PARTY BACKING GIVES ANGELIDES NEEDED BOOST DEMS DECLINE TO ENDORSE BROWN FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Byline: HARRISON SHEPPARD Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO - The California Democratic Party's endorsement of Phil Angelides for governor gives the state treasurer a badly needed boost, but still leaves him with plenty of ground to make up.

The endorsement matters to party insiders and activists -- the people who contribute funds and walk precincts -- but has less effect on the general public, analysts said.

The party's delegates voted the endorsement Saturday night at the party's annual state convention in Sacramento, choosing Angelides over state controller Steve Westly, 67-28.

``I think he needed this endorsement,'' said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the University of Southern California, who attended the convention. ``This endorsement is helpful if only because the perception now is that the momentum of Westly, at least within the party, is not inevitable. He needed this endorsement because if he didn't get it, it would be perceived as a major defeat for Angelides.''

Angelides, a former party chairman, had started the race as a front-runner, beginning his campaign from the early part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's term and racking up endorsements from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, and other party leaders.

But Westly, who made more than $225 million as an executive of eBay, has been dipping into his own pockets to outspend Angelides significantly and has pulled further ahead of him in every poll, with his most recent lead pegged at 13 points.

Westly said he wasn't surprised that Angelides won the endorsement, but he intends to maintain the lead in the actual race.

``This is in my opponent's backyard,'' Westly said. ``He's been working on this for two years, and we've been actively campaigning for only a few months. He's the former state party chair. The fact we even made it competitive is a testament to the surging momentum of my campaign and to the extraordinary volunteers behind us.''

Westly also noted that in the past, a party endorsement has not always meant success in the actual election.

The last time the California Democratic Party endorsed a gubernatorial candidate in a competitive primary was 1990, when delegates supported then-Attorney General John Van de Kamp over then-San Francisco Mayor Feinstein. But Feinstein went on to win the primary, though she lost the general election to Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson.

Angelides said the endorsement should be important to the electorate because it comes from the insiders who have known both candidates for years.

``It's a signal that people who know both candidates well overwhelmingly believe I'm the person who can be counted on to fight for middle-class families and carry the banner against Arnold Schwarzenegger in the fall,'' Angelides said.

He added that he had talked Sunday morning to party Chairman Art Torres and was promised significant help from the party. Torres is battling health problems and could not attend the convention, choosing former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to chair the event in his absence.

In one of the other high-profile statewide races, the party declined to make an endorsement for state attorney general. That surprised many political observers who thought Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown would easily get the nod over Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. Brown got about 58 percent, falling short of the 60 percent threshold to win the endorsement.

Some analysts said that was the equivalent of a victory for Delgadillo, considered a heavy underdog among party activists, given Brown's long history of party involvement.

The party wrapped up its convention Sunday after adopting its official platform for the year, which included standard Democratic positions: supporting a woman's right to choose to have an abortion; protecting the environment; and supporting equality for minorities, gays and the disabled.

Other elements included reducing prison overcrowding by decreasing penalties for minor drug offenses; providing universal health care for all Californians; opposing privatization of government services; challenging the practice of racial profiling; and opposing new offshore oil drilling.

On national and international issues, the California Democrats said they would support immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants; fight to repeal the Patriot Act; seek the end of the Iraq war and occupation and turn the country over to the Iraqis; and support using an additional 1 percent of the federal budget for international aid and development.

[e-mail]

[phone]