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 omebody,
it is widely thought in California, should replace Gray Davis as
governor. He is a Democrat, he is a little boring, and he is seen
as the master of ceremonies of the energy crisis in that state.
To be short of electricity in the capital state of visual entertainment
is a paradox that should not be allowed to happen. As a wag dolefully
put it, if this goes on they're going to have to watch television
by candlelight.
As aspirant executioner is William Simon Jr., son, as one would
expect, of William Simon Sr. He was a great 20th century figure,
individualist, philanthropist, Secretary of Energy, then of Treasury,
a man of adamant views and expressiveness. Bill Jr. gathered the
forces, and on Thursday in New York City, at the Waldorf Astoria,
raised $2 million. "People make reference to my own resources,"
he told a fellow diner, "and I don't deny them, but as I told the
reporter in California, if I don't raise forty million, I will pull
out of the race."
That seems a staggering sum, except that nothing that happens in California
is staggering with the exception, these days, of any prospective Republican
victory. The GOP has not recovered from the Proposition (187) which
proposed dealing with illegal immigrants as though they were actually
illegal. That was interpreted by the Hispanic community as a slight
on any man's right to be illegal in America; and although GOP governor
Pete Wilson endorsed the proposition, and it was carried by a substantial
majority, Republicans have suffered enormously from its shadow. The
excellent Dan Lungren lost California mightily to Gray Davis in 1998,
and the comeback now attempted will be costly.
Bill Simon's competition isn't only the incumbent governor. It is
the possible candidacy of GOP mayor Richard Riordan of Los Angeles.
Riordan, like Simon, could finance his own campaign, but he has
a rich- man's ambivalence to the whole idea of all of that exertion.
He is 71- years old and there is that other ambivalence, which is
that of conservative California voters to Riordan. He is not a faithful
feller. Twice he declared for Democratic Dianne Feinstein for senator,
and he played a prominent role in the Tom Bradley campaign for governor
of California. Add to this that on three issues of substance among
California conservatives — abortions, guns, and gays —
he is, to say the least, wobbly. On the other hand, the latest poll
shows him even with Gray Davis, and Bill Simon way behind, behind,
even, Bill Jones, a third contender who is the secretary of state.
Bill Simon is an engaging human being. His face is exactly that
of his father, the same smile, though not the same charisma. His
speech was well programmed, abiding by the usual protocols in New
York City. The invocation was done by a rabbi and a priest who embraced
each other so heartily as to leave the audience wondering whether
before they were done, they exchanged one another's religion. Rudy
Giuliani came in and gave his endorsement. He told the audience
that he had known the candidate since Simon appeared at the district
attorney's office in 1980, freshly graduated from law school, to
pitch in on the anti-crime campaign for which the mayor is justly
renowned. Mayor Giuliani applauded Simon's entry into the race 17
months before the election, citing his own experience. In 1989 he
ran for mayor and was defeated, attributing that defeat to the brevity
of the campaign.
Bill Simon believes in what one would want a GOP candidate to believe.
He did not say much about President Bush, perhaps because it was
widely reported that Mr. Bush had telephoned Riordan on his birthday
in May, allegedly endorsing a Riordan for Governor campaign. But
Mr. Simon did say that California's most pressing problem, more
pressing even than the power shortage, was the looming water shortage.
Some sport was made over the charge that Simon is a carpetbagger
in California. Simon went west eleven years ago and stayed on, and
sings the praises of his state at least as persuasively as newborn
New Yorkers like Kennedy, Buckley, and Clinton, who have served
in the Senate.
Will Simon's campaign prosper? It is hard to judge, in part because
of the Riordan cloud. The L.A. Mayor says he is thinking about it,
and his wife is reportedly attracted to the idea of continuing her
work in foster care as First Lady of California. But, says Mr. Riordan
a little sleepily, he will say something on the general point by
next September.
Meanwhile, the focus will increase on Bill Simon, whose legacy and
personal charm will work well for him.
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