Editor’s note: This series will focus on the recall election and how it’s affecting students and our campus.

In putting together his transition team, governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger has selected a highly experienced group with a rich diversity of backgrounds.

His new advisers include a former House Rules Committee chairman, a rabbi and several educational and financial experts.

For the chairman of his transition team, Schwarzenegger tabbed David Dreier, a former House Rules Committee chairman.

Another key adviser will be Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and author of several children’s books.

Schwarzenegger’s team will face big challenges in the coming weeks.

Political science professor Lance Widman said the Democrats might be willing to help the former governor-elect, but only to an extent.

“What Schwarzenegger is trying to do is set a tone of bipartisanship, but he has to reach out and have the Democrats reach back.”

Widman said, “He (Schwarzenegger) is trying to please everybody. He is basically trying to create a broad base of support.”

Another person on the transition team is William Simon, who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Gray Davis in 2002.

Widman said Schwarzenegger has to have a conservative Republican like Simon on his advisory team.

Schwarzenegger is a moderate Republican, but he has chosen Republicans arrayed on different parts of the political spectrum to help him.

“The conservative Republicans don’t trust him,” Widman said. “He is trying to ease their anxiety.”

Helping Schwarzenegger tackle the state’s budget problem are Warren Hellman, a graduate of Harvard Business School and director of the Nasdaq Stock Market, and Bonnie Hill, president of B. Hill Enterprises, a consulting firm specializing in corporate governance, board organization and public policy issues.

Another member of Schwarzenegger’s new team is Annelise Anderson, who was associate director of the management and budget office in Ronald Reagan’s Administration.

Widman said it is a necessity for Schwarzenegger to have people with a strong financial background help him untangle the massive budget problems that caused Gray Davis to lose his job.

To keep education issues moving forward, Schwarzenegger has James Brulte, an educational expert, and Bonnie Garcia, who specializes in small businesses and health care issues.

To promote California’s tourism, Schwarzenegger has appointed Sean Liou, president of Always Best Tours and Travel. He is also a member of President Bush’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Finally, three prominent Californians are lending their many years of experience and expertise to the Austrian-born governor elect’s efforts to solve California’s pressing issues.

An important part of the new governor’s transition team is a former California governor, Pete Wilson, who served from 1991-1999.

Business leader and philanthropist Eli Broad is also helping Schwarzenegger as he attempts to govern the nation’s most populous state.

Yet despite the brain trust Schwarzenegger has surrounded himself with, the transition may not be that smooth.

“I think he is walking into a minefield,” Widman said. “He is dealing with image and perception by trying to get action and calm from everyone.”