Sometime after suffering a lopsided defeat in his bid for governor, Phil Angelides jotted down a quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson and stuffed it into his pocket.
Ever since, he's carried the quote:
"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall."
"It implies many falls," Angelides said in an interview this week.
Now Angelides wants people to know he is rising from defeat. He is returning to the private sector with his own new company -- a venture capital firm he says will work to generate investments for "smart growth" and environmentally friendly projects and products.
For now, the business he will open Jan. 9 in a suite at One Capitol Mall in Sacramento is simply called "The Office of Phil Angelides."
By any name, he hopes to create a profitable company that reflects an activist agenda he pushed as state treasurer when he helped direct state pension funds into blighted communities and urban infill developments.
"I'm going to focus on building a very successful enterprise but I'm going to stay involved as a public citizen," said Angelides, who so far is the only investor in a startup now hiring its first employees. "And I'm not going to shrink from the public arena."
In a wide-ranging interview, Angelides reflected on his 17-point loss to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during what was otherwise a banner year for Democrats. He described the emotions of waging an aggressive campaign to the very end -- knowing he was going to lose.
Angelides, 53, declared that he is not dead politically and -- as suggested by the Emerson quote -- may well rise again, perhaps even to run for governor someday.
Otherwise, Angelides, who was criticized for micromanaging his gubernatorial bid and too often coming across as shrill and intensely partisan, was introspective as he reviewed the past and plotted his future.
On one hand, he said, he wouldn't have done anything differently, saying, "I have no regrets. I was consistent in my beliefs. I never trimmed my sails."
But Angelides said he also knew he faced the "biggest of climbs" in seeking to defeat a celebrity governor "who was arguably the most famous man in the world" and defy political history as the first challenger in 64 years to deny a California governor a second term.
And the two-term treasurer suggested he wasn't prepared for an added tidal force of "$150 million in campaign spending, the bulk of it trying to flatten me," from Democratic primary opponent Steve Westly and the Schwarzenegger re-election team.
Angelides claims he deserves a measure of credit for pushing themes that prompted Schwarzenegger to cut politically popular deals with Democratic lawmakers on prescription drugs, raising the minimum wage and fighting global warming.
But as the gubernatorial campaign wore on, it didn't take his Harvard degree to know he was headed for defeat. Angelides described having sobering 2 a.m. talks with his wife, Julie, and three daughters about his grim prospects.
"In the final three weeks, I knew. I knew how hard it was," Angelides said. "There were times late at night when Julie and I and the girls would be together and we knew it was hard, if not near impossible. We knew, but hoped we'd get a break -- a break that never came."
But Angelides said he refused to "ever lay down" and curtail campaigning. He said he "had a responsibility to finish the race for my values," and drew "inspiration" from people he encountered.
"You can't be cynical about the experience I've had," Angelides said. "... Being involved in democracy is making your case. And it's not always your moment. I believe my moment for my ideas will come. And I intend to keep pushing them."
In his new company, Angelides said he will raise capital and provide direct financing -- and possibly create an investment fund -- for projects he believes will promote clean technologies or "economic equity and opportunity."
The One Capitol Mall building where he is leasing office space is owned by the development firm of Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and daughter Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, his longtime friends, business partners and political donors.
Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, president of AKT Development, said there are no current plans to partner with Angelides in his business venture, but said, "I hope we will be able to work together in the future."
Angelides, who built the Laguna West community south of Sacramento, said he won't return to his former career as a real estate developer. But he doesn't rule out a comeback in elective politics.
Angelides mentioned that his good friend U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein was twice routed in bids for mayor of San Francisco and lost a gubernatorial race. And he rattled off other noted political comebacks.
"If I had a chance to run for governor again, would I? Absolutely," he said.
But, for now, Angelides stressed he is moving on from a political life -- starting with his choice of office space overlooking the Sacramento River.
"I had a choice of the Capitol view or the river view," he said. "I chose the river view."
