Phil Angelides
Encyclopedia
Philip Nicholas "Phil" Angelides (icon ; born June 12, 1953 in Sacramento, California
) is an American politician
who was California State Treasurer
and the unsuccessful Democratic
nominee for Governor of California
in the 2006 elections
. Angelides currently serves as the Chair of the Apollo Alliance
and of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
.
immigrants in Sacramento, California
. Growing up, Phil and his brother Kimon were encouraged by their father to learn about geography and the United States government. Their father would quiz them weekly on these topics.
Angelides was educated at The Thacher School
in Ojai, California
and graduated from Harvard University
in 1974, majoring in government as a Coro Foundation Fellow.
Angelides and his wife, Julie, reside in Sacramento
with their three daughters - Megan, Christina, and Arianna. His eldest daughter, Megan Garcia-Angelides, was the campus coordinator for his 2006 campaign.
In 1973, while still in college, Angelides unsuccessfully ran for Sacramento City Council against a popular incumbent. He again ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1977 - these races, however, fostered relationships with political and business mentors that led to later opportunities. He was an early supporter and fundraiser of the eventual 1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee, Michael Dukakis
, and maintains a strong friendship with him to this present day. Mike Dukakis has referred to Phil as "one of the five or 10 best people in American politics today." His work with Dukakis led him to serve as the chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1991 to 1993. His efforts not only helped Bill Clinton
to become the first Democrat to carry California in 28 years, but also contributed to California becoming the first state to elect two female senators in the same election, Democrats Barbara Boxer
and Dianne Feinstein
. His efforts have been beneficial for the California Democratic Party
, because since 1992, California has consistently been a Democratic-leaning state in each subsequent Presidential election, and both Senate seats have remained Democratic.
After losing in the general election on his first attempt as State Treasurer in 1994, he was elected to this post in 1998 as a Democrat and re-elected in 2002. Also, before his election as Treasurer, he served as Co-Chair of the Sacramento Mayor’s Commission on Education and the City’s Future from 1995 to 1996. Angelides worked for a number of years for the state of California
's Housing and Community Development agency (from 1975 to 1983).
and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
, which are the nation’s first and third largest public pension funds. He had been a leader in the corporate reform movement and had advocated for investment in socially and environmentally conscious businesses and for businesses with increased standards of financial disclosure. For example, in April 2006 CalSTRS board members unanimously supported Angelides’ motion to divest from Sudan
to pressure an end to the government backed Genocide in Sudan.
His Green Wave Initiative invested $950,000,000 into environmental businesses and technologies and his Double Bottom Line Initiative invested 14 billion dollars into inner-city and underserved communities.
In 2003, the CalPERS investment committee approved of Angelides' Investment Protection Standards, which require that investment banking firms who do business with CalPERS separate their research and investment banking practices. New York State Attorney General
Eliot Spitzer
complimented Angelides' plan saying, "I applaud Treasurer Angelides for his actions.
Today’s announcement is an important first step in ensuring that these reforms become the new market standard." Angelides, along with 10 other state treasurers and controllers, has also called on the SEC to approve
a rule giving shareholders the right to nominate candidates for corporate boards of directors.
In early 2005, he announced his intention to run against the current Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
in 2006, having made little secret of his ambition for the Governor's Office from the time that Schwarzenegger was elected in 2003. On April 29, 2006, Angelides was endorsed by the California Democratic Party
at the California State Democratic Convention in Sacramento. Despite this, polls from around that time showed that his opponent in the race, California State Controller
Steve Westly
, had an advantage in the primary. Angelides' campaign built momentum since the California State Democratic Convention, winning the endorsements of the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times
, two of California's largest newspapers, and the California League of Conservation Voters
, after a head-to-head debate with Westly. He also received the endorsement of the liberal San Francisco Bay Guardian
. A Field Poll held on June 2, 2006 had Westly leading Angelides by one percentage point, 35% to 34% with 26% undecided.
Angelides was also endorsed by Former Vice President Al Gore
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-lopez18oct18,1,2257296.column?page=2&coll=la-center-politics-cal, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
, Senators Barbara Boxer
and Dianne Feinstein
, Former Massachusetts Governor
and 1988
Democratic Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis
, United States Senator
from Massachusetts
and 2004
Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry
, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez
, California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante
, Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa
, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
, the California Labor Federation, the California Teachers' Association, the California Professional Firefighters, the California Sierra Club
, California League of Conservation Voters, California NOW, Vote the Coast and Clean Water Action. Following his primary defeat on June 6, California State Controller
Steve Westly
endorsed the victorious Angelides as did Assemblyman Mark Leno
and San Francisco Supervisor Fiona Ma
.
For a time, Angelides used California Democratic Party political operative Bob Mulholland
.
On July 7, 2006, Angelides expressed his support for gay rights, and pledged to legalize same-sex marriage
if elected governor, stating "I would sign the marriage equality bill because I believe if we can get behind people to build a lasting relationship, that is a good thing."
Angelides has also called for reducing tax breaks for corporations and individuals earning $500,000 or more per year, in a plan to earn revenue to increase funding for public K-12 education and higher education. The plan would halt and repeal increases made in the tuition fees of the University of California system, and the California Community College system. He has stated his opposition to sending National Guard
troops to the California-Mexico border and wants to seek closer ties with the then-President of Mexico, Vicente Fox
, claiming that it will help both the economies of California and Mexico.
On May 22, 2006 in Santa Monica
, Angelides announced his support for Vinod Khosla
's Clean Alternative Energy Initiative (prop. 87) which, if enacted, would assess oil company profits by $4,000,000,000 over the next ten years and use the proceeds to invest into research for alternative energy such as ethanol
. The measure makes it illegal for oil producers to pass the cost onto consumers. It also would reduce California's oil dependency by 25% over the next ten years, and would increase the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
On May 23, 2006 Angelides wrote Barbara Boxer
, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, urging her to support net neutrality.
Angelides has also endorsed the Clean Money Initiative (Prop. 89). The initiative would provide public finances to candidates who can obtain at least 750 $5.00 contributions from voters and who have participated in at least one primary and two general election debates. It would also place new restrictions on contributions and expenditures by lobbyists and corporations.
Throughout the campaign, Westly and Angelides were both accused of engaging in negative campaigning. Angelides presented himself as a more progressive and liberal candidate, and accused Westly of working too closely with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
, whom Angelides would eventually face in the November elections. Westly accused Angelides of being an anti-environment real estate developer. Westly's ads in that matter were later criticized by the executive directors of Vote the Coast, Sierra Club
, California League of Conservation Voters
, and California Coastal Protection Network in a letter saying "All of the environmental organizations who do endorsements believe Phil has the vision to be the greenest governor California has ever had. Don't let Steve Westly
's attacks prevail over the environmental movement's best judgement in this election." Garry South, Westly's campaign manager, who also presided over Gray Davis
' rather negative campaigns in 1998 and 2002, was also criticized over using such tactics, with the environmental groups chiding him for using "false accusations."
On June 6, 2006, Angelides won the Democratic primary over Westly with 48 percent of the vote over his opponent's 43 percent.
Angelides' Republican opponent, Arnold Schwarzenegger
, has since used quotes from Westly's campaign to attack Angelides. Westly, who endorsed Angelides after the primary, countered, "Governor Schwarzenegger has shown great interest in what Steve Westly has to say about the governor’s race in 2006. He’s right to say that and I’m here to tell you we all need to vote for the Democratic candidate, Phil Angelides for Governor in November 2006."
On August 16, Angelides announced his plans to cut taxes by $1.4 billion for California's middle class and small businesses.
With signs waving and chants of "Go Phil Go," Angelides said he expected a surge of support in the final days of the United States House elections
on November 7, 2006. Fighting growing apathy among Democrats, Angelides drew cheers when he promised he would not give up during a rally held before a sprawling crowd on the campus of the University of Southern California
on October 27, 2006.
used MySpace
to rally supporters and spread their messages to potential voters. Amongst gubernatorial campaigns, this is notable as a candidate's embrace of current technology and social networking to spread their message and reach out to the growing group of politically-conscious teenagers as well as net-savvy voters.
While incumbent Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
is well-known amongst young voters primarily due to his popular films, a centerpoint of Angelides' gubernatorial campaign had been his outreach efforts to youth and students, which include the use of MySpace
and other Internet
venues, touring schools across California
, encouraging young people to vote and take part in the political process, and promoting his plans to strengthen education and expand college opportunities for Californians.
In 1999 Angelides launched the ScholarShare college savings trust, described by the Los Angeles Times
as one of "the nation's best," (a subsection of the scholarship portion of the ScholarShare program was discontinued due to lack of funds after only a year) and sponsored a $25 billion bond to relieve overcrowding and repair damaged schools. He stated his intent to increase high school funding by $200,000,000 to hire more counselors in high schools and middle schools as well as increasing admission quotas for the UC and CSU systems by 20,000 students. He has stated that he would "seriously consider" lowering the minimal voting age
from 18 to 16 if elected governor.
At 8:01 PM, just one minute after polling in California was closed, Arnold Schwarzenegger was declared by many news organizations as the victor.
referred to Latino
Republican
Assemblymember Bonnie Garcia
as being fiery and hot-tempered because "black blood" mixed with "Latino blood" equals "hot." He further stated "I mean, they [Cubans and Puerto Ricans] are all very hot...they have the, you know, part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them and together that makes it."
It was a front-page story on the Los Angeles Times
and was revealed by reporter Robert Salladay. Schwarzenegger then apologized for the remarks the next day, in a joint press conference with Garcia in Santa Monica, California
.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.arnold09sep09,0,122152.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines
A few days later, the Schwarzenegger campaign claimed that it was the victim of a breach of security protocols, and Andrea Lynn Hoch, Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary stated that the file was stored "in a password-protected area of the governor's office network computer system." The California Highway Patrol
was asked to investigate.
On September 13, it was discovered that the recording was obtained by members of the Angelides campaign on August 29 and August 30 stored in an MP3
file and that campaign researcher Sean Sullivan and press spokesman Dan Newman submitted it to the Los Angeles Times. Katie Levinson, a spokeswoman for the Schwarzenegger campaign wanted Angelides to "denounce the unethical actions taken on his behalf," stating that he was trying to personally smear Schwarzenegger. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/12/MNGSOL43OV4.DTL
In response to the claims from Schwarzenegger's camp, Angelides campaign manager Cathy Calfo dismissed the claims as being politically motivated and "completely false." In regards to the recording she stated: "What I have been told is, there was information accessed by one of our computers off of a taxpayer-funded, publicly available Web site that any member of the public would have access to..." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4181081.html She also expressed regret that Sullivan and Newman submitted the tape without consulting with other members of the campaign. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-gov13sep13,1,6440037.story?coll=la-news-politics-california
According to The Inquirer
, the supposed URL where the recording was taken from is http://speeches.gov.ca.gov/dir/06-21.htm (now offline) http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34336
Apparently, as of September 13, 2006, a cached version of the site can be found on Google
, suggesting that the site was available to the public at the time and that it was indexed on Google
's servers. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Sh8xxl8sXekJ:speeches.gov.ca.gov/dir/06-21.htm+http://speeches.gov.ca.gov&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
Roger Salazar, a California Democratic Party
spokesman also was quoted as saying - "They want to put it off onto some massive conspiracy theory... The governor's office is trying to play up the nefarious angle to deflect attention from their own incompetence — accidentally posting the recording on its own Web site. And from the recordings themselves."
In early 2007, the CHP
issued a report clearing the Angelides campaign and Sullivan and Newman of any wrongdoing. http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_5150296 The CHP concluded in its 38-page report that the digital audio files were placed on a website that was "accessed by backwards browsing ... which does not constitute a crime." http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=13186 The report also indicated that the "there were no security measures in place that would prevent backwards browsing." http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=13186 The CHP recommended that no criminal charges be filed against anyone involved in "Tapegate."
Subsequently, some commentators have accused the Schwarzenegger administration of using the state police to investigate Angelides creating salacious election-season headlines. http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2111 These comments were echoed after political opponents of New York Governor Elliot Spitzer accused Spitzer of using New York state police for political purposes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/nyregion/24spitzer.html
consistently beat Governor Schwarzenegger in hypothetical general election matchups, while Angelides' poll numbers were usually equal to or slightly behind Schwarzenegger's. Once Angelides won the nomination, most polls showed him behind Schwarzenegger (though not far behind). Later into the campaign many voters likely believed Schwarzenegger would be re-elected whether they voted for Angelides or not. Schwarzenegger defeated Angelides in a landslide.
From the period after Angelides' nomination up to election day, there was much criticism of Angelides' campaign. In particular, many felt that he did not advertise enough in the early stages, enabling the Republicans to label him.
One of the biggest differences was Schwarzenegger's far superior name recognition, from his film career and association with the Kennedy family
. Angelides was not only considered an unknown by comparison, but his campaign also did not air a single biographical ad until very late into the campaign. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
Money was also a factor. In the Democratic primary alone, Steve Westly spent $43 million ($35 million was of Westly's own fortune), compared to Angelides' $28.1 million (though an additional $10.4 million though independent campaigns on Angelides' behalf helped narrow the gap with Westly). Schwarzenegger spent around $42 million during the whole of 2006, likely most of it in the general election as he did not face a serious primary challenge, while Angelides was estimated to only spend around $10 million after winning the nomination.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-money9nov09,0,397013.story?coll=la-center-politics-cal
Garry South, Steve Westly
's campaign manager, stated Angelides' attacks on Schwarzenegger came across as boastful and partisan to the electorate. The attacks failed to register and perhaps backfired, because Angelides' failed to take into account Schwarzenegger shift back to the political center, moderating his policies and returning to close co-operation with the Democratic-dominated assembly since his widely unsuccessful 2005 special election.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
Angelides proposed a rollback in tax breaks for individuals making $250,000 or more, which opponents criticized as raising taxes. These attacks, along with Angelides' history of advocating tax increases, hurt his campaign in a similar manner to Walter Mondale
's pledge in the 1984 Presidential Election.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
Lastly, according to campaign aides, Angelides was said to have micromanaged his campaign, down to minute and esoteric details such as paper shredders and the color of briefing papers.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
After his defeat, Angelides has stated that he will stay involved in California politics, not ruling out another run for Governor or other statewide office.
) in 1984. In 1986, Angelides founded his own land development company, River West. Angelo Tsakopoulos, Angelides' former business partner, has been a major campaign donor to California office-holders, who, together with Angelides as chair of the California Democratic Party in the early 1990s, disbursed millions of dollars to Democratic candidates. Tsakopoulos has donated over $3,200,000 to Angelides' campaigns beginning in 1993 and for the 2006 gubernatorial race, Tsakopoulos has donated $3,750,000 to Mr. Angelides with his daughter, Eleni Tsakopoulous-Kounalakis donating $1,250,000.
Angelides' development firm, River West, is most known for their development in a floodplain
called Laguna West, which is located outside Sacramento in Elk Grove, California
. Laguna West was one of the first developments designed along the principles of New Urbanism
. For this project, as well as his history of promoting New Urbanism
, Angelides was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism on June 11, 2005.
, created by Congress to investigate the events that led to the monumental 2008 collapse of the financial markets. The Commission is mandated with reporting back to Congress by the end of 2010, "with a series of conclusions about what occurred, and recommendations as to how to avoid future market breakdowns."
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
) is an American politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who was California State Treasurer
California State Treasurer
The California State Treasurer is responsible for the state's investment and finance. The post has more narrow responsibilities and authority than the California State Controller...
and the unsuccessful Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee for Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
in the 2006 elections
California gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re election for his first full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the...
. Angelides currently serves as the Chair of the Apollo Alliance
Apollo Alliance
The Apollo Alliance is a project organized by the Institute for America's Future and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. The Alliance is a project of the Tides Center....
and of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
The Commission reported its findings in January 2011. It concluded that "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the...
.
Personal
Phil Angelides was born to Helen and Jerry Angelides, the son of GreekGreeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
immigrants in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. Growing up, Phil and his brother Kimon were encouraged by their father to learn about geography and the United States government. Their father would quiz them weekly on these topics.
Angelides was educated at The Thacher School
The Thacher School
The Thacher School is a co-educational independent boarding school located on 425 acres of hillside overlooking the Ojai Valley in Ojai, California, United States. Founded in 1889 as a boys' school, it is now the oldest co-ed boarding school in California. Girls were first admitted in 1977. The...
in Ojai, California
Ojai, California
Ojai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley , surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...
and graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1974, majoring in government as a Coro Foundation Fellow.
Angelides and his wife, Julie, reside in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
with their three daughters - Megan, Christina, and Arianna. His eldest daughter, Megan Garcia-Angelides, was the campus coordinator for his 2006 campaign.
Early political career
Angelides' passion for politics traces back to 1971, during his college freshman year, when he met anti-war activist Allard Lowenstein.In 1973, while still in college, Angelides unsuccessfully ran for Sacramento City Council against a popular incumbent. He again ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1977 - these races, however, fostered relationships with political and business mentors that led to later opportunities. He was an early supporter and fundraiser of the eventual 1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee, Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
, and maintains a strong friendship with him to this present day. Mike Dukakis has referred to Phil as "one of the five or 10 best people in American politics today." His work with Dukakis led him to serve as the chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1991 to 1993. His efforts not only helped Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to become the first Democrat to carry California in 28 years, but also contributed to California becoming the first state to elect two female senators in the same election, Democrats Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
and Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
. His efforts have been beneficial for the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, headquartered in Sacramento. It is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton, who succeeded Art Torres in April 2009. It is the majority...
, because since 1992, California has consistently been a Democratic-leaning state in each subsequent Presidential election, and both Senate seats have remained Democratic.
After losing in the general election on his first attempt as State Treasurer in 1994, he was elected to this post in 1998 as a Democrat and re-elected in 2002. Also, before his election as Treasurer, he served as Co-Chair of the Sacramento Mayor’s Commission on Education and the City’s Future from 1995 to 1996. Angelides worked for a number of years for the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Housing and Community Development agency (from 1975 to 1983).
California State Treasurer
As Treasurer, Angelides was an ex-officio member of the boards of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)CalPERS
The California Public Employees' Retirement System or CalPERS is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.6 million California public employees, retirees, and their families"...
and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
CalSTRS
The California State Teachers' Retirement System provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's 852,316 prekindergarten through community college educators and their families...
, which are the nation’s first and third largest public pension funds. He had been a leader in the corporate reform movement and had advocated for investment in socially and environmentally conscious businesses and for businesses with increased standards of financial disclosure. For example, in April 2006 CalSTRS board members unanimously supported Angelides’ motion to divest from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
to pressure an end to the government backed Genocide in Sudan.
His Green Wave Initiative invested $950,000,000 into environmental businesses and technologies and his Double Bottom Line Initiative invested 14 billion dollars into inner-city and underserved communities.
In 2003, the CalPERS investment committee approved of Angelides' Investment Protection Standards, which require that investment banking firms who do business with CalPERS separate their research and investment banking practices. New York State Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
complimented Angelides' plan saying, "I applaud Treasurer Angelides for his actions.
Today’s announcement is an important first step in ensuring that these reforms become the new market standard." Angelides, along with 10 other state treasurers and controllers, has also called on the SEC to approve
a rule giving shareholders the right to nominate candidates for corporate boards of directors.
2006 Gubernatorial campaign
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
in 2006, having made little secret of his ambition for the Governor's Office from the time that Schwarzenegger was elected in 2003. On April 29, 2006, Angelides was endorsed by the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, headquartered in Sacramento. It is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton, who succeeded Art Torres in April 2009. It is the majority...
at the California State Democratic Convention in Sacramento. Despite this, polls from around that time showed that his opponent in the race, California State Controller
California State Controller
The State Controller is the Chief Financial Officer of the State of California in the United States. The post has broader responsibilities and authority than the California State Treasurer...
Steve Westly
Steve Westly
Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
, had an advantage in the primary. Angelides' campaign built momentum since the California State Democratic Convention, winning the endorsements of the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, two of California's largest newspapers, and the California League of Conservation Voters
California League of Conservation Voters
The California League of Conservation Voters is a nonpartisan lobbying and educational organization which focuses on environmental issues affecting California....
, after a head-to-head debate with Westly. He also received the endorsement of the liberal San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
. A Field Poll held on June 2, 2006 had Westly leading Angelides by one percentage point, 35% to 34% with 26% undecided.
Angelides was also endorsed by Former Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-lopez18oct18,1,2257296.column?page=2&coll=la-center-politics-cal, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
, Senators Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
and Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
, Former Massachusetts Governor
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
and 1988
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
Democratic Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
, United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and 2004
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez
Fabian Núñez
Fabian Núñez has been a labor union adviser and a Democratic politician. He served three two year terms as a member of the State Assembly, leaving office late in 2008...
, California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Miguel Bustamante is an American politician. He was the 45th Lieutenant Governor of California, a former Speaker of the State Assembly and a member of the Democratic Party...
, Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, the California Labor Federation, the California Teachers' Association, the California Professional Firefighters, the California Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, California League of Conservation Voters, California NOW, Vote the Coast and Clean Water Action. Following his primary defeat on June 6, California State Controller
California State Controller
The State Controller is the Chief Financial Officer of the State of California in the United States. The post has broader responsibilities and authority than the California State Treasurer...
Steve Westly
Steve Westly
Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
endorsed the victorious Angelides as did Assemblyman Mark Leno
Mark Leno
Mark Leno is an American politician, representing California's 3rd Senate district, which includes parts of San Francisco and Sonoma County, as well as the entirety of Marin County. He was elected in 2008 and is the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate...
and San Francisco Supervisor Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma is the Speaker pro Tempore California State Assembly and a San Francisco politician, and a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.-Personal life:...
.
For a time, Angelides used California Democratic Party political operative Bob Mulholland
Bob Mulholland
Bob Mulholland is a California based political activist. He was a senior advisor to the California Democratic Party from 1991 to 2010.He is married to Jane Dolan, who served from 1979 to 2011 as Butte County Supervisor of the second district in California....
.
On July 7, 2006, Angelides expressed his support for gay rights, and pledged to legalize same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
if elected governor, stating "I would sign the marriage equality bill because I believe if we can get behind people to build a lasting relationship, that is a good thing."
Angelides has also called for reducing tax breaks for corporations and individuals earning $500,000 or more per year, in a plan to earn revenue to increase funding for public K-12 education and higher education. The plan would halt and repeal increases made in the tuition fees of the University of California system, and the California Community College system. He has stated his opposition to sending National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
troops to the California-Mexico border and wants to seek closer ties with the then-President of Mexico, Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
, claiming that it will help both the economies of California and Mexico.
On May 22, 2006 in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, Angelides announced his support for Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla is an Indian-born American venture capitalist and an influential personality in Silicon Valley....
's Clean Alternative Energy Initiative (prop. 87) which, if enacted, would assess oil company profits by $4,000,000,000 over the next ten years and use the proceeds to invest into research for alternative energy such as ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
. The measure makes it illegal for oil producers to pass the cost onto consumers. It also would reduce California's oil dependency by 25% over the next ten years, and would increase the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
On May 23, 2006 Angelides wrote Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, urging her to support net neutrality.
Angelides has also endorsed the Clean Money Initiative (Prop. 89). The initiative would provide public finances to candidates who can obtain at least 750 $5.00 contributions from voters and who have participated in at least one primary and two general election debates. It would also place new restrictions on contributions and expenditures by lobbyists and corporations.
Throughout the campaign, Westly and Angelides were both accused of engaging in negative campaigning. Angelides presented himself as a more progressive and liberal candidate, and accused Westly of working too closely with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, whom Angelides would eventually face in the November elections. Westly accused Angelides of being an anti-environment real estate developer. Westly's ads in that matter were later criticized by the executive directors of Vote the Coast, Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, California League of Conservation Voters
California League of Conservation Voters
The California League of Conservation Voters is a nonpartisan lobbying and educational organization which focuses on environmental issues affecting California....
, and California Coastal Protection Network in a letter saying "All of the environmental organizations who do endorsements believe Phil has the vision to be the greenest governor California has ever had. Don't let Steve Westly
Steve Westly
Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
's attacks prevail over the environmental movement's best judgement in this election." Garry South, Westly's campaign manager, who also presided over Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
' rather negative campaigns in 1998 and 2002, was also criticized over using such tactics, with the environmental groups chiding him for using "false accusations."
On June 6, 2006, Angelides won the Democratic primary over Westly with 48 percent of the vote over his opponent's 43 percent.
Angelides' Republican opponent, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, has since used quotes from Westly's campaign to attack Angelides. Westly, who endorsed Angelides after the primary, countered, "Governor Schwarzenegger has shown great interest in what Steve Westly has to say about the governor’s race in 2006. He’s right to say that and I’m here to tell you we all need to vote for the Democratic candidate, Phil Angelides for Governor in November 2006."
On August 16, Angelides announced his plans to cut taxes by $1.4 billion for California's middle class and small businesses.
With signs waving and chants of "Go Phil Go," Angelides said he expected a surge of support in the final days of the United States House elections
United States House elections, 2006
- House of Representatives prior to the election :As of November 7, 2006, the U.S. House of the 109th Congress was composed of 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats and 1 Independent . There were also four vacancies...
on November 7, 2006. Fighting growing apathy among Democrats, Angelides drew cheers when he promised he would not give up during a rally held before a sprawling crowd on the campus of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
on October 27, 2006.
Internet campaigning and outreach efforts towards youth
An unauthorized MySpace web page http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8JIAEPO2.html for gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides was embraced by the candidate’s campaign. During the Democratic primary, both Angelides and primary opponent Steve WestlySteve Westly
Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
used MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
to rally supporters and spread their messages to potential voters. Amongst gubernatorial campaigns, this is notable as a candidate's embrace of current technology and social networking to spread their message and reach out to the growing group of politically-conscious teenagers as well as net-savvy voters.
While incumbent Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
is well-known amongst young voters primarily due to his popular films, a centerpoint of Angelides' gubernatorial campaign had been his outreach efforts to youth and students, which include the use of MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and other Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
venues, touring schools across California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, encouraging young people to vote and take part in the political process, and promoting his plans to strengthen education and expand college opportunities for Californians.
In 1999 Angelides launched the ScholarShare college savings trust, described by the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
as one of "the nation's best," (a subsection of the scholarship portion of the ScholarShare program was discontinued due to lack of funds after only a year) and sponsored a $25 billion bond to relieve overcrowding and repair damaged schools. He stated his intent to increase high school funding by $200,000,000 to hire more counselors in high schools and middle schools as well as increasing admission quotas for the UC and CSU systems by 20,000 students. He has stated that he would "seriously consider" lowering the minimal voting age
Voting age
A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...
from 18 to 16 if elected governor.
At 8:01 PM, just one minute after polling in California was closed, Arnold Schwarzenegger was declared by many news organizations as the victor.
Alleged campaign involvement in Schwarzenegger remark controversy
On September 7, 2006, it was revealed that Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
referred to Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Assemblymember Bonnie Garcia
Bonnie Garcia
Bonnie Garcia was the representative of California's 80th Assembly District, serving eastern Riverside County and all of Imperial County....
as being fiery and hot-tempered because "black blood" mixed with "Latino blood" equals "hot." He further stated "I mean, they [Cubans and Puerto Ricans] are all very hot...they have the, you know, part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them and together that makes it."
It was a front-page story on the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and was revealed by reporter Robert Salladay. Schwarzenegger then apologized for the remarks the next day, in a joint press conference with Garcia in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.arnold09sep09,0,122152.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines
A few days later, the Schwarzenegger campaign claimed that it was the victim of a breach of security protocols, and Andrea Lynn Hoch, Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary stated that the file was stored "in a password-protected area of the governor's office network computer system." The California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
was asked to investigate.
On September 13, it was discovered that the recording was obtained by members of the Angelides campaign on August 29 and August 30 stored in an MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
file and that campaign researcher Sean Sullivan and press spokesman Dan Newman submitted it to the Los Angeles Times. Katie Levinson, a spokeswoman for the Schwarzenegger campaign wanted Angelides to "denounce the unethical actions taken on his behalf," stating that he was trying to personally smear Schwarzenegger. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/12/MNGSOL43OV4.DTL
In response to the claims from Schwarzenegger's camp, Angelides campaign manager Cathy Calfo dismissed the claims as being politically motivated and "completely false." In regards to the recording she stated: "What I have been told is, there was information accessed by one of our computers off of a taxpayer-funded, publicly available Web site that any member of the public would have access to..." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4181081.html She also expressed regret that Sullivan and Newman submitted the tape without consulting with other members of the campaign. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-gov13sep13,1,6440037.story?coll=la-news-politics-california
According to The Inquirer
The Inquirer
The Inquirer is a British technology tabloid website founded by Mike Magee after his departure from The Register in 2001. In 2006 the site was acquired by Dutch publisher Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen...
, the supposed URL where the recording was taken from is http://speeches.gov.ca.gov/dir/06-21.htm (now offline) http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34336
Apparently, as of September 13, 2006, a cached version of the site can be found on Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, suggesting that the site was available to the public at the time and that it was indexed on Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's servers. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Sh8xxl8sXekJ:speeches.gov.ca.gov/dir/06-21.htm+http://speeches.gov.ca.gov&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
Roger Salazar, a California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party
The California Democratic Party is the state branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California, headquartered in Sacramento. It is chaired by veteran Democratic politician and former United States Representative John L. Burton, who succeeded Art Torres in April 2009. It is the majority...
spokesman also was quoted as saying - "They want to put it off onto some massive conspiracy theory... The governor's office is trying to play up the nefarious angle to deflect attention from their own incompetence — accidentally posting the recording on its own Web site. And from the recordings themselves."
In early 2007, the CHP
CHP
-Healthcare:* Oporto Hospital Centre* Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh* Community Health Partnerships* Certified Health Physicist-Politics:* Christian Heritage Party * Christian Historical Party...
issued a report clearing the Angelides campaign and Sullivan and Newman of any wrongdoing. http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_5150296 The CHP concluded in its 38-page report that the digital audio files were placed on a website that was "accessed by backwards browsing ... which does not constitute a crime." http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=13186 The report also indicated that the "there were no security measures in place that would prevent backwards browsing." http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=13186 The CHP recommended that no criminal charges be filed against anyone involved in "Tapegate."
Subsequently, some commentators have accused the Schwarzenegger administration of using the state police to investigate Angelides creating salacious election-season headlines. http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2111 These comments were echoed after political opponents of New York Governor Elliot Spitzer accused Spitzer of using New York state police for political purposes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/nyregion/24spitzer.html
Aftermath
In the months leading up to the Democratic primary, Steve WestlySteve Westly
Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
consistently beat Governor Schwarzenegger in hypothetical general election matchups, while Angelides' poll numbers were usually equal to or slightly behind Schwarzenegger's. Once Angelides won the nomination, most polls showed him behind Schwarzenegger (though not far behind). Later into the campaign many voters likely believed Schwarzenegger would be re-elected whether they voted for Angelides or not. Schwarzenegger defeated Angelides in a landslide.
From the period after Angelides' nomination up to election day, there was much criticism of Angelides' campaign. In particular, many felt that he did not advertise enough in the early stages, enabling the Republicans to label him.
One of the biggest differences was Schwarzenegger's far superior name recognition, from his film career and association with the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
. Angelides was not only considered an unknown by comparison, but his campaign also did not air a single biographical ad until very late into the campaign. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
Money was also a factor. In the Democratic primary alone, Steve Westly spent $43 million ($35 million was of Westly's own fortune), compared to Angelides' $28.1 million (though an additional $10.4 million though independent campaigns on Angelides' behalf helped narrow the gap with Westly). Schwarzenegger spent around $42 million during the whole of 2006, likely most of it in the general election as he did not face a serious primary challenge, while Angelides was estimated to only spend around $10 million after winning the nomination.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-money9nov09,0,397013.story?coll=la-center-politics-cal
Garry South, Steve Westly
Steve Westly
Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
's campaign manager, stated Angelides' attacks on Schwarzenegger came across as boastful and partisan to the electorate. The attacks failed to register and perhaps backfired, because Angelides' failed to take into account Schwarzenegger shift back to the political center, moderating his policies and returning to close co-operation with the Democratic-dominated assembly since his widely unsuccessful 2005 special election.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
Angelides proposed a rollback in tax breaks for individuals making $250,000 or more, which opponents criticized as raising taxes. These attacks, along with Angelides' history of advocating tax increases, hurt his campaign in a similar manner to Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
's pledge in the 1984 Presidential Election.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
Lastly, according to campaign aides, Angelides was said to have micromanaged his campaign, down to minute and esoteric details such as paper shredders and the color of briefing papers.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/08/EDG6PKE1EA1.DTL
After his defeat, Angelides has stated that he will stay involved in California politics, not ruling out another run for Governor or other statewide office.
Real estate development
Angelides was appointed president of AKT Development Corp. (a company owned by one of his business mentors, Angelo TsakopoulosAngelo Tsakopoulos
Angelo Tsakopoulos is a prominent real estate developer in Sacramento, California and the founder and owner of AKT Development. Tsakopoulos was fined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for a violation of the Clean Water Act. Tsakopoulos sued the government and was able to bring...
) in 1984. In 1986, Angelides founded his own land development company, River West. Angelo Tsakopoulos, Angelides' former business partner, has been a major campaign donor to California office-holders, who, together with Angelides as chair of the California Democratic Party in the early 1990s, disbursed millions of dollars to Democratic candidates. Tsakopoulos has donated over $3,200,000 to Angelides' campaigns beginning in 1993 and for the 2006 gubernatorial race, Tsakopoulos has donated $3,750,000 to Mr. Angelides with his daughter, Eleni Tsakopoulous-Kounalakis donating $1,250,000.
Angelides' development firm, River West, is most known for their development in a floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
called Laguna West, which is located outside Sacramento in Elk Grove, California
Elk Grove, California
Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 153,015...
. Laguna West was one of the first developments designed along the principles of New Urbanism
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
. For this project, as well as his history of promoting New Urbanism
New urbanism
New Urbanism is an urban design movement, which promotes walkable neighborhoods that contain a range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually continued to reform many aspects of real estate development, urban planning, and municipal land-use...
, Angelides was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism on June 11, 2005.
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Chair
On July 15, 2009, former land developer Phil Angelides was named Chairman of a bi-partisan 10-member Financial Crisis Inquiry CommissionFinancial Crisis Inquiry Commission
The Commission reported its findings in January 2011. It concluded that "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the...
, created by Congress to investigate the events that led to the monumental 2008 collapse of the financial markets. The Commission is mandated with reporting back to Congress by the end of 2010, "with a series of conclusions about what occurred, and recommendations as to how to avoid future market breakdowns."
Quotes
- For us to live in an oil-dependent society is to live in fear. The fear of terrorism funded with the very dollars we spend at the gas pump. The fear of war to defend or defeat oil-fueled regimes in the Mideast. The fear of what happens to our families and our jobs when, inevitably, oil prices soar out of sight. The fear of what is happening to our planet and the legacy we are leaving to our children and grandchildren.
- I believe President Bush is running deficits in Washington very deliberately. His plan is to finally run up so much debt that it inevitably creates pressure on the funding of things that count, in terms of the long-term strength of the society: educating kids, retirement security for American families. A mini version of that is going on in Sacramento.
- It takes more than empty soundbites to educate a child, more than scorched-earth rhetoric to balance a budget, more than celebrity swagger to care for the sick and the aged.
Trivia
- In a 2000 episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "PygmoelianPygmoelian"Pygmoelian" is the sixteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 27, 2000...
," there is a character who takes Moe'sMoe SzyslakMomar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
picture for the DuffDuff Beer (The Simpsons)Duff Beer is a fictional brand of beer in the animated series The Simpsons. It is Homer Simpson's beer of choice. It is a parody of stereotypical commercial beer: very cheaply priced, poor-quality, and advertised everywhere...
calendar, introduced by Duffman as "Duff's Vice President in charge of calendars and fake IDs, Phil Angelides." When asked about the episode, the real-life Angelides acknowledged Simpsons creator Matt GroeningMatt GroeningMatthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
as "a friend" and said "By the way, that made me very popular among my three daughters. It raised my hip status among all my daughters and their friends."
- According to seized EnronEnronEnron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
emails, during the California energy crisis, Jeff Dasovich, EnronEnronEnron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
's Director for State Government Affairs, called Angelides a "chowder head" and said that he was throwing a "tantrum" after Angelides wrote a letter to the president of the CPUC, urging the commission to end direct access for large business energy consumers.
External links
- Angelides for Governor 2006 campaign website
- Smart Voter 2006 Biography
- Official VoteCircle Profile
- Phil's Flickr Account
- Betting Against Oil, by Robert Novak, June 1, 2006
- The man who would be governor, Sacramento Bee, April 11, 2005
- Governor Who? Democrats are hoping Phil Angelides can unseat Schwarzenegger. But will he be running against his own past?, Peter Byrne, January 18–24, 2006 issue of Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-angelides/ - Phil Angelides Blog at Huffington Post
- Opinion article about Laguna West - by Garry South, a political consultant working for the Steve WestlySteve WestlySteven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist and politician. He was the State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election...
campaign http://www.capitolweekly.net/author.html?author_id=124. - Letter from environmental directors defending Angelides against Westly campaign ads
- Interview with Phil Angelides
- Candidates Seek Youths at MySpace, Salon.com
- Smart Voter Biography