After Misstep, Reassurance From Davis

Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when it seemed no one wanted to fly, Gov. Gray Davis made the political mistake of considering a private jet for his own security and convenience. These days, lesson learned, the governor is flying commercial--a lot.

Davis has been staging an unusual number of media events lately, with the twin goals of calming Californians’ jittery nerves and polishing his own image as a leader.

On Friday, the Democratic governor appeared at the UCLA medical school with state health officials and UCLA physicians, posed with bottles of the antibiotic Cipro and proclaimed in front of a dozen television camera crews that California is well-prepared for a bioterrorist anthrax attack.

Earlier in the week, Davis toured a water treatment plant in Sacramento and declared that the water supply is being guarded as never before. He posted a California Highway Patrol training video about safe mail handling on the state Web site, and he stood on a Coast Guard cutter motoring across San Francisco Bay to assure the region that all conceivable steps are being taken to thwart any attacks by sea.

“I’m very impressed,” Davis told about two dozen reporters, after being briefed by Coast Guard officers. “I don’t think you could get through this maze of security apparatus. You’d have to be Houdini.”

Taking a Cue From Giuliani

Many politicians have taken notice of the public reaction to New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani since Sept. 11. Giuliani appears everywhere in New York, from funerals and a wedding to Yankees games and a Jerry Seinfeld charity event for victims of the World Trade Center attack.

He offers informative and calming briefings on anthrax and escorts visiting dignitaries to the site of the twin towers. Along the way, he is cheered by New Yorkers.

“Everybody is taking a page out of the Rudy Giuliani example,” Democratic consultant Bill Carrick said. “New Yorkers and the nation have taken a lot of solace from his demeanor. Political leaders see he has done a good job, and that they ought to do that too.”

All governors have activated National Guard troops to provide airport security and have assured their populace that security is high. Many have held memorials, though perhaps not as elaborate as the four-hour event that Davis presided over this month for firefighters, police officers and the families of victims.

“The truth is, people are very, very nervous, and they want to see their public officials doing things that are reassuring,” said David Axelrod, a Chicago-based media consultant.

“It’s not bad politics either. Just as the president gains in time of war, other public officials do too. To be seen in that role is elevating. It cuts across partisan lines. Republicans, Democrats and independents share one thing: None of them wants to get blown up or poisoned by anthrax.”

‘Expected . . . to Take Action’

Davis’ political aides convened a focus group two weeks ago to test public attitudes on a variety of issues. Several voters said they wanted reassurance from the governor.

“It became clear to all of us that people expected him, as governor and chief executive of the state, to take action,” said Garry South, Davis’ chief campaign consultant. “They wanted to know what he was doing. They wanted to see him out there.”

The events themselves offer little new information.

On Thursday, for example, Davis “announced” that he had ordered the state Department of Fish and Game, which has several boats, to help the Coast Guard patrol San Francisco Bay and the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. In fact, Fish and Game officers had stepped up their patrols shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

For the event at the Sacramento water treatment plant, Davis issued a news release promising information on “new” steps California was taking to protect water supplies.

Flanked by the plant’s manager and state directors of health services and emergency services, Davis proceeded to outline security measures that had been taken weeks earlier, including CHP flights over the California Aqueduct and other water facilities and increased cooperation between state and local agencies on testing the drinking water supply.

“Whether you’re mayor of a city, the governor or the president, you need to provide people with answers,” said Democratic consultant Chris Lehane, a past advisor to Davis.

“It needs to be visible. It needs to be high-profile. The public is looking for vision, and a leader who is going to be effective needs to provide it.”

Although the attacks took place 3,000 miles away, the threat of more incidents offers the California governor a platform that his potential Republican challengers lack, especially now that the Legislature is out of session and there is a lull in his schedule.

“He has time to take advantage of what he has over everyone else--the ceremonial duties of the governor. And he exploits them very well,” said Ken Khachigian, a Republican attorney and political consultant.

“He has the ability to set up photo ops. These can be made to look very official. . . . It is the power of incumbency.”

Perhaps, critics say, Davis is also trying to overcome the embarrassment of the private jet story.

“Part of this is covering for the fact that he tried to go Hollywood and get a private jet,” said Sean Walsh, who was Gov. Pete Wilson’s spokesman and is working on Secretary of State Bill Jones’ gubernatorial campaign.

The week after the attacks, officials responsible for Davis’ security, citing possible threats against the governor, prepared to lease a jet owned by a major campaign donor to Davis--at $80,000 a month--to zip Davis around California and the country. The deal was scrapped after news accounts in The Times and elsewhere.

The governor of California might need a plane, but the timing was bad.

If the deal had been approved, Davis could have been seen as avoiding commercial airliners at a time when the public was shunning air travel and the reeling airline industry was appealing to Congress for emergency financial aid.

Since the plan was scrapped, Davis has made a point of noting often that he travels by commercial carriers.

High-Profile Events to Continue

The governor intends to continue his highly public effort to reassure people in the coming days. As unemployment rises and the state teeters on the edge of recession, he plans to convene an “economic summit.”

He can use it to gather ideas for helping the economy and show the public that he is focused on pocketbook issues.

The business slowdown will affect Davis. He faces the prospect of cutting money from many state programs.

Never a pleasant task, the budget cuts could be especially painful because they will fall in an election year and affect programs embraced by fellow Democrats.

For now, however, the governor has an excuse to get out of his Capitol office. Leaving reporters on the deck of the Coast Guard cutter in San Francisco Bay and climbing the stairs toward the captain’s post, Davis said: “I’m going to the helm now. It’s going to be fun.”

*

Times staff writers Jenifer Warren, Bob Pool in Los Angeles and Paul Lieberman in New York contributed to this report.