However, there remains an absence of defining issues in the race. In today's inchworm politics, candidates are careful not to alienate any potential voter. Ads trumpet their support for voter favorites like education reform or opposition to gridlock. In late-campaign debates, candidates have turned to pointed and direct questions to squeeze opponents on controversial matters. Although the energy crisis has not yet reverberated in a city whose municipally owned utility just keeps humming along, former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa has come under attack for his Assembly vote in favor of the now-discredited 1996 deregulation bill.
Candidates have utilized issues to woo voters away from opponents competing for the same base.
Parks' approval rating is shaky among Latino voters, too. Villaraigosa and Rep. Xavier Becerra have both come down hard on Parks. Because there is no gender-specific issue to coalesce women, state Controller Kathleen Connell is finding that gender alone is not enough to move her into the top tier of candidates. Like every election, this one will be decided by turnout. A berth in the June run-off will hinge on each candidate's ability to maximize support and translate it into votes.