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« Philly-DA: Philly Bloggers at it Again | Main | Explain This to Me »

Thursday, April 28, 2005

CA-Gov: A.G. Bill Lockyer Abandons Gubernatorial Bid

Posted by Bob Brigham

AP:

Attorney General Bill Lockyer abandoned plans to run for governor next year and will instead run for state treasurer, a source close to Lockyer told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Lockyer, who told reporters as recently as last month that he planned to run for the Democratic nomination to take on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was expected to announce his new plans Thursday afternoon. [...]

Lockyer's surprise decision transforms the field of Democrats vying to succeed Angelides in 2006. They include Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove; John Chiang, a member of the state Board of Equalization; and Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer, D-Glendale.

For anyone not closely following California politics, it is now readily clear that Phil Angelides is the top dog moving up while Lockyer tries for Angelides' hand-me-downs.

more...

Winners

  • Angelides: officially the top Democrat in the state.

  • The Party: Democrats still mad about Lockyer's re-call vote can now brag that such actions will not be rewarded.

  • LGBT Activists: One of the clearest contrasts between Angelides and Lockyer was over gay marriage. In addition to gay activists being vindicated by the court, they have also been proven as enough of a power to scare out Lockyer.

  • Schwarzenegger: An expensive primary would have focused on who could bash the Governator the most.

Losers

  • Lockyer: Best case scenario is now a demotion and the Sacto gossips will focus on his weakness.

  • Steve Westly: Controller Steve Westly was considering tossing his hat in the ring. It could be argued that he would have had a chance in a three-way race, but I just can't see any way he could best Angelides in a head-to-head matchup.

  • Other Treasurer Candidate: State Senator Joe Dunn, Board of Ed's John Chiang and Assemblymember Dario Frommer will now have to compete with Lockyer's $11 million warchest with Lockyer having the potential to win Treasurer out of pity as something of a consilation prize.

This will continue to break rapidly, stay tuned.

Posted at 03:23 PM in 2006 Elections - State, California | Technorati

Comments

Attorney General Bill Lockyer abandoned plans to run for governor next year and will instead run for state treasurer

Is this for real? That seems like an enormous step down, from AG to treasurer. I mean, maybe the offices have different powers in CA than in, say, NY (the state I'm most familiar with). But in NY, I can't imagine anyone deciding to run for Comptroller (the only equivalent state-wide elected office to treasurer) after being AG.

And certain, in the post-Spitzer world, being AG of a big state with a big staff of attorneys would seem to be a great job. There's so much good you can do - or, if you're venal, so many headlines you can make.

I guess Lockyer is term-limited out, though, right? First elected in 1998, re-elected in 2002. Wow, sucks for him.

Posted by: DavidNYC [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 28, 2005 03:37 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment