Davis defends against Simon in L.A. debate

Kicking off the last month of campaigning before the November
elections, Gov. Gray Davis and GOP nominee Bill Simon met downtown
Los Angeles Monday to exchange barbs and hash out platforms in
their only scheduled gubernatorial debate.

Davis defended his four-year record during the hour-long debate,
saying he has made the state safer while helping schools even in
difficult times.

Simon used their only joint appearance of the campaign to blame
the incumbent governor for the state’s economic downturn, for
alienating businesses, and for squandering a record budget
surplus.

He accused Davis of “failing to act and then
panicking” during the energy crisis and said “he
completely mismanaged the state budget.”

However, Davis said, “Despite tough challenges …
we’ve made real progress in California” on
education, health care, the environment and public safety.

Discussion of higher education was absent in the debate though
the future governor will be responsible for appointing five new
regents to the University of California to replace those whose
terms expire in or before 2006.

The Board of Regents manages UC operations and reviews
university-wide policy that affects student fees, admissions and
facilities.

Ward Connerly is among the regents with terms expiring in the
next four years. Connerly, a Sacramento-based lawyer well-known for
opposing affirmative action and who most recently called for an
audit of the UC’s admissions policy, will leave the board in
2005 unless reappointed.

Statewide polls show neither Davis nor Simon is popular with
voters, and the debate underscored months of campaigning that have
been wrought with attacks from both parties.

Davis slammed Simon for investigations into his family’s
business practices and called him “out of step with the
values of most Californians,” while Simon asked Davis to
apologize for a “disastrous four years in office” and
blasted him for his belatedly signed budget.

Trailing in the polls a month before Election Day, Simon accused
Davis of auctioning his office for campaign contributions in their
debate Monday.

“˜’This has been an election that has been so lacking
in a discussion of the issues, and the voters have told us
that’s what they want the candidates to do,”
said Mark Baldassare, survey director for the Public Policy
Institute of California.

Instead, Davis has spent millions on television ads touting his
record and bashing Simon while Simon has sought to tie Davis’
record-breaking fundraising to his actions as governor.

Answering questions about his plans to run for another office,
like President or Senator, Davis refused to rule out the
possibility, but said he intends to serve a full four-year term if
reelected.

“With the energy crisis and a budget deficit, it has been
challenging enough as it is,” he said. “I intend to
stay here and do my job.”

Simon responded to concerns that his professed opposition to a
bill Davis recently signed to limit greenhouse gas emissions is out
of touch with California voters.

“I believe we should reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
I believe the scientific evidence indicates that there has been
warming, but the cause is not agreed upon ““ so therefore you
can’t know precisely what the solution is.”

Touting his own endorsements from the Sierra Club and League of
Conservation Voters, Davis rejected his opponent’s
answer.

“I don’t think he’s a friend of the
environment,” Davis said.

Even the circumstances of the debate were not without
controversy.

Simon had complained that the single noontime debate, sponsored
by the Los Angeles Times, was scheduled to reach a minimal audience
as Davis tries to avoid missteps in the final weeks of the
campaign.

Simon had tried unsuccessfully to invite Green Party nominee
Peter Camejo to the debate as his guest, sparking a last-day
tempest as Simon and Davis each briefly threatened a debate
boycott.

Camejo wound up protesting his exclusion from outside the Los
Angeles Times building. The newspaper said Camejo was excluded
because he failed to gather the minimum 15 percent support of
likely voters it said is necessary to prove his campaign is
viable.

With reports from Noah Grand, Daily Bruin Reporter, and The
Associated Press.