Prop. 208’s Miller to Seek Lungren’s Job

Former acting Secretary of State Tony Miller, one of the authors of the Proposition 208 campaign reform initiative, Monday announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Miller said that he is running “to carry on the fight to end the domination of the political process by big money” and that he will voluntarily abide by 208’s contribution and spending limits, which were overturned Jan. 6 by a federal judge, to show that they are workable.

“It’s better to receive a little money from a lot of people than a lot of money from a few people,” Miller said, predicting that there are enough people who want meaningful political reform to finance a campaign with Proposition 208’s $1,000 limit on donations from most sources.

Miller had previously declared his candidacy for secretary of state, the state’s highest elections officer. Asked about the switch, Miller said, “Lieutenant governor is a higher-profile office. The microphone is a little louder.”

Miller, 48, was chief deputy secretary of state under March Fong Eu and became acting secretary when she resigned in early 1994 to become U.S. ambassador to Micronesia.

Miller won the Democratic nomination for secretary of state in 1994 but lost to Republican Bill Jones by 37,053 votes, a 0.4% margin, in the general election.

Miller was the first openly gay candidate for a statewide office in California when he ran in 1994. It never became an issue in that race, and Miller mentioned it only indirectly Monday, describing his announcement as “a very special moment for me, my father and my partner.”