Elections 2010

A day after launching her campaign for governor, former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman on Tuesday unveiled a sharply conservative approach to California's fiscal crisis and offered a fusillade of positions on other issues that are likely to complicate her run for office in 2010.

Three years after falling short in a bid for higher office, Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo has taken the first step toward launching a second campaign for California attorney general, a spokesman said Thursday. Term limits prevent Delgadillo, 48, from seeking reelection as city attorney this year. Papers filed with the secretary of state this week allow Delgadillo to begin fundraising for a statewide campaign for attorney general in 2010, according to Delgadillo spokesman Stephen J.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's decision Monday to skip the 2010 race for California governor left a two-person contest for the Democratic nomination in which former Gov. Jerry Brown starts with a strong advantage in scooping up much of the mayor's support, political analysts said. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the other contender, appeared likely to tap into Villaraigosa's strong appeal among young voters.

I don't know if this is an old adage or a new one I've coined based on years of depressing observations, but it seems that California's political leaders mostly operate according to the following principle: The best way to avoid taking action on something is to call for "action." The aftermath of the May 19 special election affords us an especially good look at this principle in, well, action.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who built a national reputation pushing cutting-edge -- and controversial -- policies on same-sex marriage, healthcare and other issues, launched an exploratory bid for governor Tuesday. His move placed the 40-year-old, two-term mayor out in front of a large Democratic field eyeing the race to succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is barred by term limits from running again in 2010.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who first ran for governor 26 years ago, announced his third Democratic bid for the office Thursday, saying his decades of experience in state government would allow him to vanquish problems that have eluded Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "California is not a movie set, and gridlock is simply not acceptable," Garamendi, 63, said in an announcement outside the Capitol, faulting Schwarzenegger for failing to resolve the state's fiscal problems. "This is real life.

The long campaign is over. And so a new one begins: the race to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California. A crop of would-be candidates is already preparing -- some openly, others behind the scenes -- with two years until the state's next big election. One, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, is a rancher; at least one, former EBay chief Meg Whitman, is a billionaire; a third, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, is known across the nation as a champion of same-sex marriage.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made official Tuesday what Californians who have watched him traverse the state for months already suspected -- he is running for governor in 2010. As might be expected for a campaign that has tried to maximize its presence on social networking websites, Newsom made the announcement electronically: "Today, I am announcing, via Tweet, my candidacy for governor," the Democrat's website declared. "It's official -- running for Gov of CA.

The recent run of states legalizing gay marriage -- punctuated Wednesday by Maine becoming the fifth state to do so -- has increased the likelihood that California voters will face another ballot measure on the issue as early as next year, according to strategists on both sides. The California Supreme Court is expected to uphold Proposition 8, November's ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, with a decision coming in the next few weeks.

The voter uprising against Sacramento on Tuesday showed that "CA needs wholesale change," Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco wrote on Facebook. "Ready to Buck the System?" asked the Democratic candidate for governor. "Donate 5 bucks to change CA," he wrote. "Goal is 500 people to give 5 bucks to create an army for change."