Steady as he goes (CA #2 Bustamante)

SJ Mercury News ^ | 1/20/03 | Edwin Garcia

[NormsRevenge]

Steady as he goes The man with the best chance at becoming California's first Latino governor in more than a century has some unfinished business his mother has long been pestering him about. By Edwin Garcia / Mercury News Steady as he goes EVERYMAN IMAGE HAS SERVED BUSTAMANTE WELL -- SO FAR By Edwin Garcia Mercury News Mercury News Archives Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante The man with the best chance at becoming California's first Latino governor in more than a century has some unfinished business his mother has long been pestering him about. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a self-described average guy who worked in the fields as a teenager, is one class shy of receiving a bachelor's degree. He plans to graduate, finally, this semester. Bustamante's long journey to graduation is emblematic of his plodding personal style, unusual in so successful a politician. But as the 50-year-old Democrat contemplates a run for the state's most powerful position, the same everyman image that has propelled Bustamante to the forefront of state politics could hurt him in a race against potential candidates who are more politically aggressive. ``Cruz doesn't like to look too far into the future as for higher office,'' said John Navarrette, a childhood friend who worked on Bustamante's first campaign for lieutenant governor. ``He's always enjoyed encouragement and being pushed to the next level by supporters.'' In a Field Poll survey of candidates running for statewide office last summer, Bustamante, vying for re-election, scored a better image rating than any of the three likely candidates he could face in the 2006 Democratic primary: Treasurer Phil Angelides, Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. ``I'm a fairly simple, straightforward guy,'' Bustamante said in his Sacramento office. ``What you see is what you get.'' Hates fundraising Read the rest of the article Here

[NormsRevenge]

He has experienced one very public gaffe: In a February 2001 speech before an African-American organization in Emeryville, he tripped over a sentence containing a succession of references to the word ``Negro,'' and accidentally said the ``N-word.'' Several people in the audience walked out.

How about your support of and from La Raza? Oh, and what is Aztlan? Where does your loyalty lie anyway?

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[Amerigomag]

Be wary of this fine fellow. He has no past.

There are bits and pieces in the published record but no complete biography.

He has mentioned, for the record, that he is a "first generation" Californian but after that things get really vague. No mention of the past or present geopolitical status of his biological parents or much about his early years. Dinuba, Tranquility and Fresno are all referenced as "homes" by various articles but never a mention of a government issued birth certificate or exact date of birth.

One might conclude that he could be the child of illegal aliens with no positive proof that he was born in the US. Should be interesting if he runs for governor and comes under some public scrutiny outside the liberal, California press.