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Arnold Schwarzenegger Takes Office as California Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugurated as governor of California on November 17, 2003.

Published · Updated · 1 min read

The Event

Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugurated as governor of California on November 17, 2003. He took office after a special recall election removed Governor Gray Davis.

The Wider Story

The election combined a vote on recalling the incumbent with a separate choice of replacement candidates. That unusual mechanism distinguished it from an ordinary gubernatorial election.

Putting the Event in Perspective

The November inauguration followed the October vote.

Reading the Historical Record

A factual account explains the constitutional process without treating a familiar film career as a substitute for the political circumstances.

About the Historical Recreation

The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: the California State Capitol in 2003 with an illustrative distant inauguration gathering, no impersonated speech. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.

Sources

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