Arnold shuns Dems

Bill Bradley notes in the LA Weekly that the Schwarzenegger administration "is shaping up so far to be less bipartisan than advertised, even though it will be more liberal than many expected."

For all the bipartisan talk of the Schwarzenegger transition team, the appointments to the administration are nearly all Republicans. In the governor’s office itself, there is only Bonnie Reiss, a Hollywood Democrat and environmentalist and friend of Arnold’s for more than 20 years who ran his afterschool program. She’s signed on as a senior adviser, a key role, for she will be practically the only one there who knew Schwarzenegger before he ran for governor.

Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg was strongly considered for chief of staff, says Bradley, which would have put a Democrat in another key spot. Unfortunately, the story doesn't go into why he was passed over. Another insider tidbit from Bradley: Arnold has adopted the Hyatt Regency at Capitol Park as his Sacramento home. It's the same hotel where Kobe Bryant got food poisoning in the NBA playoffs a while back.