CHP Plans for Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Protection

California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger met with California Highway Patrol officials on Thursday to discuss security options once he takes office, including whether he will move to the state capital, Sacramento, or commute from Los Angeles.

Schwarzenegger, who lives in the exclusive Brentwood area of Los Angeles and has four children with wife Maria Shriver, has expressed an interest in continuing to live in his current residence and, when necessary, travel the more than 350 miles to Sacramento in his private jet.

The CHP traditionally maintains security for the governor in several California cities. Besides the Capitol building in Sacramento, which has a secured exit through a basement garage, the governor has access to an office in downtown Los Angeles and one in San Francisco. Being a famous actor, Schwarzenegger will most likelyl require more security than is normally afforded California governors. But he already has his own bodyguards that he plans to keep on as personal security.

“We’re going to work seamlessly with his people, and we’re going to do what he wants us to do,” says Tom Marshall, spokesman for CHP Commissioner Spike Helmick. “He’s very aware as a Hollywood celebrity of the importance of security. In some regards he’s probably more aware of the issues we face than the average governor would be.”