Davis: 'We have to be vigilant'

Davis

Editor's Note: CNN Access is a regular feature on CNN.com providing interviews with newsmakers from around the world.

(CNN) -- Spanish police arrested three men suspected of being part of an al Qaeda-linked group this week, including one who had made extensive videotapes of U.S. landmarks -- including the Golden Gate Bridge and Disneyland, in California, and the World Trade Center towers in New York.

California Gov. Gray Davis discussed the potential threat, and his state's reaction to it, with CNN's Kate Snow on Wednesday.

SNOW: What is your state doing in light of the news that suspected al Qaeda members have videotaped California landmarks?

DAVIS: As you know, I've long believed the Golden Gate Bridge was a target. We've had the National Guard stationed on there for many, many months. We've increased security by deploying even more highway patrol officers to that facility and we have been in touch with both Universal Studios and Disneyland indicating our willingness to work with local law enforcement to help them provide additional security. You may recall Attorney General Ashcroft called me shortly after September 11 and said there may be a potential attack in the upcoming weekend on the studios, so we've worked with the studios before. We have a plan in place and we're following it.

SNOW: This is where tourists go all the time. What do you do to make sure people still feel safe going there?

DAVIS: It is our job to work with the FBI and homeland security and local law enforcement to keep them safe and tell them, "Go on with your lives." The odds of something happening are very remote. Thank God there's been no real terrorist incident in this state, thanks also to the good work of local, state and federal law enforcement. So it is our job to respond to these threats. We have to err on the side of caution.

SNOW: I assume Disneyland and the studios already have large security forces on duty?

DAVIS: Yes. Disneyland and Universal are very professional, as are the other studios. They have a lot of private security, they work closely with local law enforcement and we simply provide an additional circle of security when we complement that with the California Highway Patrol.

SNOW: You were criticized when you said people should be concerned on California bridges, and others said you shouldn't have made those remarks. How do you balance that? How do you figure out what is too much information to perhaps give to the public?

DAVIS: I would do that again. I'm going to tell people if there is a threat -- which, at the time, FBI Director Mueller thought was credible, because I talked to him personally, and it was very time specific, November 2nd to November 7th -- to let people know this threat exists [and] here are the following precautions we have taken. We have National Guard there, we have Highway Patrol there. We're working with the Coast Guard, they have increased their presence.

So we believe it is perfectly safe, but you, Mister and Mrs. Citizen of California, you make your choice. Either take the bridge, take the ferry, telecommute, drive to work some other way and give people options.

Most of the people I met said they were pleased to know they had options, and pleased to know that I was treating them like adults.

SNOW: Governor, quickly, are you more concerned or less concerned now than you were the last time back in November?

DAVIS: I don't know how you can compare them, but I think you always have to be on guard and vigilant. We have a plan in place. It is working, and I just want Californians to go on with their lives, because we believe the security we have here now is working. We're getting better every day, and while we have to be vigilant, they should go about their lives and enjoy themselves.