GORE IS TOPS IN DEMS' STRAW POLL MANY IN ALLIANCE BELIEVE HE HAS IMPROVED WITH AGE.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- An effort to move up the California 2008 presidential primary is under way so the state's voters have a greater say in their party's nominee, but local Democrats have that beat: they've already voted for president.

Their choices?

Echoing the 2000 race, Al Gore was the top pick among 39 people at Thursday's Democratic Alliance for Action meeting, drawing 12 votes. Other favorites in the field of 12 candidates were Barack Obama, with eight votes, Hillary Rodham Clinton, with six, and Wesley Clark, with four.

``My guess is they tend to be more liberal, tend to be more environmentally sensitive,'' said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar in the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California . ``Gore is Mr. Environment.''

The straw poll came as the alliance sought to fire up stalwarts to gauge members' favorites.

``There are a lot of good candidates and we want people to be involved from this point forward,'' said Bruce McFarland, president of the Democratic Alliance for Action. ``We didn't say, `Who do you think can win?' we said, `Who do you think is best for the job?'''

McFarland said many in the club were active in the 2004 race and felt Gore was robbed in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided the election in favor of George W. Bush.

``They liked what (Gore's) done since then, stayed active in environmental and political activities,'' McFarland said. ``He's actually improved with age, in a way (becoming) a senior statesman for the party.''

Other candidates in the club's poll were Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Al Sharpton and Tom Vilsack.

Candidates may feel pressured to announce their decision early for the 2008 race because the primary and caucus calendar could be more compact than in years past, and candidates need ample lead time to raise money and gear up campaigns.

The intense media attention may wane, but McFarland said the frenzy seems six months to a year ahead of the norm.

The plan to switch California's 2008 primary from June to Feb. 5 is before the state Legislature and its passage seems likely..

``The governor really does, to some extent, want to play a big role in his party's primary,'' Bebitch Jeffe said. ``He would be helped dramatically if the primary moved up to February. California is a huge state and it will come very early in the process.''

Long-distance thinking may be part of the deal.

``The governor wants redistricting reform and the Democrats said they would be willing to listen if he includes extending terms limits,'' Bebitch Jeffe said. ``If there is an election in February of 2008, and an extension of term limits goes on the ballot in February 2008 and passes, it leaves enough time for a legislator who would otherwise be termed out to file for the June primary.''

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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