Running Against Elvis
Rocky Delgadillo's recent attacks on fellow candidate for the Democratic nomination for Attorney Jerry Brown reminds of me of something a friend told me while running a campaign for one of Jerry Brown's mayoral rivals in Oakland in 1998."It's like running against Elvis", she said.
With Brown, an icon in California politics whether you love him or hate him, issues and goals get lost behind the legendary personality. In this situation the question in voters' minds is who the candidate is personally, a referendum on the man or woman, not the issues at hand. Do you what "Governor Moonbeam" or a saintly visionary, depending who's asking and answering the question. As a challenger, you can't fight that without resorting to attacks on the rival's personality, which can come off as bitter and petty.
It's even harder for Delgadillo because part of his campaign message is his own log-cabin-to-City-Hall story. People need to believe that such success comes about due to personal virtue. Lose that image and you've lost the battle of personality. Do nothing and the rival's personality overwhelms your message. I saw it in Oakland in 1998 when Brown cleared out a field of challengers where the second place garnered around 15 percent of the vote. It ain't easy.
This race is Brown's to lose and he's too smart of a politician to let that happen. For those of us who have followed his career from governor to Democratic Party chair to presidential candidate to mayor of Oakland, and know his random style of dealing with issues and reputation for being an impossible man to work for, having him run the state AG's office should be interesting. Not necessarily effective but certainly never dull.
posted by Terry Preston @ 9:29 PM
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