Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Treasurer Phil Angelides sparred over taxes and budget priorities Saturday in their only scheduled gubernatorial debate, taking sharply different tacks as the Republican incumbent frequently aimed for laughs and the Democratic challenger doggedly dissected the governor's record.
Schwarzenegger, who entered the debate at California State University, Sacramento, with a double-digit lead in recent polls, said he spurred economic growth without raising taxes since taking office nearly three years ago. Angelides went on the offensive early, charging that the governor proposed deficit-spending budgets and increases in college tuition.
In a telling exchange, the candidates were given one opportunity to ask the other a question. Schwarzenegger asked the state treasurer to describe the "funniest moment" of his campaign. Angelides said he enjoyed campaigning with his family but didn't identify a specific moment, saying "every day is just a hoot."
Angelides used his question to take serious aim at the governor for seeking to overhaul the pension system for public employees, insisting that he tried to take benefits away from the "widows and orphans" of police officers and firefighters.
"I did not try to take anything away from any police officer or firefighter," Schwarzenegger said. "I can say right now that I will never take away a pension or the disability or the death benefit from anyone, firefighters or police officers or anyone else as far as that goes. So you can stop that hype right there."
Schwarzenegger kicked off the debate by reminding voters that Saturday was the three-year anniversary of his recall victory. While the governor took voters back to 2003, Angelides focused on 2005, a year in which Schwarzenegger called for an unpopular special election in which voters rejected all of his proposals.
Schwarzenegger said he "made several mistakes, not just one" in response to a question on his biggest lapse in office, explaining that the special election was "too fast" though he believed "there were good ideas there." The Democrat seized on that line, charging that the governor would pursue more conservative ideas if re-elected.
"It was apparently a good idea to attack working men and women in this state," Angelides said. "It was apparently a good idea to try to slice education in this state. I disagree with the governor. And one thing I want to say tonight is, who can you trust next year to do the right thing?"
Schwarzenegger and Republicans have painted Angelides as a tax-and-spend candidate ever since the Democratic state treasurer won the primary in June. At one point during Saturday's debate, the governor accused Angelides of supporting a 2003 increase in the car tax, which Schwarzenegger said would have cost taxpayers $4 billion annually if he had not repealed it when he took office. The governor listed other taxes Angelides once indicated support for when the state faced record deficits.
"I think that it is very clear, and you can tell by the joy you see in the eyes when you talk about taxes: You just love to increase taxes," Schwarzenegger said. "Just be very honest with the people...look out there right now and just say, 'I love increasing taxes.' " The line drew laughs, and Angelides, who had tried to interrupt Schwarzenegger during his tax-increase charges, retorted, "Now we're rolling."
The candidates also were divided over whether the state should do more to restrict development in flood-prone areas.
"You can't say to the people you can't build in those areas," Schwarzenegger said, suggesting that similar development limits would have to apply to areas prone to earthquakes. "The important thing is that people have insurance, and that we fix our levees."
Angelides charged that Schwarzenegger responded too slowly in protecting Californians from a Hurricane Katrina-like disaster. He said the governor had fired the entire state Reclamation Board in 2005 "when they started to oppose development projects that were in the floodway." Angelides, a former Sacramento developer, also said the governor "didn't lift a finger to help legislation pass that would have said you cannot build homes unless there is urban levels of flood protection."
The televised event was sponsored by the California Broadcasters Association, which billed it as a "conversational debate." Moderator Stan Statham, a former Republican legislator and president of the broadcasters' group, sat between the candidates, who sat at tables.
Statham often chastised the candidates for straying off topic and dragging out their responses, but he also encouraged them to respond to one another at will.
Schwarzenegger and Angelides at times talked over one another, particularly when they engaged on the subject of taxes or President Bush.
Angelides made frequent reference to Democratic leaders, even stating that he would fix California's deficit by using the same approach President Clinton did with the federal budget.
At one point, Schwarzenegger said Angelides reminded him of one of his famous Democratic in-laws, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.
"I feel a little bit like I'm having dinner with Uncle Teddy at Thanksgiving," Schwarzenegger said, sparking laughter.
"He's a great man, thank you so much," Angelides said. "If my grandmother could hear me being compared to a Kennedy..."
As the debate drew to a close, Schwarzenegger accused Angelides of participating in policies while Gray Davis was governor that he said led to "the most incredible decline of our economy," including increases in the car tax and college tuition.
"That is the bottom line and you are now ready to go in there again and promise the people everything and then increase the taxes," Schwarzenegger said. "How are you going to pay for all this without raising taxes?"
Entering the debate, Schwarzenegger held a commanding double-digit lead in five recent polls. Angelides continued to attract roughly 60 percent of Democratic support, below the 80 percent or more he is believed to need to beat Schwarzenegger.
Audience figures were unavailable, but the hourlong debate aired live at 6 p.m. Saturday, a low viewership slot typically occupied by local news and celebrity-oriented programs such as "Entertainment Tonight."
Making matters worse, the debate competed with two of California's biggest televised sporting matchups this fall: the top-25 college football game between Cal and Oregon, and a Major League Baseball playoff game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
Angelides' campaign insisted last month that the debate was "a joint appearance" and "not a debate" because of the event's more informal nature. Angelides had called for as many as eight debates, but Schwarzenegger's campaign said that past incumbent governors have agreed to only one.
After his approval ratings hit rock bottom last fall, Schwarzenegger rebuilt his image this year by embracing Democratic proposals and recasting himself as a modern-day Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, the former governor who expanded public works programs in the 1960s.
Schwarzenegger proposed a massive $222 billion program to build roads, schools and levees in his State of the State address before Democrats eventually agreed to a scaled-down $37.3 billion bond package for the Nov. 7 ballot. Angelides also has endorsed the bonds.
