Democratic contenders for governor face conundrum.

ONE year ago, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, State Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly were all considered strong contenders for the Democratic nomination for an open governor's seat in 2006. Lockyer and Angelides each had $10 million in the bank, while Silicon Valley businessman Westly had millions of his own to play with.

Then came October's recall. Whichever Democratic nominee emerges two years from now will likely face Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger--and difficult positioning choices made by Democrats during the recall campaign, along with the ensuing fiscal bailout debate, could come back to haunt them.

Lockyer's biggest problem may be with party leaders. He set off a furor among Democrats by announcing that be had voted for Schwarzenegger, a Republican, in the recall election, instead of Democrat Cruz Bustamante. (Lockyer voted against recalling former Gov. Gray Davis.)

Angelides has staked out the riskiest position, opposing Schwarzenegger on Proposition 57, the $15 billion deficit recovery bond that passed with broad support.

"He took a big gamble to go against Schwarzenegger who is so popular right now," said consultant Hal Dash, president of Cerrell Associates. "Now, Angelides' future is in large part tied to the success or failure of that bond."

If the state's financial condition continues to look grim, Angelides will be the "I told you so" candidate, a position that should score him points in the primary election, Dash said.

"Otherwise, he's going to have to find some other points to run on," he said.

No one has tied himself more closely to the bond measure than Westly, who was co-chair of the campaign and appeared in a televised ad with Schwarzenegger. While other Democrats ended up endorsing the measure, Westly received lots of publicity from the campaign and has emerged as the new symbol of bipartisanship that is popular with voters.

But if Schwarzenegger's image begins to take a pounding or the state's fiscal house doesn't get straightened out, Westly will likely absorb some of the impact.

Like Lockyer, Westly could find himself in a bind if Schwarzenegger decides to run. He would then have to campaign against someone with whom he was closely allied.

With still two years before any votes are taken, other Democratic possibilities could emerge. Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, for one, has won three statewide elections and has high name recognition. But he does not have the financial resources of Lockyer, Angelides or Westly.

High-Speed Rail 

As things stand right now, California voters face a $10 billion bond measure on the Nov. 2 ballot to build the main trunk line of a $37 billion, 700-mile-long high-speed rail network that would whisk commuters from L.A. to San Francisco in 2.5 hours.

But that could change, if some of the rail line's backers have their way. They're trying to pull the measure off the ballot.

Schwarzenegger has said he did not believe it was the right time for such a huge commitment of resources. The statewide rail lobby, RailPAC, agreed, fearing a likely defeat at the polls would kill any hopes of approval for a decade or more.

Now, four bills are working their way through the Legislature to remove the bond from November's ballot, and they appear to have the necessary two-thirds votes to pass.

The question is when, if ever, the bond measure should be rescheduled. Two of the bills would postpone it until November 2006; a third would put it off until 2010 and the fourth would kill the measure permanently. Those bills were put forward by Democrats; the bill to axe the bond is being sponsored by Republican Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks.

Meanwhile, L.A.-area politicos are gearing up for a fight over the route that the rail line would take through Northern L.A. County.

Two routes are under consideration. One would parallel the Golden State (5) Freeway as it goes through the Grapevine; the other would detour through Lancaster and Palmdale.

The Grapevine route would shave 12 minutes off the commute time and be less expensive, according to Carrie Pourvahidi, deputy director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The authority's staff is expected to recommend the Grapevine route.

But L.A. officials are united in favor of the Palmdale spur.

Mayor James Hahn wants to give people a quick way to get to the city-owned Palmdale airfield, and relieve some of the pressure on Los Angeles International Airport.

The showdown comes at a public heating in Los Angeles on April 13. By that time, though, the prospect of building the rail line any time soon will likely have dimmed considerably.

Twin Spotlights

Two weeks ago, state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Los Angeles, took the first official step toward challenging Hahn in next year's mayoral race.

Alarcon is also at the center of the storm in Sacramento over workers' compensation reform, and as chair of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, he could end up carrying the bill on the issue. But even if he succeeds, workers' comp may not do much to help his mayoral bid.

"L.A. voters simply haven't paid much attention to accomplishments in Sacramento," said Encino-based political consultant Coby King. "There is a long list of failed candidates from Sacramento, especially for citywide office."

Besides, King said, if workers' compensation reform clears the Legislature in the next few weeks, Schwarzenegger is likely to get the lion's share of the credit, since he forced the issue onto the legislative agenda.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [phone], ext. 227, or at [e-mail].