Seeking to shore up the liberal vote in Tuesday's election, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides yesterday in San Diego declared his opposition to the planned border fence and reaffirmed his support for same-sex marriage.
In a meeting with students and teachers at San Diego City College, Angelides responded to a student's question by saying he opposes the congressional bill recently signed by President Bush to build 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border because it wouldn't do any good.
“I don't agree with the 700-mile fence,” the state treasurer said. “I think it's not workable, it's not practical.”
Polls show Angelides trailing badly and still struggling to solidify support within his own party.
A Field Poll released this week showed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leading Angelides 49 percent to 33 percent. It also showed only 59 percent of the Democrats backing Angelides compared with 85 percent of the Republicans supporting Schwarzenegger.
At a time when candidates normally would be courting independent swing voters, Angelides continues to emphasize Democratic themes before Democratic audiences.
In contrast, Schwarzenegger campaigned yesterday not for himself but for the public works package on Tuesday's ballot, Propositions 1A through 1E. The Republican governor did so far off the beaten political path – in Prunedale and in Oakland, the state's most heavily Democratic major city.
In between, he held a private fundraising lunch in San Francisco with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
When Angelides was asked about immigration yesterday, he said, “I won't do what the governor did. I won't praise the Minutemen. I never try to agree with Bush on anything, but Bush called them vigilantes.”
Rhetoric aside, Angelides and Schwarzenegger largely agree on immigration policy.
Although Schwarzenegger did not criticize the border fence legislation, he said it was a small part of a comprehensive solution that should include a guest-worker program and a way for illegal residents to eventually become citizens.
Asked about same-sex marriage, Angelides said he favors it and that Schwarzenegger “wants to be on every side” of the issue.
“I just believe that the right thing to do is to allow people to enter into marriage, into loving relationships,” he said. “I believe it's the right thing and I want my state to be on the right side of history.”
Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation to legalize same-sex marriages this year, saying the voters had spoken on the subject when they passed Proposition 22 in 2000. He has also said he would be open to it if voters changed their minds.
State Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, joined Angelides at City College.
“As an openly gay elected official, of course marriage equality is a priority for me,” Kehoe said. “California is the first state legislature to pass a marriage equality bill, which was vetoed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. So we want to move forward and make sure that every Californian has the opportunity to have their relationship recognized.”
