Lieutenant Governor

In 2006, Cruz Bustamante will be termed out of office as lieutenant governor. Though the position is not the most glamorous or powerful statewide office, it has served as the launching pad to the governorship, most recently for Gov. Gray Davis. The official duties of the office are not extensive, but the office does provide a bully pulpit. When the governor is out of state, the lieutenant governor takes of their duties. And the lieutenant governor can break a tie in the Senate. Plus, there are dozens of boards and commissions he (and there have only been men) serves on. The Democrats Two Democratic women Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, and Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, are vying to be the first woman to hold the office. They will face off against current insurance commissioner John Garamendi. Those three officeholders make the race for lieutenant governor one of the most competitive Democratic primaries next June. Both Speier and Figueroa both are likely to try to tap into the desire to elect the first ever woman lieutenant governor, with Figueroa (as her website already does) pushing to make that a Latina. None of the three candidates have high name-recognition across the state, but Garamendi has run (and won) statewide. In 2002, he was elected reelected as insurance commissioner, more than a decade after he became the first Californian to hold that office. He ran against Gary Mendoza in 2002 and won with 46.6 percent, with 3,283,367 voters. That experience, in many regards, makes him the frontrunner. In order to unseat Garamendi, Speier and Figueroa will have to spend money to raise voter knowledge of who they are. As of June 30, Speier had already amassed a large war chest, with just short of $2 million. Figueroa had raised almost $675,000. Garamendi had about $450,000, as of June 30. If and when Speier does go on the air, she does have a compelling life story to tell voters. In 1978, as a young congressional staff person she went to Guyana on a fact-finding mission. But they were attacked and more than 900 people died that day, including Congressman Leo Ryan. Speier herself was shot five times and left to die. Figueroa will try to tap into the same Latino electorate that launched current lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante into office. Interestingly, all three all from the Bay Area, making Los Angeles, where the biggest portion of the state’s voters live, the up-for-grabs battleground. With the heavy Los Angeles Latino population, Figueroa may have an advantage in that region. The Republicans Meet the Republican nominee Tom McClintock. Barring any surprise entrants into this race, McClintock will be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. The bully pulpit aspect of the office fits McClintock well—after all, he is often the lone Republican voice during Senate floor debates, taking on the role of anti-tax spokesman on a regular basis. McClintock’s chances in the general election are debatable. His campaign has an online “prospectus” hawking the conservative southern Californian’s credentials. Namely, at the end of the 2003 recall he had the highest “favorables” of any gubernatorial candidate. That campaign raised his name-ID in the state, as well. McClintock received 1,160,182 votes—or 13.5 percent—in a race that included another Republican, now-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. McClintock has tried to continue to keep a statewide presence. Just last week, he began airing radio ads in support of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Proposition 76, his spending control measure. McClintock has already raised more than $700,000 for the race, as of June 30. Like every statewide Republican candidate, McClintock faces an electorate that leans Democratic in a general election. To make matters more difficult, McClintock is no moderate Republican. (His campaign would point out that according to the LA Times exit poll, 28 percent of his recall voters were Democrats). McClintock is an outspoken anti-tax crusader and would, by most measures, rank as one of the stalwart conservatives of the legislature. That may have helped drive away potential primary competitors, but could also drive away Democratic voters in a general election. Candidate: Liz Figueroa Party: Democrat Current Job: State Senator, Fremont Cash on Hand: $672,408.02, as of June 30. Consultant: Andrew Acosta Campaign website Candidate: John Garamendi Party: Democrat Current Job: Insurance Commissioner Cash on Hand: $450,490.11, as of June 30. Consultants: Just Us Group, Leonore Blitz Consultants Campaign website Candidate: Jackie Speier Party: Democrat Current Job: State Senator, Hillsborough Cash on Hand: $1,933,275.07, as of June 30. Campaign website Candidate: Tom McClintock Party: Republican Current Job: State Senator, Thousand Oaks Cash on Hand: $709,380.18, as of June 30. Consultants: John Feliz and John Stoos Campaign website