FRESNO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday gave Fresno the hard sell on a $15 billion bond that is at the heart of his economic recovery plan for California, saying if voters fail to approve the ballot measure on March 2, it will mean "Armageddon cuts" to the state's budget.

Using a combination of PowerPoint slides and the bipartisan presence of state Controller Steve Westly, Schwarzenegger talked hard and fast about the need for voters to approve Proposition 57, a $15 billion bond measure to refinance the state's budget deficit, and a companion measure, Proposition 58, that requires the Legislature to adopt a balanced budget and prohibits borrowing to pay off debt.

"There is a massive weight we must lift off our state," Schwarzenegger told about 100 people at a town-hall style meeting in a warehouse at Duncan Ceramics.

Fresno was the second stop in what will be a string of high-profile events between now and the March 2 primary election, as Republican Schwarzenegger and Democrat Westly try to convince a skeptical public that the $15 billion bond measure is the best way to tackle the state's budget deficit.

Polls show the duo have a hard road ahead. Last week, the Public Policy Institute of California and the Field Institute released polls showing that only about a third of likely voters supported Proposition 57, with around 40 percent opposing it.

Schwarzenegger dismissed the polls, saying: "The more education, the more people will see it our way. ... I've seen faces change right here today."

Westly agreed: "When people come to understand this, it is going to pass and it is going to pass by a big margin."

On Tuesday, many -- but not all -- were wooed by the Schwarzenegger and Westly show.

Clovis resident Jacey Coffee, who works in sales and service at Duncan Ceramics, said she came in undecided but now will vote in favor of the bond measures.

"Compared to what else could happen," she said, "I think it's the right thing to do."

Tulare County Supervisor Connie Conway, however, is still undecided. On the surface, she said, she likes the governor's plan -- if it is what it appears to be. On the other hand, the state has made promises in the past, then failed to deliver, she said.

Laying out his case Tuesday in a 15-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer session, Schwarzenegger said the $15 billion bond will allow the state to consolidate and refinance that debt, hopefully at a lower interest rate.

Proposition 58, Schwarzenegger said, will ensure this situation never happens again.

Westly, who just three days ago was bashing the governor's budget at the state Democratic Party convention in San Jose, said the failure of the bond will mean "draconian cuts in services or huge tax hikes."

Westly, a likely gubernatorial candidate who could potentially face off against Schwarzenegger in 2006, insisted the ballot measures had bipartisan support.

This weekend, Democrats at the party's state convention declined to take a position on the measure, preferring to let state Chairman Art Torres decide. And state Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat who also is eyeing a 2006 gubernatorial run, has become a leading critic of the bond.

He was also in Fresno on Tuesday, where he highlighted the impact of Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts and tuition increases on higher education.