pure political phony an interesting anecdote about your good friend gray . . . .
" this man , in his official capacity , has no nexus with the issue of power or energy and he has no nexus with the issue of ethics or conflict of interests , " south asserted . " he ' s a pure political phony . "
the state
renewed ethics attacks put davis on the defensive
* politics : the governor ' s conflict - of - interest problems with his energy advisors give gop rival bill jones a ray of hope for his struggling campaign
by mark z . barabak , times political writer
in 1998 , when gray davis first ran for governor , his republican rival tested a series of attacks on davis ' ethical conduct .
there were charges that he improperly used state workers in a previous campaign , accusations that he placed cronies on the state payroll and questions about possible conflicts surrounding davis ' voracious fund - raising activities .
but when voters heard the allegations , they simply shrugged them off . the response was , " he ' s a politician . of course he does stuff like that , " recalled one gop strategist who sat in on the voter interviews conducted for republican nominee dan lungren . the campaign shelved its line of attack and democrat davis romped to a landslide victory .
now he is under renewed assault for alleged ethical lapses , this time surrounding the state ' s electricity crisis . the issue has put the governor and his campaign aides on the defensive just as the state ' s power crunch appears to have finally eased .
the charges have also invigorated the struggling campaign of bill jones , the republican secretary of state and davis ' sole declared rival in the race for governor . last week , jones called the conflict - of - interest allegations " one of the most significant , pervasive and costly " ethics scandals in california history .
but as yet , there has been no evidence of profiteering on the part of davis ' energy advisors , let alone the governor himself . and unless there is some proof , many observers doubt that the revelations will seriously set back the governor ' s reelection prospects in november 2002 .
" i don ' t see this becoming a dominant campaign issue , " said jim knox , executive director of california common cause , the good government group and one of davis ' most prominent critics . " it ' s likely that the more resonant issue . . . is going to be how well the overall crisis was resolved or not resolved . "
that said , knox worries that the controversy will only contribute to the corrosive cynicism turned up in lungren ' s focus group interviews .
" the danger is that this could undermine the public ' s confidence in state government ' s ability to resolve this crisis in their best interest , " knox said . " it does surprise me that the governor ' s office , with all of its experience and talent , could so cavalierly disregard the state ' s conflict - of - interest laws , which , to me , appears to be what happened . "
the controversy involves nearly a dozen davis administration officials with financial ties to some of the major energy companies doing business in california . their investments surfaced months after the officials should have filed economic disclosure statements - - revelations that resulted , in part , from jones ' pressure . five of them have been fired and others are facing state or federal investigations .
garry south , the governor ' s chief political strategist , points to the firings as evidence of davis ' probity . " clearly , if the governor ' s office did not feel there was a conflict of interest there , they would not have been fired , " south said .
as for others in the administration who may have failed to promptly disclose their ties to the energy industry , " there is absolutely nothing illegal about anyone on the governor ' s staff - - or anyone in state government - - owning stock in any company whatsoever , " south said .
even so , davis ' top spokesman , steve maviglio , earlier this month sold his 300 shares of stock in a california power company after news of his holdings surfaced . maviglio said he lost $ 1 , 300 in the transaction .
at the least , the revelations have been a distraction for davis at a time when he would rather boast about a blackout - free summer .
" it is a mistake that didn ' t need to be made and shouldn ' t have been made , " said gale kaufman , a sacramento campaign consultant and one of the rare democratic strategists willing to publicly criticize the governor . " the fact that it took a while to correct it creates an image problem he didn ' t need . "
republicans , of course , see a larger problem .
" he ' s either incompetent or there is corruption within his administration , " said rob stutzman , a spokesman for the california republican party . " and we think it starts with the tone and example he sets with those who work for him . "
in characteristically pugnacious fashion , the davis campaign has sought to turn jones ' charges around by accusing the secretary of state of exploiting his public office for political gain .
" this man , in his official capacity , has no nexus with the issue of power or energy and he has no nexus with the issue of ethics or conflict of interests , " south asserted . " he ' s a pure political phony . "
but jones said political oversight falls well within his purview as the state ' s chief elections officer . " for the governor ' s office to say that i don ' t have any jurisdiction in this area or shouldn ' t be able to speak to it is patently false , " jones said .
new life for jones ' campaign
whatever his stake , there is no question that the attention has given life to jones ' campaign while he is fighting desperately to sustain his gubernatorial bid .
the $ 960 , 000 in contributions that jones reported for the first six months of the year is embarrassingly small by california standards , and the bush white house has all but formally endorsed rival richard riordan , who is still exploring the race .
( fellow republican william e . simon jr . , a los angeles investment banker , has been campaigning for governor for months but has yet to officially declare his candidacy . )
but ironically , for all jones ' efforts , it may be riordan who is best able to capitalize on the ethics controversy . unlike simon , a political neophyte , and jones , an 18 - year officeholder , riordan had a decades - long business career before serving two terms as los angeles mayor .
" he ' s cut from a different cloth , " said don sipple , a gop strategist who is neutral in the governor ' s race . " if this serves to remind people that politics is a slimy game , riordan can point to the fact he didn ' t start public service until he was more than 60 years old . "
but even while insisting that davis did nothing wrong , strategists say voters will make a careful distinction between the governor ' s professional conduct and any evidence of personal enrichment . and davis ' best defense , they argue , is his famously modest lifestyle - - a frugality symbolized during his 1998 campaign by his cramped west hollywood home .
if anyone thinks davis has used his office to get rich , one advisor said , " all [ wife ] sharon has to do is throw open the door to their condo . "
pure political phony
an interesting anecdote about your good friend gray . . . .
" this man , in his official capacity , has no nexus with the issue of power or energy and he has no nexus with the issue of ethics or conflict of interests , " south asserted . " he ' s a pure political phony . "
the state
renewed ethics attacks put davis on the defensive
* politics : the governor ' s conflict - of - interest problems with his energy advisors give gop rival bill jones a ray of hope for his struggling campaign
by mark z . barabak , times political writer
in 1998 , when gray davis first ran for governor , his republican rival tested a series of attacks on davis ' ethical conduct .
there were charges that he improperly used state workers in a previous campaign , accusations that he placed cronies on the state payroll and questions about possible conflicts surrounding davis ' voracious fund - raising activities .
but when voters heard the allegations , they simply shrugged them off . the response was , " he ' s a politician . of course he does stuff like that , " recalled one gop strategist who sat in on the voter interviews conducted for republican nominee dan lungren . the campaign shelved its line of attack and democrat davis romped to a landslide victory .
now he is under renewed assault for alleged ethical lapses , this time surrounding the state ' s electricity crisis . the issue has put the governor and his campaign aides on the defensive just as the state ' s power crunch appears to have finally eased .
the charges have also invigorated the struggling campaign of bill jones , the republican secretary of state and davis ' sole declared rival in the race for governor . last week , jones called the conflict - of - interest allegations " one of the most significant , pervasive and costly " ethics scandals in california history .
but as yet , there has been no evidence of profiteering on the part of davis ' energy advisors , let alone the governor himself . and unless there is some proof , many observers doubt that the revelations will seriously set back the governor ' s reelection prospects in november 2002 .
" i don ' t see this becoming a dominant campaign issue , " said jim knox , executive director of california common cause , the good government group and one of davis ' most prominent critics . " it ' s likely that the more resonant issue . . . is going to be how well the overall crisis was resolved or not resolved . "
that said , knox worries that the controversy will only contribute to the corrosive cynicism turned up in lungren ' s focus group interviews .
" the danger is that this could undermine the public ' s confidence in state government ' s ability to resolve this crisis in their best interest , " knox said . " it does surprise me that the governor ' s office , with all of its experience and talent , could so cavalierly disregard the state ' s conflict - of - interest laws , which , to me , appears to be what happened . "
the controversy involves nearly a dozen davis administration officials with financial ties to some of the major energy companies doing business in california . their investments surfaced months after the officials should have filed economic disclosure statements - - revelations that resulted , in part , from jones ' pressure . five of them have been fired and others are facing state or federal investigations .
garry south , the governor ' s chief political strategist , points to the firings as evidence of davis ' probity . " clearly , if the governor ' s office did not feel there was a conflict of interest there , they would not have been fired , " south said .
as for others in the administration who may have failed to promptly disclose their ties to the energy industry , " there is absolutely nothing illegal about anyone on the governor ' s staff - - or anyone in state government - - owning stock in any company whatsoever , " south said .
even so , davis ' top spokesman , steve maviglio , earlier this month sold his 300 shares of stock in a california power company after news of his holdings surfaced . maviglio said he lost $ 1 , 300 in the transaction .
at the least , the revelations have been a distraction for davis at a time when he would rather boast about a blackout - free summer .
" it is a mistake that didn ' t need to be made and shouldn ' t have been made , " said gale kaufman , a sacramento campaign consultant and one of the rare democratic strategists willing to publicly criticize the governor . " the fact that it took a while to correct it creates an image problem he didn ' t need . "
republicans , of course , see a larger problem .
" he ' s either incompetent or there is corruption within his administration , " said rob stutzman , a spokesman for the california republican party . " and we think it starts with the tone and example he sets with those who work for him . "
in characteristically pugnacious fashion , the davis campaign has sought to turn jones ' charges around by accusing the secretary of state of exploiting his public office for political gain .
" this man , in his official capacity , has no nexus with the issue of power or energy and he has no nexus with the issue of ethics or conflict of interests , " south asserted . " he ' s a pure political phony . "
but jones said political oversight falls well within his purview as the state ' s chief elections officer . " for the governor ' s office to say that i don ' t have any jurisdiction in this area or shouldn ' t be able to speak to it is patently false , " jones said .
new life for jones ' campaign
whatever his stake , there is no question that the attention has given life to jones ' campaign while he is fighting desperately to sustain his gubernatorial bid .
the $ 960 , 000 in contributions that jones reported for the first six months of the year is embarrassingly small by california standards , and the bush white house has all but formally endorsed rival richard riordan , who is still exploring the race .
( fellow republican william e . simon jr . , a los angeles investment banker , has been campaigning for governor for months but has yet to officially declare his candidacy . )
but ironically , for all jones ' efforts , it may be riordan who is best able to capitalize on the ethics controversy . unlike simon , a political neophyte , and jones , an 18 - year officeholder , riordan had a decades - long business career before serving two terms as los angeles mayor .
" he ' s cut from a different cloth , " said don sipple , a gop strategist who is neutral in the governor ' s race . " if this serves to remind people that politics is a slimy game , riordan can point to the fact he didn ' t start public service until he was more than 60 years old . "
but even while insisting that davis did nothing wrong , strategists say voters will make a careful distinction between the governor ' s professional conduct and any evidence of personal enrichment . and davis ' best defense , they argue , is his famously modest lifestyle - - a frugality symbolized during his 1998 campaign by his cramped west hollywood home .
if anyone thinks davis has used his office to get rich , one advisor said , " all [ wife ] sharon has to do is throw open the door to their condo . "