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Posted on 11/01/2002 9:51:07 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
With a Democratic victory in the secretary of state's race, California Democrats could become as dominating a force as the New York Yankees.
The GOP's lone statewide officeholder, Secretary of State Bill Jones, has to give up his seat because of term limits. Democrats see a good chance to take it back and complete what they hope will be a GOP shutout in November.
To do so, they'll have to overcome former Assemblyman Keith Olberg, who had the Republican field wide open for the primary and was able to save his money for the general election.
When Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley of San Francisco won the Democratic primary in March, it gave the party a demonstrated fund-raiser to carry the party's banner. In addition, Shelley gained momentum by upsetting former Secretary of State March Fong Eu in the primary.
Shelley had raised $2.1 million since the start of 2001, but after spending heavily to win the primary, he was left with some catching up to do.
Olberg, R-Victorville, had an early financial lead on Shelley in the summer, but Shelley has more than made up the difference, out-raising him about 2-to-1.
That advantage has helped Shelley start a statewide television advertising campaign that features an advertisement critical of a bill Olberg introduced in the Assembly in 1998 that would have made abortion in California first-degree murder.
Shelley's TV ad campaign before the primary helped him beat out Eu, a venerable figure in state politics who served as California secretary of state for nearly 20 years.
Olberg, however, isn't deterred by the size of anyone's campaign treasury.
"If it were all about who had the most money, Al Checchi or Jane Harman would be governor," Olberg said of the two Democrats who lost to then-Lt. Gov. Gray Davis in the 1998 primary for governor despite outspending him.
A Field Poll taken two months before the election show potential voters know little about either candidate, which means TV advertisements can provide much of the information voters receive about Olberg and Shelley.
Olberg and Shelley are on different ends of the political spectrum. Shelley, a liberal Democrat, represents San Francisco. Olberg, who described himself as a mainstream conservative, represented the solidly Republican area of the high desert east of Los Angeles.
In the last year, two of Shelley's bills affecting voting in California became law. One allows any voter to vote permanently from home. The other, which was approved in March as Proposition 41, will send extra money to counties that want to replace punch-card ballots with electronic voting machines.
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We need to vote for Keith Olberg!
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