CHICO – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly yesterday kicked off his stretch-run statewide bus tour outside a cafe here, promising a campaign that would take him where ordinary voters live and work.
Meanwhile, Westly filled the airwaves across California with tough new ads criticizing rival Phil Angelides as the race toward the June 6 primary election tightened.
A nonpartisan poll released yesterday by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that the race is dead even. But the survey showed that one-third of Democratic voters are undecided, suggesting the contest is likely to remain volatile.
Westly, the state controller, earlier in the campaign urged Angelides to sign a pledge against negative campaigning.
The ads he launched Tuesday evening criticize Angelides' record as a developer and blame him for flood-control problems in Sacramento.
On Tuesday, Angelides, the state treasurer, said he didn't mind negative ads because they provided training for the general election. But Angelides' environmental supporters and former Sacramento city officials called a news conference yesterday to criticize the ads.
“The attack ads that Mr. Westly put out are really unfair,” said Bill Edgar, former city manager of Sacramento. Edgar said Angelides has worked diligently to improve flood protection around the areas he has developed.
In Chico, outside the cafe, supporters of the two candidates reflected the contentious nature of the campaign by jostling with each other to position their campaign signs on the street.
One apparent Angelides backer mocked Westly's wealth by prancing around in a black cat suit and holding a sign saying “Fat Cats 4 Westly.”
Inside, Westly faced some sharp questions, including one from a resident who asked how a millionaire many times over could understand the problems of ordinary Californians.
The former eBay executive said that as soon as he and his wife, Anita, made their fortune from the online auction company, they set up a foundation to give money to organizations that provide public health, help immigrants and seek to improve education.
“I believe every Californian who has done well has the responsibility to give back,” he said.
One undecided voter, Georgianna Summers, a Chico resident, said she was impressed by Westly and would probably vote for him. “I felt he answered questions directly and didn't hedge,” she said.
Yet Summers said she doesn't like his negative ads. “I just hate it,” she said. “I know in November we'll get more of that no matter who wins.”
