Schwarzenegger Sits Pretty as Democrats Duel

Treasurer Phil Angelides has caught up with Controller Steve Westly, the previous front-runner, in their race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, both sides agree.

In fact, on any given night in private polling, Angelides may be running ahead. That’s the good news for the liberal Democrat.

The bad news is that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been yanking the running track out from under him in a potential general election matchup.

The governor couldn’t have planned this any better, even if it has resulted partly from luck -- the surprise gush of $7.5 billion in unanticipated tax receipts.

Ever since Schwarzenegger took office, Angelides has been running for governor on a promise to “fully fund” schools. But Schwarzenegger did just that in his revised budget proposal, adding $2.9 billion to school funding this year and next. He additionally agreed to pay, over seven years, $2.9 billion he owed from a previous, unkept pledge.

Angelides also long has advocated raising taxes on the “big boys” -- the chief beneficiaries of President Bush’s tax cuts -- in order to finally erase the state deficit. But Schwarzenegger is getting close to eliminating the deficit without ever having increased taxes, thus keeping a promise to voters.

And for years, Angelides has preached that California should “invest in the future” by boldly rebuilding its infrastructure, emulating the great Gov. Pat Brown. Again, Angelides’ message was undermined recently when Schwarzenegger and the Legislature agreed to a $37.3-billion bond package for transportation, schools, flood control and affordable housing.

The governor has been stumping all over California in recent days, side-by-side with Democratic legislators, signing the bond bills and taking a victory lap.

“It was the governor who made this happen,” Senate leader Don Perata (D-Oakland) told a delegation of city officials just before Schwarzenegger signed the senator’s housing bill.

At another event, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) -- Angelides’ campaign co-chairman -- acknowledged Schwarzenegger’s “leadership” and role in “encouraging us to get together” and compromise.

So it just got a little harder for Angelides or Westly to persuade voters -- as they easily could have last year during the divisive special election -- that Schwarzenegger is incapable of working with legislators to solve California’s problems.

Angelides is consistent, however, and that’s usually a political strength. He’s undeterred by the apparent weakening of his campaign platform. The candidate is still advocating a “soak-the-rich” tax hike for budget balancing and schools, which may be a winner in a Democratic primary but is dicier in a general election.

“If Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to run for reelection on the basis that he’s satisfied with being 48th out of 50 states in educational achievement, 48th out of 50 states in transportation investment per capita ... then he can be my guest and have at it,” Angelides says. “I’m not satisfied. I don’t want California to keep limping along, barely making it. I want us to be the best.

“And the fact is, whoever is governor next year is going to face a $3.5-billion deficit. And our schools are still underfunded.”

As for Schwarzenegger’s move to fully fund schools, Angelides says: “He’s asking people to take his word again. Why should anyone believe that if he’s reelected, our schools will get the funds they need? ... He is who he is, and people know it.”

If Angelides were to win the nomination, there’d surely be a lively debate in the fall about California’s future.

But Westly’s chief strategist, Garry South, says Angelides “is fighting last year’s war. It makes him look completely out of sync with reality.”

Whether he is or not probably won’t have much influence on Democratic voting June 6. Indeed, nobody seems sure what will have an influence.

South says he has never seen less awareness about two top-of-the-ticket candidates.

Blame “voter fatigue” from state elections every year for the last five, including the recall and special. Blame a celebrity governor who “sucks the oxygen” out of political debate and news coverage. Blame two Democratic candidates who aren’t well known, largely because voters aren’t very interested in knowing them.

Both sides say the contest is up for grabs. Roughly a third of the voters tell pollsters they’ll vote for Angelides and another third say Westly’s their guy -- and about half of all those admit they could switch before election day. The other third are basically undecided.

One month ago, Westly led in all the public polls -- by 13 points in a Times survey. But nearly half the voters were undecided.

At the time, Westly, who has sunk $32.5 million of his own fortune into the campaign, was running TV ads and Angelides couldn’t afford any. That lasted three crucial weeks. Then some important things happened:

* Land developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, an Angelides pal and patron, began to pour $6 million into an “independent expenditure” campaign, avoiding normal contribution limits. That largesse got Angelides’ message back on TV.

* Angelides jump-started his campaign by lopsidedly winning the Democratic Party’s endorsement at its state convention. That -- coupled with earlier endorsements from the likes of Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and labor and environmental groups -- gave him credibility among many Democratic voters.

* Westly goofed. He was running as “a different kind of governor.” He even pledged -- in writing -- not to run the first negative TV ad. Then when Angelides began gaining ground, Westly didn’t look very different at all for a politician: He broke his promise and attacked his opponent on TV. (Don’t look here for the lame excuse.)

Actually, some people are getting very excited about this dismal Democratic duel: They’re the Schwarzenegger strategists.

George Skelton writes Monday and Thursday. Reach him at george.skelton@latimes.com.