What’s the gov thinking?

Even as we welcome Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on his second visit to Chico (scheduled for the day this paper comes out), we also welcome the state Democratic Party’s complaint filed with the state Fair Political Practices Commission in connection with the governor’s $5 million muscle magazine deal.

Schwarzenegger’s lucrative relationship with America Media, Inc.—garnering him 1 percent of its annual ad revenues for the next five years—eclipses any goodwill he may have gained by refusing to take the governor’s annual salary when first elected.

As if that lucrative deal weren’t bad enough, last year the governor brazenly vetoed legislation that would have regulated the use of performance-enhancing drugs in high schools. The advertisements in Flex and Muscle & Fitness magazines push those substances almost exclusively.

This action is unbelievable in an age when professional sports are tainted by doping scandals and steroid use. Either the governor has surrounded himself with incompetent advisers or else he is too arrogant to listen to them.

Either way, we suspect the FPPC has a slam dunk here: The million-dollar contract with AMI coupled with his powers as governor certainly appears to signal a conflict of interest.

Californians are growing weary of the governor’s cocky attitude and slick stage presence. He’s offended nearly everyone in California. His Hollywood glitz is wearing thin fast.