Whoever wins in the California primary in June to run against Gov. Schwarzenegger may likely be the next Democratic governor. Last night’s debate helped me decide against Phil Angelides and for Steve Westly. Angelides threw barbs. Westly remained the cool chief executive with smarts.
Both have business backgrounds, Westly at e-Bay and Angelides in real estate development. Westly has a Stanford MBA and taught Public Management there. Angelides graduated from Harvard. Both have immigrants in the family (Westly’s wife from China, Angelides’ grandparents from Greece).
Both have been active Democrats for many years, Angelides in Sacramento, and Westly in the Bay Area. Both would sign a gay marriage bill, though Angelides arrived at that decision only very recently, while Westly has promoted gay rights since college days.
Both have been serving California in money-related roles, Westly as Controller and Angelides as Treasurer, and both are trustees in (1) the California Public Employment Retirement System (“CalPERS”) the country’s biggest public pension fund, and (2) the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Both have railed against obscene golden parachutes.
As I watched their televised debate last night I kept wondering why Angelides has been endorsed by a myriad of Democratic politicians. My conclusion: he called in chits from his days as Chair of the state’s Democratic party. It can’t be that he exudes executive polish, because he has little. He appeared a bickerer with no negotiating skills who apparently thinks voters will be most impressed by his endorsements, because he repeated those ad nauseum.
Westly has been a leading campaigner:
— After Westly made his website available in Spanish and Chinese, Angelides made his in Spanish.
— After Westly made public his past 10 years of tax returns, challenging the governor and Angelides to do the same, Angelides opened up 7 years’ worth of his returns (Arnold, he lay low).
— After Westly filed a claim with the state FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission) that commercials by Angelides supporters were not funded by independents, Angelides filed a complaint charging Westly with using money from a defunct account. Neither claim is likely to be settled soon, with the FPPC so seriously backlogged.
Tax policy seems to distinguish the candidates. Angelides would raise a variety of taxes. Westly would rely first on managerial efficiency & audits, with tax hikes the last resort.
Angelides accused Westly of being too cozy with our Republican governor, simply because Westly supported a 2004 deficit-financing bond and a proposition supporting a balanced budget — along with the governor, the board of the California Community Colleges, and many Democrats. If Angelides can do no better, he deserves defeat — and the state’s Democrats, beginning with Senators Boxer and Feinstein, need to explain their endorsements.
As California will always have Republican legislators, the best Democratic governor will be someone who can work compromises with Republicans when necessary, not someone whose buzz words “working families” reinforces us-them mindsets. A little class goes a long way.
Why not Westly as California’s next Governor?
