Governor Schwarzenegger of California, hounded by criticism of his fund-raising methods, yesterday added Manhattan to his traveling fund-raising campaign, flexing his political muscle for a crowd of Republicans during a dinner and promising protesters they would have no effect on his plans.

“When the special interests push me around, I’ll push back,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said to cheers and applause from more than 500 people at a $1,000-a-plate dinner. The event, at a Midtown hotel, raised more than $500,000.

Mr. Schwarzenegger said the protesters who follow him from event to event these days are proof that special interest groups and unions are scrambling because they are upset with his agenda, including plans to privatize the pensions of public employees.

“I love that,” he said of the unrest he has unleashed. He called 2005 “the year of the reforms.” He also said, “The people of California deserve it. America deserves it.”

The California governor, aiming to raise at least $50 million this year to promote his ideas to change state government and prepare for a possible re-election run in 2006, spoke after speeches by Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg. Mr. Schwarzenegger’s methods are being challenged by a Sacramento, Calif., group, TheRestofUs.org, which has asked the California Fair Political Practices Commission to probe whether it is proper for him to raise donations of unlimited size. The California governor is restricted under state law to collecting no more than $22,300 from each donor, but unlimited amounts can be raised by committees with ties to the governor.

Mr. Schwarzenegger has said he cannot be bought by special interests. His current fund-raising trip, which began Friday in Cincinnati, also will take him to Washington, D.C.