Davis Throws a Giddy Gala for Backers

Sure, there were a lot of folks celebrating two nights earlier on New Year’s Eve, but that was nothing like the giddiness that pervaded the Beverly Hilton on Saturday night when Gov.-elect Gray Davis threw a boisterous black-tie bash for 1,500 supporters.

For a guy who proudly called himself the “dull” candidate, Davis and his wife, Sharon, hosted a pull-out-all-the-stops party that was anything but that.

Champagne flowed and buffet stations overflowed as the old and the rich rubbed sequined elbows with scruffy union organizers and young campaign workers in rented tuxedos. So many people crammed into the hotel’s cavernous International Ballroom and the hallways outside that the fire marshal came and threatened to shut the place down.

Not that anyone would have left all that willingly. It has been 20 years since local Democrats had as good a reason to party, and they milked the opportunity for all it was worth.

Billed as the Los Angeles Unity Ball, the sold-out event kicked off a long weekend of pomp and ceremony scheduled to last through Monday as the Democrats celebrate Davis’ decisive Nov. 3 victory over Republican state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren and the end of GOP rule in Sacramento.

Many of Davis’ longtime supporters grew visibly emotional at seeing a man all but written out of the gubernatorial race less than a year ago take the stage, flash a beaming smile and survey a crowd that was as disparate as the legions of people who gave him the resounding election victory.

“I am so proud. It makes me feel like I did in 1958 when Pat Brown first made it” into the governor’s office, said activist Shirley Roberts.

For many of Davis’ political colleagues in attendance, such as state Controller Kathleen Connell and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, the ball was a chance to mingle with Davis and his vast network of campaign contributors before the movable feast moves north for more festivities today and Monday, when Davis will be sworn in as the state’s 37th governor.

Tickets for Saturday’s party went for $100, low enough to allow purchase by many who are unaccustomed to such fetes.

“I am so completely stoked!” said Steven Lee, a union organizer from Lompoc with hair way past his shoulder blades, a Fu Manchu mustache--and a highball in his hand.

Gazing excitedly around the ballroom, he said the reason he was “pretty awe-struck” was all the talk of “compassion for the poor and the lonely. That’s what separates us from the Republicans, you know.”

What also separates Davis’ campaign from the Republicans is that the latter had four consecutive inaugural celebrations to get the drill down. And it was obvious that Davis’ team did not.

Chaos and confusion reigned at times, as when scores of angry contributors were kept outside the ballroom until those inside pushed forward and onto the dance floor to make room for them. Even so, many found it impossible to find a place to eat their mushroom ravioli and chicken on skewers.

“Frankly, this stinks,” said Pete Wilson (the Malibu stockbroker, not . . . the other one).

For his part, Davis beamed. He spent much of his short speech thanking those who stuck by him “every step of the way, even during the tough times.”

“I am so proud to be 48 hours away from being your next governor,” he said to cheers. “Sixteen years is long enough to wait.”

The Davises left shortly after his speech. They had been up early for a visit to Wilton Place Elementary School, where they painted murals and did other chores along with other volunteers. And they had to be in Sacramento early today for an ecumenical service and a roster of other pre-inaugural events.