervention and prevention program for inner-city kids. He says that he's ready to take on anything that's thrown his way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: Nothing will hurt me, everything is going terrific. I will have a positive message for everyone. And I think that politicians make a mistake, that I will be the first one to speak out, if it is Republicans or Democrats alike. It makes no difference to me.

I just -- when I see something wrong, I speak out. And I see something wrong, for instance, right now in Sacramento, and therefore I speak out. And I will be campaigning, and I want to be the next governor, so we can clean house in Sacramento.

GUTIERREZ: Governor Davis fought back on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER," HBO)

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I'm not sure what he has in mind, but I can tell you that as governor, leadership is more than just snappy one-liners. Leadership is pulling people together and getting work done for the people you represent. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's not so hard. But it's bringing diverse people together, getting the job done for the people of California. And snappy one-liners only get you so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: And the man Gray Davis beat back in November, Republican businessman Bill Simon, is also expected to show up here at this office to file his paperwork today.

We were told by Arnold Schwarzenegger's press person that he would turn out this morning to also file. There are rumors circulating that he may send a representative instead.

It will be interesting to see how this day exactly turns out. Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, and you have a front-row seat.

A question about Gray Davis for you. He's not allow to go on down and pay the filing fee and sign up because of a court decision, is that right? What his next step?

GUTIERREZ: Well, that will be interesting to see, Carol. Yesterday, there was a last-ditch effort made by Gray Davis's supporters. They filed a lawsuit claiming that some of the signatures on the recall petition were not valid, that those people were not even residents, those signatures are not legal, and that therefore the recall is not legal.

But that was thrown out of a Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday afternoon, and so that election is on on October 7.

CALLEBS: All right. Thelma Gutierrez, we're going to wrap you up, because we have a live press conference going on right now. Thelma Gutierrez, many thanks.

MIKE ABRAMS, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN: ... rockets are filled with nerve agent GB.

Compared to the day that we thought we were going to begin this week, Wednesday, this is absolutely a gorgeous day. On Wednesday, we had lots of wind, lots of rain, it was a bad, stormy day. Today, there's virtually no wind. It's a beautiful, sunshiny day. And a lot of our supporters in this community now are ready for us to begin to make this community a safer community.

What we started yesterday afternoon is a seven-year process. We have hundreds of thousands of weapons, more than a half a million, not quite a million, hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons with nerve agent GB, nerve agent VX, and mustard agent to destroy in our facility.

We are absolutely convinced that the more than 750 people that we have working on this project, people who live in this community, people who shop here, go to church here, their families are also employed, their children go to school here, all of these people, these 750 people, have a mission to make this community a safer community.

And the way we're going to do that is to use the facility that we were permitted to build, test, and operate in 1997. But that permitting process began in 1990. We began construction in '97, we concluded construction four years later, and now, 13 years after we submitted our permit request, we are ready to begin operations.

And those operations began yesterday afternoon with the delivery of the first load of M-55 rockets. Those M-55 rockets have nerve agent GB. Our current plan is to destroy all of the weapons that we have that have nerve agent GB. After a transitional phase, we'll begin the treatment and disposal process with nerve agent VX weapons. And then we'll conclude with the least-hazardous weapons to this community, the mustard weapons.

The weapons that we have besides the rockets include artillery shells, rockets, landmines, mortars, and a few ton containers, large barrels, that have just one type of agent, mustard agent.

We are ready to make this community safer. It is somewhat personally a concern of mine that some people have been calling me and asking, When are we going to start operations? And that will be at about 9:00 a.m. this morning.

I get the impression that they want to put on the hoods that Calhoun County has provided from a facility at McClellan, contracted and operated by Syntec (ph). Those hoods are not necessary today. We're not doing anything that is dangerous for this community. Some people may think I'm being flip, but we are actually part of the solution.

The storage of chemical weapons is 34 times more risky than the operation at the facility. We're going to operate the facility safely. We have 750 people who want to go home at the end of their shift. We have built a facility that has the maximum protection of our workforce in mind, the maximum protection of our community in mind, as well as safeguard of the environment.

We are ready to operate, and in about 50 minutes or so, we ought to begin the process that includes, we will pick up the first rocket, we will put it on a conveyor belt. Obviously it's not Donovan and me doing that work. We have two highly trained Westinghouse employees who are going to put that rocket on a conveyer system.

That rocket will move into a room we refer to ECRA, the explosion containment room A. In that room, we will drain the agent, agent GB. There is a holding tank on the first floor of the facility, and we will hold agent for approximately four weeks at this point. This is an operation just beginning. We are not moving agent directly from the weapon to an incinerator. That will happen in about four weeks' time.

Burning liquid agent in a liquid incinerator is something that we have agree with the community to do, say, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., or on the weekends. The burning of rockets comes after we have drained the agent. We drain the agent...

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: OK, we are listening to Mike Abrams. He is a spokesman for the U.S. Army talking about a planned burn at an incinerator in Anniston, Alabama, in an effort to get rid of nerve weapons, as well as mustard gas. They plan on starting that sometime in about 50 minutes.

The chemicals won't be burned for four weeks. They will be burning some liquid chemicals in limited burns on the weekends, as well as 6:00 p.m. in the evening until 6:00 a.m. in the morning, until nearby schools, businesses, and some homes undergo some safety measures that need to be completed.

Now, this burn is going to be allowed after a number of environmental groups lost their battle to have it postponed. This has been months, if not years, in the making. And this is a story CNN will continue to follow throughout the day.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Eastern to file>