OROVILLE, Calif. — State Controller Steve Westly, a candidate for governor, was befuddled by a man he met on a recent walk between campaign stops in this Sierra foothills town.
Convicted of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, the man had stayed out of trouble for years and now was seeking "special approval" to buy a gun, Westly told reporters a moment after the encounter. Asked the obvious question -- should California let such a man own a gun -- Westly dodged. "We're going to take a look at this," said Westly, a Bay Area Democrat opting for caution in a region where hunting is popular.
Hours later, after consulting with advisors, Westly took a firm stand. "I just don't believe people who have committed violent felony crimes should be allowed to have guns, and I just wanted to clarify that," he said.
Westly's belabored response illustrated a central dilemma of his quest for the Democratic nomination to challenge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In some respects, Westly is a veteran politician --calculating, averse to risk, calibrating public remarks to maximize personal appeal. In others, he is a novice -- too inexperienced as a candidate to maneuver sure-footedly through a day of campaigning.
A 49-year-old dot-com mogul who built his fortune at EBay, Westly hopes to show Californians he is both a pro and a neophyte -- not too much of a political insider, but not too much of an outsider either.
Westly, a man of relentlessly sunny demeanor, casts himself as an ideal blend: an entrepreneur who has put his business smarts to work in three years as controller, saving the state billions by clamping down on tax cheats. He also plays up his part-time teaching stint in the early 1990s at Stanford's Graduate School of Business to attest that he can draw from personal experience to fix California's ailing public schools.
Given voters' sour mood, Westly has good reason to portray himself as a fresh face in Sacramento. Yet running as an outsider carries risk. Schwarzenegger used that approach successfully in the 2003 recall, but his rough transition from the film business to the state capital has led some strategists to suggest voters could opt to replace him with a politician more seasoned in day-to-day government.
For Westly, it will take a deft sales job to strike the right balance.
"I've spent my life creating thousands of jobs in the private sector," he said in an interview recently during a two-day swing through Butte and Yuba counties in the upper Sacramento Valley. "I've been a classroom educator and I've been a tough fiscal watchdog, and my opponent has been a career Sacramento insider."
That would be state Treasurer Phil Angelides, Westly's rival in the June 6 primary. Angelides has opened himself to such attacks by trumpeting his wide support among the party's establishment, including labor unions and U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
Yet Westly's roots in Democratic politics are as deep as his opponent's. For 26 years, Westly has been climbing the ranks of state party volunteer jobs, reaching vice chairman in 1987. He lost a race for state party chairman in 1989, two years before Angelides won that job. For 14 years, Westly served on the Democratic National Committee.
At Stanford, as an adjunct lecturer, Westly trained future executives on "how to deal with special interest groups, how to deal with the media, how to deal with regulation, how to deal with legislation, labor, the works," the controller said.
His government work dates to 1978, starting as a Capitol Hill aide to Bay Area Rep. Leo Ryan just before the congressman's assassination in Guyana. He held low-level energy posts in the administrations of President Carter and Gov. Jerry Brown. For four years, he worked for the city of San Jose as an economic development aide.
However Californians ultimately size up his political know-how, personality is likely to be key to the Democratic primary, given the nearly identical stands of Westly and Angelides. Both support abortion rights, gay marriage and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Both stress plans to lower fees at public colleges and universities. Both support the death penalty and describe themselves as tough on fiscal matters.
At public events, Westly keeps a smile etched on his face. He also favors goody-two-shoes language, including "darn," "heck" and "good heavens."
"Hot dog," he responded to a lunch invitation during a guided tour of barley-and-hops vats at the Sierra Nevada brewery in Chico.
