With the release of a new poll showing voters still not sold on his March 2 bond measure, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves Saturday for the East Coast to meet with fellow governors and help raise money for his campaign.

A statewide poll released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Proposition 57, Schwarzenegger's $15 billion deficit-reduction bond, trailing 38 percent to 41 percent, with 21 percent of likely voters still undecided.

Likely voters who were surveyed after Schwarzenegger campaign ads started running Feb. 10 were split evenly at 38 percent, however, with the rest still on the fence.

"As people start to be persuaded, they move from 'no' to 'undecided,' " said Todd Harris, the bond campaign's spokesman. "They park there awhile, and those people are the potential universe of who we hope to get to 'yes.' "

To help fund even more television ads, including some that will include Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Schwarzenegger will hold two New York fund-raisers on a trip east to attend his first National Governors Association meeting.

One of those fund-raisers, scheduled for Tuesday night at the home of New York Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson, has been criticized for its $50,000-a-plate and $500,000-a-table entry fee.

The Greenlining Institute, a public interest group in San Francisco, plans to picket outside the private dinner and has taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times to run Tuesday - Schwarzenegger's 100th day in office - slamming him for raising special interest money and for proposing cuts in programs for the poor.

"We urge you to use your bully pulpit to persuade every wealthy person who donates to your campaign to match the campaign donation with a contribution to health care for those 'who cannot fend for themselves,' " the ad says.

It plays off a comment Schwarzenegger made at the one debate he participated in during the gubernatorial recall campaign, when he said: "I'm very passionate about children's issues. It is very important because they cannot fend for themselves."

Schwarzenegger will meet with his fellow governors at the association meeting in Washington, which will include a private dinner at the White House on Sunday night with President Bush, the governors and their spouses.

His staff also is still lining up meetings with Bush Cabinet secretaries and the California congressional delegation on a variety of issues. He'll appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" program on Sunday in an effort to promote his bond measure.

In New York, the Republican governor plans to meet with bond-rating firms Wednesday, when he'll be accompanied by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a good friend and financial adviser. The purpose of the meeting, aides said, is to show the bond firms that the governor is taking concrete steps to get the state's finances in order.

At least one veteran Republican consultant said Thursday that victory on March 2 is far from assured.

With voters being asked to consider four ballot measures all about budgets or bonds and with similar numbers - Propositions 55, 56, 57 and 58 - people are confused, Allan Hoffenblum said.

"I'm hearing a lot of people ask, 'Now which ones are being supported by the governor?' " Hoffenblum said. "I'm finding significant voter confusion, and the campaign needs to address that."

The campaign is also competing for attention with steady news about the presidential race, Hoffenblum said, which makes Schwarzenegger's job even more difficult.

Schwarzenegger picked up an important Democratic endorsement for his bond measure Thursday as Feinstein lent her support at a Santa Monica press conference.

"I care so much for this state," she said. "I think there has never been a more important election for the future of this state's economy."

Feinstein said failure of Proposition 57 would be a "dark day for California."

In the ballot argument he co-signed, Schwarzenegger has warned that "the only choice will be to drastically increase taxes" if the bond fails.

Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who opposes the bond measure, suggested an alternative plan Thursday that would include raising income taxes for the wealthiest tier of residents for three years to help solve state government's financial problems.

"We do not want to wake up on the morning of March 3, if indeed the voters reject the economic recovery bonds, without a plan to meet our obligations," Angelides said at a Sacramento news conference.