Democratic Gubernatorial Showdown

27 April 2006 |permalink | email article

California convention delegates will decide Saturday in Sacramento whether the party should officially endorse either state Treasurer Phil Angelides or state Controller Steve Westly for governor before the June 6 primary. The winner needs 60 % of the delegate votes.

The party has not endorsed a gubernatorial candidate in a contested primary since 1990 when state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp beat Dianne Feinstein when he topped the 60% hurdle by six votes in a recount. It didnít matter. Feinstein won the primary.

On paper, Angelides, the more liberal candidate, is the heavy favorite of the party establishment. Heís backed by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, the California Labor Federation and the California Teachers Assn.

Recently, Angelidesí advisers have dampened expectations, saying he will be happy to simply outpoll Westly among the estimated 1,800 delegates. Westlyís goal is to block an outright nomination. Both candidates are multi-millionaires, with Westly having far deeper pockets.

Until February, the populist Angelides led by 8% before the more centrist Westly introduced himself to voters in a series of feel-good TV ads. He’s now ahead in every area of the state with an 11% lead that represents a 19-point turnaround in just two months.

Now an admitted underdog, Angelides, who may have made a strategic mistake by pledging to raise business taxes, is being heavily outspent on television. A controversial committee, funded by a longtime friend and former business partner Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and his daughter, has contributed $5 million to the candidate representing firefighters and law enforcement for ads to get him back into the race.

With over a third of Democrats still undecided, the last month of the campaign will be a negative and nasty donnybrook. The advantage remains with Westly unless union leaders decide to go all out for Angelides now instead of saving their war chest to unseat Arnold Schwarzenegger, their real enemy, in November. For the governor, Angelides presents a far juicer target. 

 

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