CAPITOL NOTEBOOK: DEMOCRATS' GALAS SHOW 2 SIDES OF PARTY.

Byline: Terri Hardy and Dorothy Korber

There were dueling Inaugural Balls in Sacramento on Monday night emblematic of the dual personalities California Democrats are displaying these days.

Gov. Gray Davis' ball was staid and traditional: Big Band music with the California seal as a backdrop. Wearing tuxes and satins, the dancers tripped the light fantastic in a huge exhibit hall that houses livestock during the state fair.

It was sold out, at $125 a ticket. Sold out but only half full. The real hot ticket was across town at Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's inaugural bash at the state Railroad Museum.

There, 4,000 excess partygoers shivered outside in the Sacramento night, eager for a chance to squeeze into Bustamante's high-spirited event. They were admitted one by one, as others left and made room.

It was a night to remember for California Latinos: the inauguration of the state's first Latino statewide officeholder in 120 years. Actor Edward James Olmos was there, Los Lobos belted out its signature Latino pop music and comedian Paul Rodriguez kept the jammed museum rocking with laughter.

People happily pinned political buttons onto their glad rags: ``Adios! Pete Wilson'' was the slogan for the night.

Moving and changing jobs is always fraught with glitches, especially if you're the new Democratic governor of California, taking over after 16 years of Republican reign. Behind the scenes, the transition has been, well, less than smooth.

On Inauguration Day, while calls poured into Davis' press office, harried staffers still hadn't unpacked their computers or files. They were hard-pressed to answer even simple questions, such as what the state's 12 Cabinet positions were, or how long their boss had been an assemblyman representing Los Angeles.

And although a transcript of the governor's State of the State speech was promised to be faxed an hour before Davis gave the address, nothing was forthcoming. Minutes before the speech, Davis' staff had only 25 copies of the speech to hand out, apologizing that their copy machine had broken.

Things weren't any better at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A staffer was stumped by a reporter's question asking for biographical information about James R. Ramos. The embarrassed employee had to be informed that Ramos was in fact his boss, the newly appointed secretary of Veterans Affairs.

San Fernando Valley-region lawmakers have captured some important leadership positions. All are Democrats, reflecting that party's majority in both houses of the Legislature.

In the Assembly, Bob Hertzberg of Van Nuys chairs the powerful Rules Committee; Tony Cardenas of Panorama City is caucus chairman; Jack Scott of Altadena chairs the Insurance Committee; Scott Wildman of Glendale chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee; Sheila Kuehl of Encino chairs the Judiciary Committee; and Wally Knox of Los Angeles chairs Revenue and Taxation.

In the state Senate, Adam Schiff of Pasadena chairs the Judiciary Committee.

BILLS TO WATCH: State Sen. William ``Pete'' Knight, R-Palmdale, introduced legislation that would require social workers to be tested for illegal drugs prior to being licensed . . . Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, proposed legislation that would change the kindergarten enrollment birthday cut-off date from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1 . . . Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni, D-San Rafael, chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee, introduced two bills that would restrict commercialization in California schools. One would bar instructional materials that illustrate commercial brand names or company logos, and the other would prevent the exclusive sale and promotion of goods and services on school district property.