CAPITOL NOTEBOOK: GOVERNOR'S SPOKESMAN SHORT ON NEWS.

Byline: Terri Hardy and Dorothy Korber

EVEN before Gov. Gray Davis declared himself King of California this summer, he rarely gave interviews. The press corps had to be satisfied with a hasty question at a random news conference or stiff statements issued by his press office. But now it appears that His Grayness won't even give information to his own spokesman, Michael Bustamante.

As news broke last week, Bustamante was forced to quote himself on a wide swath of issues. His breadth of knowledge was astounding:

``Getting a solid foundation in the first few years of school is critical for a child's future academic success,'' said Michael Bustamante, press secretary for the governor.

``When old cleaning products, garden pesticides, car batteries, or even used oil end up in the garbage they can cause serious environmental problems,'' said Michael Bustamante, press secretary for the governor.

``As a result of the funding announced today, these programs will continue vital housing and community development projects for thousands of Californians, from all walks of life,'' said Michael Bustamante, press secretary for the governor.

There is irony here. For a long time, it has been difficult getting any information from Bustamante. Often he would say he didn't know, or the governor had not made a decision on the subject. Our favorite was his flip response to legislators' complaints about Davis' back-door attempts to stall legislation. Bustamante said triple-digit heat made people do odd things.

Pricey plums

Campaign contribution statements are Milk-Bones for government watchdogs, since they let us know just who is lining candidates' war chests.

Two of Davis' biggest donors, for example, are mortgage company CEO Judith Hopkinson and San Diego Padres owner John J. Moores. Each of them gave the governor $100,000 this year.

And each of them is newly appointed to the University of California board of regents, a plum of prodigious prestige.

Sometimes, though, campaign statements are an exercise in smoke and mirrors. Assemblyman Edward Vincent, D-Inglewood, is contemplating a run for the state Senate in 2000. His campaign statement, released last week, shows a formidable war chest of $187,000. That total far outpaces his likely opponent, Assemblyman Dick Floyd, D-Carson, who reports just $59,000 in the bank.

But take another look at Vincent's report. Of that $187,000, real contributions accounted for only $13,445. The rest? A fat - and essentially meaningless - loan to himself.

The Big Five-Eight

If you had to pick a term to describe Long Beach Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal, a psychologist in real life, you'd probably land on something touchy-feely.

But the California Journal, an irreverent political magazine, used a surprising adjective for the Democrat in this month's issue - vain.

Seems of all 120 California legislators surveyed for the magazine's Political Almanac, just one, Lowenthal, provided his birth day - March 8 - but not the year.

Lowenthal, who has never balked at revealing his birth year (1941) to us, says he's puzzled by the situation.

``I don't know what happened here. No one on my staff will cop to doing this.''