POLITICAL BRIEFING

CALIFORNIA MAN: Elsewhere on the staffing front, the Clinton forces hope they have quelled grumblings about his organization in California by hiring veteran Democratic activist John Emerson to manage his statewide campaign. . . . Emerson, 38, rose to political prominence as a key presidential campaign aide to former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart in the mid-1980s. He began this presidential season supporting one of Clinton’s rivals, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey. . . . Emerson begins a leave of absence from his post as Los Angeles’ chief deputy attorney this week. He promises to put together “a lean but mean” operation that will spearhead Clinton’s quest for California’s mother lode of 54 electoral votes.