California gubernatorial candidate Betty Lee speaks during the California Democratic Party convention at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Saturday. She got the second-most delegate endorsement votes.

In the still-too-congested California governor race, something notable happened last week when former state Controller Betty Yee took second place in terms of endorsements from delegates at the state Democratic Party convention. 

Yee, a Bay Area political star who graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco, UC Berkeley and Golden Gate University in the city, has struggled to gain traction in polls of voters in a field crammed with eight Democrats and two Republicans. She’s polling less than 2%, well behind Republicans Steve Hilton at 17% and Chad Bianco at 14%, and the Democratic throng led by Eric Swalwell at 14% and Katie Porter at 10%. 

So does picking up more delegate endorsements other than Swalwell at the state Democratic convention mean she’ll soon translate that into polling momentum? Time will tell. But in an hour-long interview with me this week, the incredibly mild-mannered Yee certainly wasn’t shy about criticizing her opponents in the race. 

Article continues below this ad

“The Swalwell candidacy to me is not spending enough time and attention on California,” Yee said over coffee at Cora Coffee, a shiny java place right by the Capitol, where she hopes to get some office space.

On........

© San Francisco Chronicle