EDITORIAL CAPTURING THE CENTER STEVE WESTLY FOR DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL NOMINATION.

WHAT'S become clear over the last year is that the people's business in Sacramento is never going to get done if the party hacks have their way. It's up to moderates in both parties to seek common ground and to work collaboratively to represent the broad interests of all Californians.

For that reason, the last thing the state needs as a governor is an unapologetically hard-line Democrat like state Treasurer Phil Angelides has become.

Once a sensible politician who understood the balance between business and worker interests, Angelides now has only one schtick: Stick it to the Republicans -- and consequently, the public.

His platform consists almost entirely of a $10 billion tax increase in a state that's already among the highest taxed in the nation. He offers nothing to move California forward, and everything to mire it in the same political stalemate -- a return to the failed Gray Davis era.

State Controller Steve Westly is everything Angelides is not -- collaborative and moderate. Instead of trying to undermine Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at every turn, he has worked to find the common ground.

The eBay millionaire has supported ideas he thought had merit -- including Schwarzenegger's bond measures -- even if it meant opposing his party. Indeed, this independence likely cost him the official party nomination, despite his popularity among average Democratic voters.

Political moderation is what Californians seek. What was attractive about Schwarzenegger during the recall election was his efforts to find the center. Westly has taken a Democratic version of the same approach. He believes he can take those populist ideals and get the political machinery of the state behind them the way Schwarzenegger cannot.

Californians are tired of the infighting in Sacramento. That's why we encourage voters to just say no to the divisive politics of the past and pick a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who embraces the same thing Californians do.

A Schwarzenegger vs. Westly faceoff in November likely would inspire hope across the board that Sacramento finally will start fulfilling the yearning for a government that puts the public interest first.