LOS ANGELES - Celebrities are already in the public eye, but some are saying they want to become public servants, too.
On Wednesday, Gary Coleman (news), the star of the 1980s sitcom, "Diff'rent Strokes," plunked down $3,500 in Alameda County and declared himself a candidate for governor of California. Current governor Gray Davis is facing a recall election Oct. 7.
The diminutive actor has been in and out of legal trouble since the popular show ended, and was recently on the E! series "Star Dates," where stars and singles mingle with mixed results.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (news) also announced his candidacy Wednesday while taping "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (news - Y! TV)." He ended a news conference by telling reporters "I'll be back."
"The politicians are fiddling, fumbling and failing," the "Terminator" actor said. "The man that is failing the people more than anyone is Gray Davis. He is failing them terribly, and this is why he needs to be recalled and this is why I am going to run for governor."
Comedian Gallagher is also gathering signatures.
The celebrities enter a pool of eager candidates hungry to oust Davis, who has seen his popularity plummet as the state grapples with a record $38 billion budget deficit. Davis is the first California governor to face a recall and would be only the second governor nationwide to be removed from office if the effort succeeds.
Popular Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein ruled out a run, saying the election was becoming "more and more like a carnival every day."
Meanwhile, Jerry Springer has decided not to run for U.S. Senate after spending about $1 million of his own money crisscrossing Ohio the last six months, speaking at Democratic dinners and gauging support for a Senate bid. He had said he would run if he could "break through the clutter of the show" and be a formidable candidate.
