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Davis Blames Crisis On State Republicans
But Democratic controller points at governor Carla Marinucci, John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writers Sunday, April 1, 2001 ,2001 San Francisco Chronicle URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/01/M N154353.DTL Anaheim -- The politics of energy dominated the state Democratic convention yesterday, as anxious delegates gave a lukewarm reception to embattled Gov. Gray Davis, who clashed bitterly with party rival, Controller Kathleen Connell. Speaking at the Anaheim convention center, where dimmed lights were a constant reminder of yesterday's Stage 2 alert, Davis blamed California's energy woes on former Gov. Pete Wilson, Republican lawmakers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which, he charged, has failed to regulate greedy energy firms selling power at "out of control prices." He insisted that he was not sure rate increases were necessary, refusing to say whether he would support huge hikes backed by the Public Utilities Commission last week. He suggested, however, that he favors a system of tiered electricity pricing. "These Republicans -- who were so enamored with deregulation just five years ago -- have become even more enamored with criticizing me as I try to clean up their mess," the governor said to tepid applause from the 1,900 delegates. "This deregulation disaster was authored by a Republican legislator, passed by a Republican Assembly, signed into law by a Republican governor and implemented with undue haste by a Republican PUC." But the governor's Republican-bashing was overshadowed politically by an attack by state Controller Connell, a candidate for Los Angeles mayor -- who rejected what she called Davis' "finger-pointing" and assailed his handling of the crisis. The dramatic development demonstrated both deepening rifts within California's ruling party and the high political stakes of the energy crisis. "There will be no excuses for Democrats in this state, because we dominate state government," Connell said in a convention speech in which she also outlined proposals to require "power hogs," such as malls, to install their own microgenerators. "I spent the past eight years making sure the state had a surplus, and now I'm seeing it eaten away every day by energy costs. . . . Whatever solution (the governor) provides must come fast and be shared openly with the people of California," she said in a dig at Davis, who has been criticized for moving too cautiously and for resisting disclosure of energy contracts to the public. Warning of the costs of "a delay and an incremental approach to an indefinite problem," she said, "I won't stand by and allow the consumers to pick up the tab." DAVIS DEFENDS POLICIES Asked to respond to Connell's critique, Davis told reporters, "I believe we've moved at warp speed to address this problem. . . . We've kept the light on most days." The governor, who endorsed Connell's opponent, former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa for mayor, then added, "It might be if she's not happy with that, she can run for governor next time." Garry South, the governor's senior political adviser, was even more caustic, lambasting Connell as a party infidel. "This is why Kathleen Connell doesn't have a friend in all Los Angeles," he said. "She's been picking on the governor since day one." "It's all air," he said of her talk. "Not only hot air but a foul wind." In an interview while campaigning later in the day, Connell toughened her rhetoric, saying, "The emperor has no more clothes here in California." "We are well into the fifth month (of the energy crisis) and we have yet to find any answers from the administration," said Connell, who promised to release her own detailed solutions to the crisis next week. Unlike many Democrats at the convention, festooned with "Wilson Did It" signs, she rejected as "irrelevant" the suggestion by Davis that Republicans were to blame for California's energy woes. "Californians are wearying of this finger-pointing and closed-door negotiations and extended debate," she told The Chronicle. "The public is no longer going to be patient with us. They're going to hold the governor accountable when they get the bill." CONNELL LAGGING IN POLL Connell, who is forced by term limits to give up her post as controller next year, has lagged in her campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles. With 10 days to the election, a recent poll showed her running fourth behind City Attorney James Hahn, Villaraigosa and businessman Steve Soboroff. Despite Davis' words and speculation among delegates, Connell denied she was eyeing the governor's seat for the future. "I'm not looking two or three years down the line," she said. "But I hope the governor is looking toward an immediate solution to this problem." The governor's speech was his first since the PUC announced rate increases of as much as 46 percent. Davis refused to say whether he would support the immediate rate increase approved by the PUC but suggested that he would back a tiered billing system. "If a rate increase becomes absolutely necessary to keep our lights on and our economy strong, you can be sure of one thing from this governor," Davis said. "I'll fight to protect those least able to pay, reward those who conserve the most and 'motivate' those who are the biggest guzzlers to cut back." He later dodged reporters' questions about specifics, repeatedly saying that within the next two weeks he would release a statement detailing "what, if any" increases were needed. "Many advisers from Wall Street are running numbers, and they appear to be different from the PUC's," he said. Davis also said he has already done a lot to address the crisis and had "kick started" construction of new power plants and successfully promoted conservation programs. Some of Davis' backers at the convention, watching the squabbling, expressed concern about some of the governor's tactics. "People want a leader to lead," said Susan Leal, San Francisco's city treasurer. "They're looking for someone to come out and take command, regardless of who started this." But, she said, Davis is a tough and smart politician, and "people are still going to be forgiving if (the governor) does something to attack the problem." OTHER DEMOCRATS BLAME GOP Other Democratic Party leaders were also quick to defend Davis and to blame Republicans. Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, suggested that President Bush has ignored California's energy problems because "he's worried to death about Davis running for president." California is the world's sixth-biggest economy, McAuliffe noted in an interview, and Bush "has basically written it off, saying, 'Good luck to you. You're not getting any help.' " Art Torres, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said Davis "is attacked every day by the backbench Republican yahoos in the Legislature" and predicted that public concern over energy would ebb by next year's election. "We're looking at issues that are going to transcend the energy issues we see now," Torres said, such as crime and violence in the schools, economics, the environment and abortion. But political analyst Sherry Bebich Jeffee said Connell's criticism was evidence of a party split and perhaps "the opening salvo in 2002," when Davis is up for re-election. Davis's entire party, she said, could be in trouble if voters get fed up with higher energy bills. "Do the math," said Jeffee, noting that Democrats hold all but one state office and control of the both houses of the Legislature. "If you're going to throw the bums out, the bums in this state are mostly Democrats." E-mail Carla Marinucci at cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com and John Wildermuth at jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com.
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