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Steve Westly lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary nearly three weeks ago, but his words continue to haunt party nominee Phil Angelides. The California Republican Party launched two ads Friday in the governor's race, one of which trumpets Westly's tax-hike accusations against Angelides during the primary. The negative ad goes through a list of Westly comments, such as his statement in May that Angelides is proposing a "tax on darn near anybody." It concludes by asking, "What if Steve Westly was right?" The state Republican Party has collected major checks in the past month, including $2 million from Stockton developer Alex...

FORGET the conventional wisdom. This was not a particularly negative campaign season. Sure, state Controller Steve Westly called state Treasurer Phil Angelides a developer, and Angelides called Westly a toady to the man both want to unseat, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's chump change, compared to mud slung in years past. Think back to the recall and unsubstantiated stories about Schwarzenegger sexually harassing women. In 2002, GOP gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon accused Gov. Gray Davis of illegally accepting a $10,000 campaign contribution on state property -- and then had to retract his charge. In 1992, Davis had to apologize for ads...

For political junkies, June 6 has been circled on the political calendar for months. Eight states hold primary elections today. There are important races for gubernatorial nominations in California, Iowa and Alabama, a contested Senate primary in Montana and a number of competitive House primary battles. All in all, it's almost too much of a good thing. There are so many good races out there and not enough time to give each of them their due. In an attempt to bring readers the essential, need-to-know information about today's races, The Fix is providing the primer below. Remember: This is not...

SACRAMENTO - A record low turnout in today's election could be key to Phil Angelides in his effort to capture the Democratic gubernatorial nomination over rival Steve Westly, experts said Monday. A Field Poll released today predicts only 34 percent of registered voters are expected to come out to the polls. That would be the lowest turnout in at least 60 years. Such a scenario could play to the strengths of Angelides, the state treasurer from Sacramento. Angelides has the backing of the state Democratic Party and countless party-affiliated interest groups -- including labor and teachers' groups -- who are...

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

Democratic candidates spend time in church The Democratic candidates for governor went to church on Sunday and prayed for victory, as well they might in a race that is neck and neck heading into Tuesday's primary. Steve Westly, who made his fortune at eBay, and Phil Angelides, a wealthy former developer, have been battering each other with nasty television ads for several weeks. Analysts say voters may respond to the negativity campaign by not voting. Westly, the state controller, appeared with Rep. Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles, at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, which he joined three...

You can't turn on a TV without being hit with either state Treasurer Phil Angelides slamming state Controller Steve Westly for taking campaign money from a crook, or Westly slamming Angelides for being in the pocket of big developers. But that's nothing compared with the behind-the-scenes beef in the Democratic gubernatorial primary between Angelides and Garry South, Westly's campaign manager. Angelides calls South the "King of Mean.'' South retorts that Angelides "is a sleazy campaigner at the core.'' To hear South tell it, the feud started in 1993 when Angelides -- who was winding up his tenure as chair of...

MANHATTAN BEACH -- Trying to fire up a lackluster crowd at a "get out the vote" rally, City Councilman Jim Aldinger asked who would be working over the weekend to get Californians to the polls on Tuesday. Only a handful of the 80 activists raised their hands at the rally Thursday for gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides. Campaign consultants reported similarly tepid responses from volunteers around the state -- even though an expected low voter turnout and an extremely tight gubernatorial primary could make this year's "get out the vote" efforts more decisive than in past statewide campaigns. Secretary of State...

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's poll numbers are looking better -- especially among the state's independent voters -- and he has gained the edge when matched against his potential Democratic challengers in the November general election, a Field Poll released today shows. The Field Poll released today showed the Republican governor has improved his standing and is now viewed favorably by an equal percentage of voters surveyed -- 46 percent -- as those who view him unfavorably. The governor's improvement is based on a significant jump among independent voters. Independents view him positively by 46 to 41 percent -- an increase...

A record number of voters -- unable to distinguish between the main candidates, turned off by negative ads and just plain burned out on elections -- remain unable to choose between Controller Steve Westly and Treasurer Phil Angelides with just four days to go before Tuesday's Democratic primary for governor. Despite a vigorous campaign fueled by more than $60 million in spending, a Field Poll released today shows that nearly a third of likely voters are still on the fence -- an unprecedented number so close to the election. The poll also shows Westly and Angelides in a dead heat,...

Angelides is running as a traditional, tax-and-spend Democrat, and Westly is running as a pro-business Democrat who would hold the line on taxes and spending When candidates accused one another of "mudslinging," the late Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko insisted it really was "truth-slinging." He meant that, in a democratic election, candidates are most likely to have their past positions and actions revealed by opposition research. Of course, voters must be careful to make sure an accusation is true. But if one listens carefully, one can discern true positions. That's how I'm looking at the Democratic primary for governor, whose...

WITH A POLL showing a remarkable number of undecided voters heading into the June 6 primary, California may see a wave of bad decisions as last-minute deciders choose candidates without a clue of who they are really voting for. The poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows a stunning 33 percent of Democratic voters haven't decided between state Controller Steve Westly and state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who are in a statistical dead heat. Westly blew an April lead by spending too much time trashing Angelides, leaving lots of undecided women who dislike negativity. PPIC survey director Mark Baldassare...

Radio listeners have discovered the Swainson's hawk is doomed and it's all Phil Angelides' fault. TV viewers, however, have learned that Steve Westly favors "taxing the middle class (and) letting big corporations off the hook.'' With little more than a week before the June 6 primary election, the two Democratic candidates for governor are going all negative all the time, hoping to convince uninterested voters not that they're so good, but that their opponent is so bad. The nonstop mud-slinging even has supporters concerned. Larry Fahn, immediate past national president of the Sierra Club, was speaking Friday with reporters defending...

In the primary, Angelides, the state treasurer, leads Westly, the state controller, 35 percent to 32 percent, which is within the poll's margin of error. One-third of likely voters — 33 percent — say they are undecided. There's a different kind of ambivalence about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. By a margin of 57 percent to 30 percent, voters say they like his revised budget proposal, with even a plurality of Democrats giving him the benefit of the doubt on that issue. And at least two-thirds of those polled, and 70 percent of likely voters, say they supported the top priorities in...

Actor-director Rob Reiner on Thursday wrote a $1.65 million check to boost the closing campaign for Proposition 82, his initiative to tax wealthy residents to pay for free preschool. Reiner's donation pushes his total contributions to the campaign to $2.8 million. His wife, photographer Michelle Singer Reiner, has donated $1.3 million to the initiative, and his father, writer-comedian Carl Reiner, has contributed $500,000. Meanwhile, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Steve Westly and Phil Angelides are both opening their wallets to give their campaigns new infusions of cash, according to announcements by the campaigns and reports filed with the secretary of state's office....

Schwarzenegger's job approval ratings dropped to 36 percent among 2,000 adults questioned in a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. Among 986 likely voters, his approval rating was at 42 percent, down from 46 percent a month ago. Both Democratic candidates matched up evenly with Schwarzenegger in head-to-head hypothetical pairings, though nearly a quarter of those polled remain undecided. Angelides was tied with the governor at 38 percent, while Westly was tied at 36 percent. With 12 days to go before the primary, Angelides pulled slightly ahead of Westly -- 35 percent to 32 percent -- after being...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remains mired in low job approval ratings, despite the streak of good news he had hoped would give him a boost. Even with $5 billion in surplus revenue, a popular $37 billion public works bond deal, and glowing photos ops at every turn as he signs bills around the state, Schwarzenegger's job approval ratings dropped to 36 percent among 2,000 adults questioned in a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll, released today, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points and showed a two-point decline for Schwarzenegger since last...

Defining the issues remains a cut above slandering opponent - With the hue and cry about mudslinging and attack ads in the Democratic race for governor between state Controller Steve Westly and Treasurer Phil Angelides, one battle-scarred political veteran is sitting back and marveling at the fray. Former Democratic state Sen. David Roberti, watching the tone of the current primary campaign, said his political career -- including 14 years as state Senate leader -- ended after he lost a race that featured "the meanest ad ever run in contemporary politics'' during his 1994 Democratic primary for state treasurer against Angelides....

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...

The Democratic primary for governor is heating up as Phil Angelides and Steve Westly wage war on TV. But rather than focus on more typical Democratic issues like the environment or abortion rights, the candidates are brawling like Republicans over who is more likely to raise taxes. The turn of events is welcome news for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose fall campaign is expected to center in large part on his refusal to raise taxes, despite pressure from Democrats. "They're helping to label each other as tax-and-spend liberals," said Republican consultant Kevin Spillane. "Arnold couldn't ask for more." But much of...

A TV ad run by Steve Westly accuses Phil Angelides of favoring tax increases totaling $10 billion. State Controller Steve Westly launched an ad last week accusing his gubernatorial rival, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, of proposing $10 billion in tax increases, the first commercial in the campaign to attack an opponent by name. The 30-second television spot is airing statewide. Following is the text of the ad and an analysis by Kevin Yamamura of The Bee Capitol Bureau: * NARRATOR: Phil Angelides has proposed what the L.A. Daily News called a "massive tax increase." Angelides has called for raising income...

THE STANDARD, if wistful, line among Democratic insiders has been that it doesn't matter whether Treasurer Phil Angelides or Controller Steve Westly wins the Democratic gubernatorial primary, because, "You can't beat something with nothing." I think they are wrong, that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can be beat after the bruising defeat of all four initiatives he endorsed in November. But Wednesday's debate, sponsored by The Chronicle and CBS5-TV, showed that the Dems won't have an easy choice on June 6. Angelides won the debate -- and I say that as one who thinks that Westly would be a better governor than...

The Democratic candidates for governor didn't mean to -- but they gave the voters a step-by-step televised demonstration this week of why, when it comes to beating Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November, it just might be time to start humming the theme from "Mission Impossible." Name-dropping: In the first 10 minutes, Angelides replayed the list of his endorsements -- Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, the California Democratic Party, etc., etc. -- over and over. Hey, this was "Decision: 2006,'' not "Pimp My Ride.'' -- What's to disagree on? Westly and Angelides were twins on the McCain-Kennedy...

SACRAMENTO — Soon after taking office in January 2003, state Controller Steve Westly began helping three venture capital firms land multimillion-dollar investments from California's giant pension system, according to public records including e-mails and officials' calendars. Westly, now running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, received campaign donations from individuals associated with each of the funds, campaign finance records show. At any given time, hundreds of fund managers are angling for CalPERS investments. Westly is one of 13 members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System board, and as the state's chief financial officer, one of the most influential. The funds...

Controller race draws a crowd They’re all competing for the key job described by one as ‘the CFO for the sixth-largest economy in the world’ By Bob Cuddy The four candidates running for state controller. What a controller does (PDF) Ask the average Californian what the state controller does, and you’ll likely hear, "What’s that?" says state Sen. Joe Dunn, who wants the job. But Dunn and his opponents know better. "You’re the CFO for the sixth-largest economy in the world," says John Chiang, also a candidate for state controller on the June 6 ballot. Chiang and Dunn are opposing...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one lucky fellow, which is to say he’s smart enough not to make the same mistakes twice. If I were a betting woman in this bluest of blue states, I’d put my money on the Terminator to win re-election, no small feat when you consider that every single other statewide office here is held by a Democrat. Let me make my biases clear at the outset. I’m a Democrat, but I don’t have a horse in this race. I’ve known Phil Angelides, one of his opponents, since 1988, when he was an early supporter of my presidential...

As the Senate and Assembly early Friday ended months of rancorous debate to put a $37.3 billion public-works borrowing plan on the November ballot, a new debate is fast emerging: Who deserves credit for state government's most significant achievement in more than a year -- and will California's warring political factions be able to campaign effectively for it among voters? But the public-works package that passed the Legislature at 3 a.m. Friday will appear on the same ballot as Schwarzenegger's re-election bid. His Democratic opponent -- either Treasurer Phil Angelides or Controller Steve Westly, both of whom support the bond...

Many words have been written and spoken - for good reason - about the California Republican Party's tendency to blow chances of winning statewide offices by presenting a stridently right-wing face, thus alienating moderate voters who are decisive in any major contested race. More recently, however, the state's Republicans have been presenting a more moderate image of themselves. Cultural conservatives have given way, albeit reluctantly, to more pragmatic leaders from the business wing of the party, and Arnold Schwarzenegger proved in 2003 that Republicans could still win in California if they consciously cultivated independents and moderates. With those developments, the...

In the “Stand” spot, Westly says, “I’m Steve Westly – before I ask for your vote, I owe it to you to tell you where I stand. I’m strongly pro-choice and I believe protecting our environment is fundamental. As governor, I’ll make education my top priority.” Then the announcer adds, “Steve Westly. Require big corporations to provide adequate health insurance, expand the Healthy Families Program, incentives for hybrid vehicles and solar energy, stop any new offshore drilling.” Steve Westly is proud to have won endorsements from a diverse array of people and organizations including the Sierra Club, the United Farm...

They're focused on the Capitol's perpetual war between business and the big four Democratic Party subfactions: labor unions, personal injury lawyers, environmentalists and consumer protection advocates. Other conflicts come and go, but this power struggle has dominated the Capitol for decades, manifesting itself in a yearly agenda of specific issues with immense economic consequences for those involved. The past two years have been bleak ones for the Big 4 because Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has aligned himself with the California Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, rejecting nearly all of the measures they had dubbed "job killers." Schwarzenegger and...

Angelides has been party chairman, has most of the state's big-name Democrats backing him and he's the choice of the special interest groups that traditionally align themselves with Democrats. And at the state Democratic convention last weekend, Angelides won the endorsement, an affirmation that he's the choice of Democratic activists. You know what you're getting with Angelides _ a solid old-school Democrat. His campaign Web site brags that he will "Bring true Democratic values back to California." But much of Westly's success so far comes from being seen as a 21st century Democrat, sort of a party wobbler who doesn't...

Los Angeles -- State Treasurer Phil Angelides accused Controller Steve Westly of inflating his accomplishments while Westly jabbed at Angelides' past as a developer during a debate Wednesday in the Democratic primary race for governor. Angelides repeatedly challenged Westly's claim that he brought in $3.5 billion for the state through a tax amnesty program, saying some government figures showed it closer to $1 billion. Westly countered with attacks on Angelides work as a real estate developer, hoping to undermine his credibility on the environment in their debate at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. He criticized Angelides for a...

During the rallies, Schwarzenegger left the state -- and neither Angelides nor Westly issued a statement -- In California, where the emotional nationwide debate over immigration came to life Monday when hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets, the three leading candidates for governor have been surprisingly passive in the discussion over the role of immigrants -- despite their personal connections to the issue. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born immigrant and naturalized American citizen. Democratic Controller Steve Westly is married and has two children with a China-born immigrant, Anita Yu, who arrived in this country as...

Adding some needed oomph to Treasurer Phil Angelides' down-in-the-polls campaign for governor, California Democratic Party delegates voted Saturday to endorse him over opponent Steve Westly. And it wasn't close. Angelides received 67.2 percent of the delegate vote, compared to 28.1 percent for Westly late Saturday, the same day a Los Angeles Times poll showed Westly with a 13-point lead among likely Democratic primary voters. Now, Angelides heads into the June Primary with bragging rights. It was the first time the party had bestowed a pre-primary endorsement in a contested governor's race in 16 years. Voting took place Saturday evening, and...

Good morning delegates! I have a few questions for you this morning. Do you believe that in the Governor’s office, we have the wrong man with the wrong plan? Do you believe that we have to take this state back from the special interests? Do you believe that every student deserves a good education? That every person deserves affordable health care? That every Californian deserves clean air and clean water? Finally, do you believe it’s time for Arnold get to work on his next movie: the One Terminator? If we’re going to make that happen, we have to remember one...

Until recently, Doug Case supported state Treasurer Phil Angelides for governor, but the 51-year-old Democratic Party delegate said he's beginning to change his mind. "If you asked me a few months ago, I would have said I was voting for Angelides. But now I'm probably leaning toward Westly," said Case, a coordinator for fraternities and sororities at a San Diego university, who attended this weekend's California Democratic Party Convention. "My top priority is to defeat Arnold." His reason for potentially flipping allegiances illustrates a growing problem for Angelides, a millionaire land developer and former party chairman who has most of...

SACRAMENTO -- Hoping to head off a messy fight for the Democratic Party endorsement, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will ask the Democratic candidates for governor to avoid attacking each other. "I think there's no greater gift for the Republicans than for this convention to dissolve into finger-pointing and infighting," Newsom told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. He will open the state party's weekend convention with its kickoff speech Friday night. Newsom said Democrats nationally and in California appear weak compared to Republicans because they have shrunk from defending their ideals. Although he has been fiercely critical of...

Angelides, Westly vie for their party's endorsement in race for governor. When they first met in 1991, Sacramento developer Phil Angelides and investment banker Steve Westly belonged to opposing factions within the California Democratic Party. Angelides successfully ran to replace former Gov. Jerry Brown as state party chairman at the annual convention. Westly backed Angelides rival Mitch Fine in a contentious battle between political leaders and local activists. Entering this weekend's state Democratic convention in Sacramento 15 years later, Angelides and Westly are engaged in another dogfight as they both run for governor in the June 6 primary. An estimated...

It was a news flash from the Phil Angelides for Governor campaign. "United Farm Workers Endorses Phil Angelides for Governor," the e-mail was headlined. "We believe you will be a Governor who will strongly represent the interests of farm workers and all the people of California," UFW President Arturo Rodriguez wrote in a letter quoted by the Angelides campaign. "You have shown your firm commitment to the right of farm workers to improve their lives." That was huge news for the Angelides campaign, since the UFW and their founder, Cesar Chavez, are icons to the voters the state treasurer needs...

If every picture tells a story, the low-key images in Steve Westly's television ads are spinning a tale that's enthralling California Democrats. Since Westly, the state controller running for governor, went on the air in February with a multimillion-dollar package of soft, feel-good TV spots introducing himself to voters, he has watched his poll numbers soar. "They're not called image ads for nothing,'' said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Sacramento State University. A Field Poll taken last October showed Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides with a 37 percent to 26...

Democrats Angelides and Westly have little name recognition, must establish an identity to win primary - SACRAMENTO - To hear the candidates tell it, there's a world of difference between state Controller Steve Westly and Treasurer Phil Angelides, the leading Democrats seeking their party's approval to take on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the November election. But in reality, Westly and Angelides have so much in common -- starting with the fact that most voters don't know who the two self-made millionaires are -- that it may come down to which candidate does the best job of redefining the other.Both gubernatorial...

Listen to state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who proposes a plan to cut gasoline consumption in the state by 25 percent over the next 10 years, principally by forcing automakers to sell cars that can also run on “biofuels” derived from agricultural waste - things such as fruit pits, corn husks and cobs, and more. “The governor says he wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but then he promotes his ‘strategic growth initiative,' which does nothing to ensure cutting anything,” Angelides said. In fact, the Schwarzenegger “strategic growth” plan would widen freeways, build new toll roads and truck lanes, retrofit bridges...

SACRAMENTO, CA – A recent Los Angeles Times article revealed that California State Controller and gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly helped guide $5 million in pension funds to a venture capital firm run by two well-connected campaign contributors. Taxpayers and public employees should be concerned because this quid pro quo is the latest example of how politicians use California’s public employee retirement systems to benefit their campaign cronies. In 2003, Healthpoint Partners LP, a venture capital fund that invests in medical equipment companies, met with the investment team at CalPERS, the $207 billion pension fund that provides retirement security for 1.4...

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly said Friday he'll unleash an expanded team of auditors to "wring the inefficiency" out of state government and help close a $5 billion budget shortfall if he is elected California's top executive. In a meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau, Westly, the state controller and the new leading Democratic gubernatorial contender, came across as a candidate for accountant-in-chief as he sketched out financial charts and figures on an easel board. The former eBay executive proposed increasing the number of state auditors by nearly one-fifth - from 210 to 250 - and said he would seek additional...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released three years of tax returns Friday, showing that the actor turned politician is now making more money in investments than he is through his movie company. Schwarzenegger reported earning a $4.2 million salary in 2004, largely from film revenue, which was a significant drop from the $18 million he made in 2002 when he starred in Terminator 3. But in his first full year as governor, Schwarzenegger accumulated most of his income through capital gains, according to copies of tax returns that his investment firm allowed reporters to read but not copy. Schwarzenegger's tax returns showed...

Let's call this a real-life lesson in Politics 1-A: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the wake of a massive rejection of his "year of reform" ballot measures, adopted a more conciliatory attitude toward the Legislature, proposed a multiyear program of infrastructure improvements that resonated with voters and has been pursuing a theme-of-the-week strategy. One week it was economic improvement, the next it was educational reform and this week it has been environmental protection - all aimed at demonstrating to Californians that he's trying to improve their lives. The result, recent polls indicate, is that Schwarzenegger's approval ratings are slowly, but surely,...

SACRAMENTO - Steve Westly's relentless, multimillion-dollar barrage of television commercials pitching his campaign for governor appears to be paying political dividends. A Field Poll released today shows the former eBay executive from Atherton now has an 11-point advantage over his June Democratic primary opponent, Phil Angelides. Westly, the state controller, has had a dramatic, double-digit jump in support from potential voters across California over the past two months. He previously trailed Angelides, the state treasurer, by eight percentage points but now leads with 37 percent of the vote. What's more: Westly, at great expense to Angelides, has siphoned a significant...

Controller Steve Westly and Treasurer Phil Angelides put aside their campaign differences today to support Prop. 82, the Preschool for All initiative at Children’s Institute in Los Angeles. Calling the initiative a critical investment in our education system, the two leading candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination urged Californians to pass Prop. 82 in June. “Every child in California deserves a world-class education and the opportunity to attend quality preschool,” said Treasurer Angelides. “As State Treasurer, I am fighting to fully fund our schools, because giving our children the resources they need and access to preschool is essential if we...

SACRAMENTO -- Steve Westly, the Democratic state controller who once collaborated with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and is now seeking to replace him, said it was a "tragedy for California" that the governor did not stay on his original bipartisan course. Now that Schwarzenegger is again courting Democrats, "no one quite knows what he stands for," Westly said during an hour-long interview this week with The Associated Press. Westly, 49, has an urgent need to deflect attacks by his rival for the Democratic nomination for governor, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, that he was a toady to Schwarzenegger at the height of...

(snip) Schwarzenegger has by all indications given up on balancing the budget. Although revenues are growing strongly, he seems bent on spending all of the new money and then some and projects a $6 billion operational deficit in his 2006-07 budget, with income-outgo gaps continuing indefinitely. He blames Capitol politics and mandated spending for the continuing deficits and says he needs the authority that voters refused to give him last year to unilaterally make spending cuts. Treasurer Phil Angelides, one of the Democratic hopefuls, insists that he has a plan to both close the deficit and "fully fund" public education,...