REMARKS TO PRIMARY ELECTION NIGHT VICTORY PARTY
By State Controller Gray Davis
Biltmore Hotel
Los Angeles, California
June 7, 1994

Thank you very much.

You know, we Democrats gathered here tonight face a very sobering
responsibility: We are the only thing standing between Pete Wilson and
another term!

And California simply cannot afford four more years of failure and drift,
four more years of alibis but no answers.

I believe Californians are fed up with 12 years of Republican inaction
and excuses. And I believe California is desperate for leadership
determined to solve problems, not simply assess blame.

That's why I'm running for Lieutenant Governor. I strongly believe that
that office -- in the right hands and with the right plans -- can be an
effective force for the change California so desperately needs.

And as Lieutenant Governor, I intend to bring to the table a series of
specific proposals that will help bring California back!

But if we Democrats are to win this year, we must deserve to win -- by
addressing honestly and openly the real issues of concern to
Californians, including jobs, crime and education.

We've got to be willing to shed some of our old assumptions and search
for innovative -- even unorthodox -- answers to the great challenges we
face in this State.

On crime in particular, we Democrats must not take a backseat to anybody
when it comes to our concern for the personal safety and security of the
citizens of this State.

After all, we, too, have parents, spouses, children and siblings we love
very much. We, too, care deeply about our friends, our co-workers and
our neighbors.

And we must not be reticent about communicating to all Californians that
we are just as resolute in making sure justice is done and punishment is
meted out to those who commit crimes.

In addition to the immense pain and human suffering it causes, crime is
also a serious deterrent to economic growth. Businesses simply won't
stay -- let alone expand -- in a community in which violence flourishes.
Nor is it enough to produce more jobs if Californians don't feel safe on
the streets, in their cars -- or even in their homes.

Now, my opponent this fall will be a State Senator by the name of Cathie
Wright. She'll claim she's "tough," but on virtually every major issue
the people of this State care about -- including crime -- she has voted
wrong!

And when our new Democratic Governor raises their right hand in January
to take the oath of office, he or she ought to be secure in the knowledge
that their Lieutenant Governor will be an ally, not a Far Right foe.

So over the next five months, I intend to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with
our gubernatorial candidate -- and the rest of what I'm confident will be
a strong and competitive statewide Democratic ticket -- to make the case
for change across this State.

And come January, I look forward to working with our new Democratic
Governor, our new Attorney General Tom Umberg, our new Democratic
Secretary of State, our new Democratic Treasurer, our new Democratic
Controller, our new Democratic Insurance Commissioner, and our new
Superintendant of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin.

Together -- and with your help -- we will fight to bring California back!

Thank you again so much for being here tonight.

___________

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