Free Republic

Los Angeles -- State Treasurer Phil Angelides accused Controller Steve Westly of inflating his accomplishments while Westly jabbed at Angelides' past as a developer during a debate Wednesday in the Democratic primary race for governor. Angelides repeatedly challenged Westly's claim that he brought in $3.5 billion for the state through a tax amnesty program, saying some government figures showed it closer to $1 billion. Westly countered with attacks on Angelides work as a real estate developer, hoping to undermine his credibility on the environment in their debate at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. He criticized Angelides for a...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger holds a solid lead over either Democratic challenger in a head-to-head battle in the November election, at least among those who have a preference, but 30 percent of likely voters remain undecided, according to a nonpartisan poll released today. The survey, by the Public Policy Institute of California, is wide ranging but a theme emerges: The news is good, or at least better, for the governor on virtually all fronts - and it's clear his two Democratic challengers have a lot of work to do. One-on-one, Schwarzenegger holds an 8 percentage point advantage...

The more California Democrats hear from their two candidates for governor, it seems, the more confused the voters become. And the better Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger does against both of them. Treasurer Phil Angelides and Controller Steve Westly are the major Democrats fighting for their party's nomination and the right to face off against Schwarzenegger in the fall. Angelides is the angry one, the "anti-Arnold" who has opposed almost everything the governor has tried to do since he was elected in October 2003. A former real estate developer and party operative who has been treasurer since 1999, Angelides opposes most of...

Conflict sharpens as Westly and Angelides promote themselves as most trustworthy. With little else to dispute, the two Democrats vying to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are tussling over the most basic of voter questions: Whom can you trust? At campaign stops around the state, each of the Democrats — state Treasurer Phil Angelides and Controller Steve Westly — has been touting himself for weeks as the one who holds truest to his convictions. This week, millions of Californians will get their first glimpse of the rivalry as the two launch three months of nearly statewide television advertising. The candidates are...

<p>Steve Westly's hard-fought bid for state controller now comes down to the methodical counting of late votes -- and it may be weeks before the former eBay vice president knows whether he won.</p> <p>On Friday, scores of campaign volunteers descended on the state's 58 county elections offices to monitor the tedious sorting, opening, checking and counting of more than 600,000 ballots. Hundreds of elections officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles counties planned to count through the weekend, but some smaller counties were not expected to finish the preliminary work and begin their tally until late next week.</p>