Dem Club President Tom Camarella is pretty sure his cozy club, more than fifty years old, never before has attempted such an ambitious adventure. “In the South Bay, they heard about what we were doing,” said Mr. Camarella, “and they wanted to do the same thing. So they did. Since we had the candidates in the afternoon, they brought all of them in for a morning session.” With that, Mr. Camarella stepped into his club president mode. “The South Bay brought together thirty-one Democratic Clubs as co-sponsors,” he said. “This means that our Culver City club was responsible for involving forty-eight clubs besides our own. It was a great day.”
Mr. Camarella credited the unexpectedly large turnout to an old-fashioned value of Democrats: They wanted to see their candidates in the flesh. Knowing what they believe or what they say were insufficient. With so many forms of media crowding the marketplace with information on events of all sizes, and events of questionable importance, there was nothing like going face-to-face, enthusiastic participants said. The magic man for most was former Gov. Jerry Brown. He may have more “formers” than futures to his name, but, heartily, he is running for office again. Running for office is what he clearly does best because he usually wins. Most recently, Linda Ronstadt’s onetime boyfriend was the mayor of Oakland. Next on his to-do list is running for Attorney General, either because he hasn’t done that yet or the chair was available. There was no question that Mr. Brown was a magnet for the loudest cheers, at least in part because he is the one genuine celebrity in this year’s field. He has his material down better than a veteran Shakespeare actor, or even Shakespeare’s illegitimate son. Still easily recognizable, neighborhood Democratic partisans said they would know him anywhere, even if his appearance has adjusted over the decades. In late middle age, or early something-else age, Mr. Brown’s pate is shinier than it used to be, and his pure gray eyebrows are a lot shaggier than they used to be.
The Presumed Headliners
Gubernatorial candidates Steve Westly and Phil Angelides, putatively speaking, were technically the stars of the afternoon. Except only the most rabid recognize them on sight. Neither yet knows from charisma. Mr. Brown, undeniably, possesses it, by the bag full. Mr. Westly and Mr. Angelides don’t yet need more than a thimble to hold their charisma. Both gentlemen will need far more face time in the media before they can even remotely approach Mr. Brown’s lofty orbit of popularity.
Terry McNally of radio KPFK (90.7 FM) moderated the program,and as television and print journalists noted, he took his duties seriously. He ran the questioning as if he were a train engineer dedicated to punctuality, as if the hands of the clock were sticks of lit dynamite. Mr. McNally did not deviate one whisker from the schedule.
Putting the Death Penalty to Death
Infused with a fresh dash of vigor, the Culver City Democratic Club was inspired to hustle its May newsletter into print. Included was this essay by newsletter editor Michael Stivers:
“Some candidates at (last Saturday’s) forum were asked if they would support a moratorium on the death penalty in California. Of the three seeking the office of Lieutenant Governor, only Liz Figueroa said she would be in favor of suspending capital punishment. I was pleased with her other answers. But that answer insured that I will be voting for her in the June primary. Why do I support at least a moratorium on the death penalty? I recently saw a documentary entitled ‘After Innocence.’ It profiled some people who had been wrongly convicted but were released due to DNA evidence. One of them was awaiting execution on a charge of rape and murder. In 2000, when the Governor of Illinois put a moratorium on the death penalty, he said, ‘I cannot support a system that has proven so fraught with error.’ Certainly there are good people who still support use of the death penalty. But are they in good company? The United States is in the company of North Korea, China and Iran. And our governor is in the company of Bush, who, in his gubernatorial term in Texas, had one hundred and thirteen persons put to death, with clemency granted in only one case.”
Before leaving for home, some sixty members of the Culver City Democratic Club voted to endorse the following Democratic candidates for the June primary:
Governor — Phil Angelides
Attorney General — Jerry Brown
Board of Equalization — Judy Chu
Secretary of State — Debra Bowen
School Superintendent — Jack O’Connell
Insurance Commissioner — Cruz Bustamante
Judges and County Offices
County Assessor — Rick Auerbach
Judges — John Gutierrez, Richard Kraft, C. Edward Mack, Lynn D. Olson and Daniel J.Lowenthal