Arnold and the classic news

[FATLADY]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is lifting some political weight from his shoulders.

He's cut business ties with an annual bodybuilding competition that bears his name.

It's another step to distance himself from makers of nutritional supplements which are heavily promoted at the Arnold Classic. The move comes a week after the former Mr. Universe relinquished his title as executive editor of Muscle and Fitness and Flex magazines, giving up at least five (m) million dollars income.

Schwarzenegger gave up the title amid criticism for vetoing a bill regulating food supplements while taking money from magazines that profit from the industry.

	Supps

[darthness]

OUCH!

[kkschaef14]

That really sucks!

[IronmanJoe]

damn

[PassionateBB]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has quietly severed his financial ties to the premier bodybuilding event that bears his name -- the Arnold Classic -- amid concerns about his outside business connections to the dietary supplements industry.

The governor decided last week to cut his financial ties with the Arnold Classic, a major sales forum for dietary supplement products, and its Ohio- based parent firm, Classic Productions, Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman said Friday.

The decision follows a move to end a $5 million-plus contract with two leading bodybuilding magazines, Muscle & Fitness and Flex, which rely heavily on supplement advertising and are published by American Media Inc.

"To make it clear, just like the (American Media Inc.) deal, he's not going to take anything from the Classic anymore either,'' Stutzman said. While Schwarzenegger will still headline the event and continue his high-profile role there, the financial side is "just not worth the headache,'' he said. "He doesn't want any distractions.''

The amount Schwarzenegger earned from the Arnold Classic is unclear, but his decision on the event effectively cuts another monetary link with the sales and promotion of dietary supplements, an issue that has dogged his administration since he vetoed a bill last year that would have banned some dietary supplements among high school athletes.

"I think the governor has realized over the past week that receiving outside income as a sitting governor is problematic,'' said state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, author of the bill Schwarzenegger vetoed. "He seems to realize that being an elected official is different from being a movie star.''

The latest development came to light after The Chronicle questioned why the governor changed the way he accounted for the income from the Arnold Classic on his most recent economic disclosure form.

Because of the reporting changes, dietary supplement-makers like Muscle Tech, Prolab and SportPharma, listed by name on his 2003 financial disclosure statements, disappeared from the 2004 forms -- even though they continued to pump money and advertising into the Arnold Classic.

Both Stutzman and Paul Wachter, the governor's chief financial adviser, said Friday that the differences in accounting between Schwarzenegger's statements of economic interest were not an attempt to disguise the governor's financial dealings, but merely to reflect recent legal changes in his relationship with his former partner in the Arnold Classic, Jim Lorimer.

The governor's 2003 public statement of economic interest lists three specific income-producing business entities and trusts -- Oak Productions, the Santa Monica firm established to manage his movie-related images, intellectual property rights and products; Main Street Plaza Inc., his Santa Monica-based real estate holdings; and Classic Productions Inc., Schwarzenegger's partnership that has produced the annual Arnold Classic.

The filing for 2003 indicates that Schwarzenegger's Classic Productions specifically received income from dozens of major dietary supplement-makers and retailers, such as GNC, Labrada Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition, VPX and Pinnacle.

But those sources are no longer included in the governor's statement for 2004, the most recent on file. Instead, Classic Productions is now merely listed under the umbrella of Oak Productions as an income-producing entity, with no further details provided.

The changes came even though Schwarzenegger's high-profile role as a salesman for body-enhancing products and an industry icon was clearly on display at this year's 2005 Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The governor was mobbed by thousands of fans at the March event, and for nearly three days made the rounds, visiting booths and posing for photos with product sponsors, hawkers, fans, athletes and buyers.

But Wachter said the accounting change was made to accurately reflect the period after Schwarzenegger's election, when most of his assets there were moved into a blind trust and he shifted from a partnership to a "license deal'' with Lorimer.

"In the old days, he got a handshake that basically he owned half of the (Classic Productions) deal,'' Wachter said.

This year, the governor received what Wachter said was a "license fee'' from Classic Productions to Oak Productions -- though he acknowledged that "our income is all the same stuff, obviously ... it's the booths, and the television money, whatever they get.''

While Schwarzenegger's latest filing may meet California's economic reporting requirement, it ignores the intent of the rule, critics say.

"When I was on the Fair Political Practices Commission, we talked a lot about 'piercing the veil,' '' said Tony Quinn, a GOP consultant who was on the commission from 1976 to 1981. "If you have income, you have to show where it comes from.''

While the 2004 statement of economic interest shows that Schwarzenegger is still receiving income from Classic Productions, that money is now being paid to Oak Productions, his wholly owned company, rather than directly to the governor.

"By adding that new level, you effectively hid the source of those funds, " said Larry Noble of the Center for Responsive Politics. "If you can hide the source of money, it's as good as if you had no disclosure at all.''

Wachter said the criticism is unfair.

"It never dawned on us to think about things like hiding something, because we were so concerned about doing everything legally. The No. 1 overarching concern is to follow the rules, which are extremely complicated,'' Wachter said. "We've really tried to do a good job. ... I think we have.''

Both Stutzman and Wachter stressed that Schwarzenegger will "absolutely'' continue to attend the Arnold Classic, but they insist, however, that he will do it as a labor of love -- and not for money.

"The fact is, when somebody spends from 1965 to 2005, which is 40 years, in which he has never stopped promoting the bodybuilding industry and the business, he doesn't give a s -- about the money,'' said Wachter. "It's not about the money. It never was. It never is. It never will be. ... the fundamental principle is the guy loves this whole thing.''

sfchronicle.com.

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[Bigol'legs]

Good read pass.

Sad to see arnold trying to play the political games as well... but to each his own.

[BIG SVEN]

Sux for him IMO since he aint goin anywhere after this..his approval ratings r so low in Calif it's not funny.

[APventas]

"GIRLIE MAN" GUVERNOR OF CALIFOURNIA