Angelides Mirrors Voters' Gay Marriage Views

State Treasurer and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides embodies the public's slow movement toward supporting full marriage rights for same-sex couples. Today, he is an advocate for marriage equality and has repeatedly said he would sign into law a gay marriage bill if he were governor. But five years ago, the former chair of the state Democratic Party and statewide officeholder since 1998 readily admits he leaned more toward supporting civil unions than gay marriage. "Five years ago I might have said gay civil unions was the right thing," said Angelides during an editorial board meeting with the Bay Area Reporter Tuesday, January 17. "Our three daughters and I would discuss it. I remember during dinner one night, one of my girls looked at me and said 'How can you have any reservations about this?'"

Along with the conversations with his family, Angelides credited close friendships with several same-sex couples he and his wife know in his hometown of Sacramento as also helping turn him into a gay marriage supporter.

"The most powerful impact for me has been my own friends in loving, caring relationships, the friends Julie and I have in Sacramento who are in loving, long-term relationships as powerful and meaningful as mine," said Angelides, 52, a graduate of Harvard and former developer of environmentally sustainable housing.

Angelides's personal struggle with the issue prepared him for a lunch meeting with state Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) in the winter of 2004. Leno had introduced his first gay marriage bill in Sacramento that February 12 – the same day San Francisco began marrying same-sex couples – and he was looking for support from the state's top Democrats.

At that point, the only statewide officeholder to support his bill was then-Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, a liberal Democrat from San Francisco. Unsure what Angelides's response would be, Leno had a hunch he could convince him to support the legislation. As he would find out, it didn't take much arm-twisting.

"It took a while for us to build universal support. He was one of the first people I went to see," said Leno, who said Angelides's response "was unequivocal at that point."

Angelides has not wavered on the issue since, despite some Democrats' contention gay marriage was responsible for the party's defeat in the 2004 presidential election. In fact, when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Leno's marriage bill last summer, Angelides publicly pledged if he were to be governor, he would sign the measure into law.

He did so, he said, "because I thought it was the right thing to do. I always want to see my state on the right side of history. If you look at the long march where this country's been, it's been a society that has moved toward more inclusion, more civil liberties, not less. I know this is where we will be and the sooner we get there the better. It is interesting to see how all our attitudes are changing."

Angelides and his opponent in the Democratic primary, state Controller Steve Westly, both have pledged to sign the gay marriage bill into law. They are the first Democratic gubernatorial candidates in California to do so, and are believed to be the first to do so in the United States.

"It is hard not to be a strong supporter of gay marriage," said Angelides.

No matter which man becomes the party's candidate in June, for LGBT voters it one of the rare times they do not have to make a "lesser of the two evils" choice, such as the last presidential election. Senator John Kerry's (D-Massachusetts) stance on gay marriage varied little from President Bush's views.

"Our community is enormously fortunate because the choices before us need not be determined by commitment to LGBT civil rights," said Leno, who noted that Westly "has been very firm and steadfast in support" of his bill.

Though Leno supported Westly in his primary when he ran for controller in 2002, Leno has endorsed Angelides for governor and is introducing him to a number of his major donors. Last week, other LGBT leaders from across the state sent out a letter to the gay community detailing why Angelides is the better choice.

"The 2006 gubernatorial election will be a critical turning point for California. By working together, we can win back the governorճ office and put our state on a rational and responsible course that is fair to all Californians. We are standing with Phil Angelides in this election because he has stood with us for many years, never wavering in his beliefs," states the letter. "That is the kind of person that Phil is – someone we can count on. Even when the current governor's popularity was at its highest, Phil stood up – when some Democrats wouldn't – and fought for Democratic values of fairness and opportunity."

State Senators Sheila Kuehl and Christine Kehoe, Assemblyman John Laird, Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, and a host of other LGBT leaders signed the letter and are working to elect Angelides.

While many Democrats fear the primary battle will turn nasty, for now Angelides avoids talking about Westly, eschewing trading barbs with his opponent and instead is taking aim directly at Schwarzenegger. He likes to refer to himself as "the anti-Arnold" and has an air of confidence about him that he will face the former Hollywood superstar in November.

"My opponent may talk about me and why I may not be right for this job, but I contrast myself to the current governor," said Angelides when asked why LGBT voters should choose him over Westly in June's primary election.

During the interview, and in talks to LGBT groups, Angelides repeatedly criticizes Schwarzenegger for his comments on Meet the Press in 2004 that there were "riots" in San Francisco over the gay nuptials and for his attacking Mayor Gavin Newsom at the state Republican Party's convention.

At the time, he said, "I was the only Democrat standing up against him."

Angelides has vocally opposed everything from the governor's stance on gay rights to his under-funding the state's colleges and universities to his recent bond announcement, which Angelides contends is really nothing more than a charade of numbers and will not improve the state's transportation needs.

He said his main reason for wanting to unseat Schwarzenegger is so he can "put the state of California back on the side of the people, whether it is gay couples or the kid who wants to go to college. I will take us in a very different direction."

Angelides does share one thing with Schwarzenegger; both men say former President Richard Nixon influenced their decision to enter politics. Of course, Nixon motivated them for very different reasons.

As for swipes from other politicians that he doesn't have the charisma or star power to defeat Schwarzenegger, Angelides brushes such complaints aside.

"I am proud of the record I am building. It is not one of fluff and it is not one of photo ops. It is real stuff we are doing," he said, contending his policies as treasurer are helping to create new jobs and housing in the state.

"I have put together a record of accomplishments. I am fully trained and licensed to drive and I am fully trained and licensed to be governor," said Angelides, taking a swipe at Schwarzenegger's not having the proper license to drive his motorcycle. "Yes, I am the anti-Arnold, but I am pro-California."