Limping to the Finish

There are few issues that matter more in politics than peace and prosperity. And yet as the economy drags its heels and the nation marches toward possible war with Iraq, there is an oddly disconnected feel to this election season in California.

Perhaps it’s because those issues and their associated anxieties seem so far removed from Sacramento. “There’s no state election that’s going to affect anything having to do with terrorism, international affairs, snipers or anything that people seem to be fixated on,” said political analyst Tony Quinn, a former GOP strategist. “And there’s no sign that people think Sacramento has anything to do with the economy of California.”

The latter view may be overly dismissive. But events and politicians alike have conspired to rob this election of much of its usual enticement.

In redrawing the state’s legislative and congressional boundaries -- part of a once-a-decade process reflecting population shifts -- the Legislature managed to effectively remove serious competition from all but a few contests across the state.

After inserting himself into the other party’s primary through a $10-million advertising blitz against front-runner Richard Riordan, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis drew the opponent he preferred. He is now a solid favorite to win a second term over Republican businessman Bill Simon Jr. -- notwithstanding voters’ deep and abiding distaste for him.

Hanging over it all is the insidious shadow of Sept. 11, which suddenly made the world seem a smaller and more vulnerable place -- and the usual back-and-forth of politics seem irrelevant.

“The big concern for voters is over things they can’t control,” said Jaime Regalado, a political scientist and executive director of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State Los Angeles. “People are saying, ‘I’m not sure voting is the way to safeguard myself in this new world.’ ”

The jagged tone of the race for governor has hardly offered much reassurance.

As a result, experts are forecasting a record low turnout on election day, Nov. 5, to match the overwhelming stay-at-home rate in the March primary, when only about a quarter of eligible Californians cast ballots.

The apathy is evident to strategists like Gale Kaufman. The Democratic consultant has convened numerous focus groups in the last 18 months -- only to find the people complaining at the prospect of having to discuss politics for a full two hours. “People just don’t seem to care,” Kaufman said.

Of course, millions of Californians will turn out to vote in just nine days, grudgingly or not. Some will act out of patriotism or a sense of civic responsibility. Others will enter the polling booth fired with conviction: for Davis or for Simon, to split apart the city of Los Angeles or to keep the nation’s second-largest city intact.

It may not be war and peace, but there are plenty of important decisions to be made, among them filling eight statewide offices, ruling on seven state ballot initiatives, confirming three California Supreme Court justices and deciding those few competitive legislative and congressional races that present true contests.

Topping the ticket is the race for governor, headlined by two candidates who have spent far more time dwelling on their rival’s shortcomings than offering any affirmative thoughts on, say, dealing with the state’s budget problems, its fraying infrastructure or overcrowded freeways.

Davis has attacked businessman Simon as a right-wing political novice in far over his head -- an assault abetted by the rookie candidate’s frequent campaign stumbles. Simon has assailed Davis as an ineffective and unprincipled money-grubber -- a charge underlined by the incumbent’s hesitant response to the budget and electricity crises, and his ceaseless fund-raising.

Many despairing voters look at the two and see “the classic situation of choosing between the lesser of two evils,” as voter Anthony Fenner, an Oakland Democrat, recently put it, using perhaps the most oft-heard statement of this discontented election cycle. “Maybe it’s the time to vote my heart instead of trying to avoid someone more horrible than the guy I’m voting for,” said the 41-year-old cabinetmaker, who is thinking of backing the Green Party’s Peter Camejo or one of three other minor party candidates “to get them on the map.”

Along with the race for governor, there are seven other statewide contests to be decided. Democratic incumbents are defending three of their seats against Republican challengers and assorted minor party candidates: Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante faces state Sen. Bruce McPherson; Treasurer Phil Angelides is running against Greg Conlon, and Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer faces state Sen. Dick Ackerman.

Three offices are open, vacated by term limits: Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock is vying against Democrat Steve Westly in the race for state controller; Republican Keith Olberg faces Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Shelley in the race for secretary of state, and Republican Gary Mendoza and Democrat John Garamendi are the leading rivals in the insurance commissioner’s race.

Democratic state Sen. Jack O’Connell and Republican Katherine H. Smith face each other in the contest for state superintendent of public instruction, a nominally nonpartisan position.

Term limits, enacted by voters in 1990, will ensure a number of new faces in the state Legislature as well -- though Democrats are certain to keep their partisan advantage as a result of the party-protection plan adopted when lawmakers redrew state political boundaries last year.

Of the 20 state Senate and 80 Assembly races, analysts say fewer than 10 are seriously competitive.

Two of those hot contests are elections for open Assembly seats in inland San Diego and Imperial and Riverside counties.

The same lack of competition holds true in most of the 53 contests for the House of Representatives.

Only one -- the fight to replace scandal-scarred Rep. Gary Condit in the Central Valley -- is drawing heavy interest outside the district. Democrat Dennis Cardoza of Atwater is favored over Republican Dick Monteith of Modesto, despite lingering resentment on the part of Condit supporters over Cardoza’s decision to challenge his former mentor in the Democratic primary.

Elsewhere, analysts give Republican Beth Rogers an outside shot at ousting Democratic incumbent Lois Capps in Santa Barbara; in the Bay Area, Democrat Elaine Shaw is bucking for an upset over Republican Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy.

Overall, Democrats are expected to slightly boost their lead in California’s House delegation.

In addition to partisan offices, Californians will decide the fate of seven statewide ballot initiatives, including $15 billion in bond measures to build housing, improve water quality and renovate the state’s public schools, among various projects.

Other ballot measures seek to expand after-school activities (an initiative sponsored by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger); permanently shift some motor vehicle sales taxes from the general fund to transportation projects; and allow Californians to register to vote as late as election day. The deadline for registering this year was last Monday.

Voters also will decide whether to retain three state Supreme Court justices. Facing an up-or-down vote are justices Marvin R. Baxter, Carlos R. Moreno and Kathryn M. Werdegar, appointees -- respectively -- of California’s last three governors, Republicans George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, and Democrat Davis.

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Biographies of gubernatorial candidates

GOVERNOR

Gray Davis, Democrat

www.gray-davis.com

Incumbent

Age: 59

Family: Married

Career: Chief of staff to Gov. Jerry Brown, 1975-81; state assemblyman, 1983-87; state controller, 1987-95; lieutenant governor, 1995-99; governor, 1999-present.

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Bill Simon Jr., Republican

www.simonforgovernor.com

Age: 51

Family: Married, four children

Career: Assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, 1983-88; partner in William E. Simon & Sons, a private investment firm, 1988-present.

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Reinhold Gulke, American Independent

www.gulke.com

Age: 55

Family: Married, four children

Occupation: Owns and operates RGE Inc., a fire protection contractor.

Positions: Supports the right of parents to choose how their children are educated; limit legal immigration and end illegal immigration; supports capital punishment; increase water-storage capacity by building new dams; enact a one-time vehicle fee per owner; no other fees or taxes levied on automobiles.

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Peter Miguel Camejo, Green

www.votecamejo.org

Age: 62

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Chairman, Progressive Asset Management.

Positions: Expand use and sources of renewable energy; enact a “living wage” law; end the death penalty; provide immigrants with a legal driver’s license; provide a quality education for everyone; abolish the three-strikes law; guarantee universal health care to all Californians.

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Gary David Copeland, Libertarian

www.lpwolfpack.net/copeland

Age: 46

Family: Married, three children

Occupation: President, NextCure Corp. and Epicenter Research.

Positions: Supports medical vouchers for low-income families to purchase health care or insurance; end drug prohibition and put a 10% tax on drugs; abolish the state income tax; amend three-strikes law to exclude nonviolent crimes.

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Iris Adam, Natural Law

www.irisadam.com

Age: 49

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Business analyst at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine.

Positions: Increase use of renewable energy sources; support prevention-based health care; enhance the safety testing and labeling of genetically engineered foods; offer tax credits to businesses that provide their employees with child care; decriminalize nonviolent drug offenses.

LIEUTENANT

GOVERNOR

Cruz Bustamante, Democrat

www.cruz2002.com

Incumbent

Age: 49

Family: Married, three children

Positions: Make colleges and universities more affordable; promote Cal Grants for college-bound students; expand access to Healthy Families medical insurance program for working poor; require that gasoline sales tax revenues be used solely for transportation projects.

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Bruce McPherson, Republican

www.mcpherson4lg.com

Age: 58

Family: Married, one child

Occupation: State senator

Positions: Make colleges and universities more affordable; extend class size reduction to more grades; expand technical education opportunities; support gun control, abortion rights, environmental protection.

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Jim King, American Independent

www.vote4king.com

Occupation: Real estate agent

Donna J. Warren, Green

www.donnawarren.com

Occupation: Certified financial manager

Pat Wright, Libertarian

www.wright4ltgov.org

Occupation: Ferret legalization coordinator

Kalee Przybylak, Natural Law

www.natural-law.org

Occupation: Public relations director

Paul Jerry Hannosh, Reform

www.paulhannosh.com

Occupation: Educator/businessman

SECRETARY OF STATE

Keith Olberg, Republican

www.olberg2002.com

Age: 41

Family: Declined to state

Occupation: Businessman

Positions: Eliminate incorporation fees for small businesses; replace outdated voting equipment; require voters to show photo ID at polling places; find ways to increase voter participation; expand polling hours and locations.

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Kevin Shelley, Democrat

www.shelley2002.com

Age: 46

Family: Married, one child

Occupation: State assemblyman

Positions: Eliminate all punch-card ballots; allow voter registration through election day; support campaign finance reform; increase penalties for voter fraud; improve environmental safety law for classrooms.

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Edward C. Noonan, American Independent

www.afamily.net/secstate

Occupation: Businessman

Larry Shoup, Green

www.voteshoup.org

Occupation: Author/historian

Gail K. Lightfoot, Libertarian

www.ca.lp.org

Occupation: Retired registered nurse

Louise Marie Allison, Natural Law

www.natural-law.org

Occupation: Teacher/administrator

Valli Sharpe-Geisler, Reform

www.siliconv.com

Occupation: Educator/technology coordinator

CONTROLLER

Tom McClintock, Republican

www.tommcclintock.com

Age: 46

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: State senator

Positions: Conduct regular performance audits of the state’s bureaucracies; oppose expansion of offshore oil drilling; ensure across-the-board competitive bidding; pension funds should focus on rate of return, not social goals.

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Steve Westly, Democrat

www.westly2002.com

Age: 46

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Businessman/educator

Positions: Oppose offshore oil drilling; promote the development of alternative energy; increase investment in transportation, education and affordable housing; use state pension funds to impose corporate responsibility.

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Ernest F. Vance, American Independent

Occupation: Retired administrator

Laura Wells, Green

www.laurawells.org

Occupation: Financial systems consultant

J. Carlos Aguirre, Natural Law

www.natural-law.org

Occupation: Entrepreneur/businessman

TREASURER

Phil Angelides, Democrat

Incumbent

Age: 49

Family: Married, three children

Positions: Continue to finance construction and repair of public schools; crack down on corporations that engage in unethical business practices; support initiatives that use state investment capital in partnership with private sector.

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Greg Conlon, Republican

www.gregconlonforstatetreasurer.com

Age: 69

Family: Widower, two children

Occupation: Businessman/certified public accountant

Positions: Streamline government and cut government waste to improve state’s credit rating; consolidate all energy oversight into California Public Utilities Commission; get state out of energy business; renegotiate all electricity contracts and consider selling them to third-party public utilities or private corporations.

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Nathan E. Johnson, American Independent

Occupation: Transit operator

Jeanne-Marie Rosenmeier, Green

www.jeanne2002.com

Occupation: Certified public accountant

Marian Smithson, Libertarian

Occupation: West Covina city treasurer

Sylvia Valentine, Natural Law

www.natural-law.org

Occupation: Corporate office administrator

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Dick Ackerman, Republican

www.ackermanforag.com

Age: 59

Family: Married, three children

Occupation: State senator

Positions: Establish a child protection unit in the attorney general’s office; adopt a statewide zero-tolerance policy for gangs, guns and drugs in school; support the right of public school principals to expel students who disrupt class.

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Bill Lockyer, Democrat

www.lockyer2002.com

Incumbent

Age: 51

Family: Divorced, one child

Positions: Press enforcement of consumer protection, environmental and civil rights laws; combat identity theft; provide victims of violent crimes with information about support services; improve reporting of arrest and disposition information to the Department of Justice.

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Diane Beall Templin, American Independent

Occupation: Attorney/businesswoman

Glen Freeman Mowrer, Green

www.vote.cagreens.org

Occupation: Attorney

Ed Kuwatch, Libertarian

www.dui-california.com

/attorneygeneral.htm

Occupation: Criminal defense attorney

INSURANCE

COMMISSIONER

John Garamendi, Democrat

www.garamendi.org

Age: 57

Family: Married, six children

Occupation: Rancher

Positions: Work to rescue workers’ compensation system from collapse; improve consumer protection; fight insurance fraud; work to lower auto insurance rates.

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Gary Mendoza, Republican

www.garymendoza.com

Age: 47

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Businessman

Positions: Establish a system that notifies DMV when auto insurance has elapsed; streamline processing of workers’ compensation claims; use Internet to improve delivery of consumer information.

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David Sheidlower, Green

www.votesheidlower.org

Occupation: Financial services executive

Dale F. Ogden, Libertarian

www.dalefogden.org

Occupation: Insurance consultant/actuary

Raul Calderon Jr., Natural Law

www.natural-law.org

Occupation: Health researcher/educator

SUPERINTENDENT OF

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

(Nonpartisan Office)

Jack O’Connell

www.oconnell2002.org

Age: 51

Family: Married, one child

Occupation: State senator

Positions: Reduce class size in every grade; conduct performance audits of schools; oppose vouchers; increase per-student spending.

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Katherine H. Smith

Age: 61

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Trustee, Anaheim Union High School District

Positions: Restore trade and technology courses; give all districts same amount of money per student; promote statewide adoption of school uniforms.

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Graphics reporting by Maloy Moore

The candidates’ stances on key issues

BILL SIMON

Gun control: Calls for a moratorium on new gun legislation; supports enforcement of current laws to keep criminals from getting guns.

GRAY DAVIS

Gun control: Signed several gun control measures, including bills that limit military-style semiautomatic weapons, require trigger locks and limit gun purchases to one a month.

BILL SIMON

Education: Wants to increase the number of charter schools and ensure funding for them; believes school districts should be limited to no more than 60,000 students; supports home schooling; wants to increase local and parental control of schools.

GRAY DAVIS

Education: Established accountability system that ranks schools according to test scores; increased funding for teacher recruitment and training; expanded Cal Grant loan program; opposes school vouchers.

BILL SIMON

Transportation: Calls for construction of new highways; promises to develop a comprehensive plan that includes projects, timetables and methods of payment; believes private money should be invested in transportation projects.

GRAY DAVIS

Transportation: In 2000, signed a $5.3-billion, six-year spending plan that nearly doubled the state’s transportation budget. Has provided money for light rail to Pasadena, East Los Angeles and the Westside; 105 miles of carpool lanes in Los Angeles and Orange counties; reconstruction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

BILL SIMON

Health care: Calls for tax incentives for physicians who serve the poor; tax credits for individuals who purchase their own health care and vouchers for the indigent and working poor; would allow patients to buy catastrophic-only insurance.

GRAY DAVIS

Health care: Streamlined the process for enrolling children of the working poor in Healthy Families insurance program; postponed expanding Healthy Families to include parents; created Department of Managed Health Care, which resolves disputes between HMOs and patients; gave patients the right to sue their HMOs.

BILL SIMON

Environment: Would build more dams and water storage facilities; prohibit new offshore oil drilling and retire all undeveloped leases; promises to promote alternative energy sources and conservation; criticizes the bill limiting so-called greenhouse emissions as “social engineering.”

GRAY DAVIS

Environment: Signed bill requiring auto makers to reduce emissions linked to global warming; ordered phase-out of gasoline additive MTBE, but later delayed it; helped broker state-federal acquisition of Headwaters redwood forest; was accused by environmentalists of stacking the Board of Forestry with timber industry supporters; signed legislation requiring utilities to use more renewable energy such as wind, solar power.

BILL SIMON

Criminal justice: Supports death penalty and three-strikes law; wants to ensure that crime labs have the latest technology.

GRAY DAVIS

Criminal justice: Has denied parole to almost all convicted murderers; supports the use of “reasonable force” to collect DNA from inmates to assist in crime solving; supports the death penalty and three-strikes law.

BILL SIMON

Energy: Wants to move California out of the energy business; would renegotiate long-term contracts to lower the unit cost; supports development of alternative energy sources.

GRAY DAVIS

Energy: Negotiated dozens of long-term power contracts, some of which have been renegotiated; streamlined the process for power plant construction; signed legislation that created a California power authority, which has the power to finance and build new power plants.

BILL SIMON

Budget and taxes: Wants to close the state budget deficit by cutting spending, shrinking the size of government and finding one-time revenue sources; no new taxes; wants to cut the state capital gains tax.

GRAY DAVIS

Budget and taxes: State spending grew by more than 30% in his first term; the state budget went from a surplus to a $24-billion deficit; won’t rule out tax increases to balance the budget; opposes reduction in state capital gains tax.

BILL SIMON

Gay rights: Supported Proposition 22, a successful 2000 ballot measure that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman; opposed bills that granted inheritance, hospital visitation and other legal rights to domestic partners.

GRAY DAVIS

Gay rights: Signed several laws expanding gay rights, including bills that granted inheritance, hospital visitation and other legal rights to domestic partners. . Opposed Proposition 22, a successful 2000 ballot measure that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

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A quick history of state’s 17 governors

In the last century, California has been served by 17 governors. Here are a few facts and figures about the men and about how today’s candidates fit in:

Party affiliation

12 Republicans

4 Democrats

1 Progressive

California natives (6)

George Pardee

Born in San Francisco (1902-06)

Hiram Johnson

Sacramento (1910-17)

James Rolph

San Francisco (1930-34)

Earl Warren

Los Angeles (1942-53)

Pat Brown

San Francisco (1958-66)

Jerry Brown

San Francisco (1974-82)

(Gray Davis was born in New York, Bill Simon Jr. in New Jersey)

Democrats not named Brown (2)

Culbert Olson (1938-42)

Gray Davis (1998-present)

Never held elected office before election (2)

Ronald Reagan (1966-74)

Hiram Johnson (1910-17)

(Simon is making his first run for public office)

Presidential candidates (3)

Jerry Brown (1976, 1980, 1992)

Ronald Reagan (1980)

Pete Wilson (1996)

Moved on to national office (3)

Ronald Reagan

President

Hiram Johnson

U.S. Senate

Earl Warren

Chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Two-term governors (6)

Hiram Johnson, 1910-17

(resigned to assume U.S. Senate seat)

Pat Brown, 1958-66

Ronald Reagan, 1966-74

Jerry Brown, 1974-82

George Deukmejian,

1982-90

Pete Wilson, 1990-98

(Gray Davis is seeking his second term)

Three-term governor

Earl Warren, 1942-53

(resigned to become chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court)

Average age

54 (Davis, 59; Simon, 51)