The Sacramento Bee columnist would appear to be no fan of Jim Hahn as mayor.

Hahn and his mayoral reign have been likened, not without cause, to Gray Davis and his governorship, which was cut short last year in a historic recall. Hahn, like Davis, is a charisma-challenged political lifer who has evinced little interest in anything beyond mundane matters of the moment. And, like Davis, Hahn's reign has been marked by the appearance of pay-to-play relationships with campaign contributors.

Of the connection between candidate Bob Hertzberg, a Democrat, and Gov. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, Walters suggests:

Schwarzenegger probably won't formally endorse Hertzberg, but the ties are unmistakable and nothing prevents Hertzberg from exploiting them. Whether Hertzberg or any of the other hopefuls emerges as the one-on-one challenger to Hahn, it's clear that the lackluster mayor is in trouble. The investigations of his administration are likely to continue for months, keeping him on the defensive, and the specific dissatisfactions among the city's many economic, cultural and geographic factions could merge synergistically.