Seasoned Politicos the Victors

SACRAMENTO -- Blessed with the ubiquitous name identification that comes from two decades in public office, Democrat March Fong Eu was widely considered a strong favorite as she attempted a comeback to her old job as secretary of state.

But the grandmother, who turns 80 this month, met her match Tuesday in Assemblyman Kevin Shelley--or more accurately, perhaps, in California’s Democratic establishment, which abandoned tradition and strongly sided with the San Francisco lawmaker, helping him line up a parade of endorsements and finance a torrent of television ads.

“The party was a factor. A million slate cards, getting all those endorsements--it was a big help,” Shelley said Wednesday during a whirlwind tour of the state with Gov. Gray Davis and other Democratic winners. “But frankly, we just hustled.”

Shelley’s victory this week was perhaps the most surprising outcome in California’s down-ballot primary contests, which were largely won by seasoned politicians returning to positions they once held or moving up the ladder from the Legislature to statewide office. Shelley will face Republican Keith Olberg in the fall.

The most significant development probably occurred in two Assembly races in which openly gay candidates--John Laird in Santa Cruz and Mark Leno or Harry Britt in San Francisco--won primary contests. Because both areas are strong Democratic bastions, their primary wins all but guarantee an openly gay man will be elected to the Legislature this fall for the first time. Four openly lesbian candidates have been elected to the Senate and Assembly, starting with Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica.

In the race for insurance commissioner, a position that has gained new prominence since Chuck Quackenbush left the job in a cloud of scandal two years ago, Democratic voters selected a familiar face: former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi.

Assemblyman Tom Calderon (D-Montebello) had far outpaced Garamendi and another prominent Democrat, former Orange County Assemblyman Tom Umberg, in fund-raising. But much of Calderon’s money--more than $1.5 million--came from the insurance industry, and the perception that Calderon, like Quackenbush, was too cozy with insurers, may have doomed his candidacy, some political experts said. He finished a distant third.

“Him taking all that insurance company money--that was the kiss of death,” said Dick Rosengarten, editor of the CalPEEK political tip sheet. “He got pounded by Garamendi and Umberg.”

Garamendi will face Republican Gary Mendoza, a Los Angeles attorney with strong ties to failed GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Riordan, in November. Mendoza survived a scare from Stefan “Watchdog” Stitch, an insurance auditor who legally changed his name to convey a consumer-friendly image on the ballot.

With Democrats now holding all but one of California’s eight statewide offices, Democratic Party leaders are gunning for complete dominance this fall.

“We will sweep all eight,” predicted the Democratic Party’s brash spokesman, Bob Mulholland. “We’ve got eight thoroughbreds in this race. They’ve got a bunch of misfits.

“The Republicans are so weak, they could not even get their candidate for the state’s top schools job into the runoff,” he added, referring to the defeat of Assemblywoman Lynne Leach (R-Walnut Creek) in the race for superintendent of schools.

The Democrats’ choice for schools chief, state Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) will square off against Anaheim school board member Katherine Smith in November, because no one captured a majority in Tuesday’s general election for the nonpartisan post.

Outside of Republican Bill Simon’s run to unseat Democratic Gov. Davis, members of both parties believe the GOP’s best hope of averting a shutout may lie in the race for state controller, where state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) will face former EBay Vice President Steve Westly.

McClintock edged out Board of Equalization member Dean Andal in a battle of Republican taxpayer advocates, thanks in part to his quirky ad campaign featuring “Angus McClintock,” a fictional Scottish relative who boasts McClintock is “tight as a bullfrog’s behind, and that, me friends, is watertight.”

True to his image as self-styled cheapskate, the ads were actually recycled from McClintock’s failed 1994 race against Controller Kathleen Connell, who is being forced out by term limits.

“Angus makes a very simple point in a very humorous way: This is an office designed to combat waste, and you need someone with a proven record of being a fiscal watchdog,” McClintock said. “I have devoted my career to identifying waste in California’s budget and proposing the reforms needed to streamline the state’s bureaucracies.”

Westly beat out another Board of Equalization member, Johan Klehs, for the Democratic nomination, despite Klehs’ efforts to paint Westly as a dot-com millionaire trying to buy an election. Westly, who has taught at Stanford and worked for years in the Democratic Party, including losing an election for party chairman to Jerry Brown more than a decade ago, may be able to avoid the pitfalls that commonly befall wealthy candidates, according to some political experts. At the very least, McClintock will need a lot of campaign cash to make his case, and he has never been known as a fund-raiser.

Several Democratic incumbents cruised to victory unopposed or after mere formalities and are heavily favored to win this fall.

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer will face state Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine), Treasurer Phil Angelides will square off against former Public Utilities Commission President P. Gregory Conlon, and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante will meet state Sen. Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz).