SAN FRANCISCO —— On the eve of a major protest against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, representatives of the state's largest nurses union vowed to step up their demonstrations against the Republican governor and his "cynical agenda of brainwashing."

At a news conference Monday, Rose Ann DeMoro of the California Nurses Association predicted that at least 5,000 and possibly as many as 10,000 protesters would be on hand outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel in San Francisco tonight, where Schwarzenegger will be hosting a major fund-raiser on behalf of four major government reform proposals he hopes to qualify for a special election next fall.

While the nurses and members of several public employee unions have been staging noisy protests against the Republican governor for months, DeMoro said she expected the San Francisco demonstration to be the largest yet.

"We will never be able to match the corporations in terms of money, but we have to show him that we object," DeMoro said. "The best way we can do that is to protest. The whole point of the protest is that he's fund-raising, not governing."

Nurses have been demonstrating against Schwarzenegger since November, when he issued an emergency rule delaying a new law easing nurse-patient ratios in California hospitals. A Sacramento Superior Court struck down that ruling last month.

In recent weeks, the nurses have been joined by teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees who oppose Schwarzenegger's plans to pay teachers according to merit rather than seniority and to convert the state's public pension system into 401(k)-style retirement accounts.

Schwarzenegger has promised to raise $50 million to promote his reform proposals, saying national unions could spend as much as $200 million to oppose his efforts.

Attendees at the San Francisco event will pay at last $1,000 a plate to dine with Schwarzenegger, according to Reed Dickens of Citizens to Save California, an organization promoting the governor's initiatives.

Dickens said the growing demonstrations outside Schwarzenegger's events have backfired on the protesters, while strengthening the resolve of the governor's supporters.

"We have seen our signature gathering increase and our fund-raising increase every time the nurses are out there screaming and spitting," Dickens said. "We are finding an immense, encouraging amount of support around the state. It's pretty energizing to the base."