Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides made improved health care and air quality his themes Thursday on a campaign tour of the Central Valley, as residents continued to sweat on the 12th consecutive day of a stifling heat wave.
Temperatures soared past 105 degrees, but local forecasters called it a "cooling trend."
It was the perfect, if oppressive, backdrop to the state treasurer's message that urgent action is needed to deal with the region's notoriously poor air quality. Angelides held a series of community forums at which local experts complained about the high rates of childhood asthma and impassioned children described their breathing troubles.
Angelides, a former developer who nonetheless has received endorsements from the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, is trying to style himself as the "green candidate," despite a poll released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California that showed voters warming to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pro-environment pitches. The poll showed Schwarzenegger with a 13-point lead over Angelides among likely voters, with around 85 percent of them saying environmental issues could affect their vote in November.
Angelides responded that voters are still getting to know him, and once they do, they'll see he's the real thing.
"They will see the Angelides family with our three hybrids (cars) and they will see Arnold Schwarzenegger with his fleet of Hummers," Angelides said at a stop in Modesto later Thursday.
His caravan of vehicles passed strip mall after strip mall linking the Central Valley's small, mostly agriculture-based cities.
The treasurer railed against irresponsible development, commending the San Joaquin Valley Air Quality District's decision to impose fees on developers who add to the sprawl and offering incentives for developers who embrace responsible urban planning.
Angelides said politicians have ignored the Valley for too long, and his message clearly resonated with some, including Susan Walsh, 53, who attended Angelides' forum in Merced on behalf of the League of Women Voters, which does not endorse candidates.
"That he's talking about it at all is very important to us here," said Walsh, who criticized both Democratic and Republican governors for ignoring pollution in the Central Valley.
Schwarzenegger's campaign said the governor has taken action on air pollution, allocating $3 million in last year's state budget for a children's asthma intervention program and launching a public awareness campaign to encourage Californians to get dirty cars off state roads.
The campaign also said the governor secured $25 million to upgrade school buses to the latest emission standards.
Schwarzenegger, also trying to appeal to Central Valley voters, added a last-minute appearance in Merced on Thursday, where he urged outdoor workers to drink water and take breaks in the shade.
But Angelides said what valley residents really need is more affordable health care and insurance for children and working families.
In response to the governor's health summit this week, he proposed extending the state's Healthy Families program to all California children and forcing companies with more than 200 employees to offer health insurance to employees and their families. Schwarzenegger's campaign estimated that would cost state businesses $7 billion a year.
Angelides responded that the plan would merely shift the cost of caring for workers from California taxpayers to their employers.
"It's costing us billions of dollars a year now when people are uninsured. They show up in these emergency rooms that are in meltdown. ... The taxpayers are essentially subsidizing the Wal-Marts of the world," he said.
Robin Blake, 35, a medical assistant, said her 9-year-old daughter often struggles to breathe and has to sit on the sidelines of her soccer games because of her asthma, which is worse in the stifling heat.
"It's refreshing to hear someone actually make commitments (on air quality)," she said after Angelides' Fresno forum, at which she spoke. "I hope that he keeps his end of the bargain."
Angelides, a policy wonk often described as stiff, also showed his softer side Thursday, climbing aboard a B-29 bomber with his father at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater and winning a raucous game of air hockey against a 12-year-old at a Merced Boys & Girls Club.
"I think he's a good player," said Lucas Heil, 12, who lost 3-2 to the state treasurer.
