SAN FRANCISCO – A Democratic politician who has been dubbed the “anti-Arnold” for his relentless criticism of Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday launched a quixotic quest to unseat the popular governor in an election that is still more than a year and half away.

In a morning speech at an elementary school, California’s state treasurer, Philip Angelides, 51, acknowledged the uphill battle he faces.

“I have no illusions about the difficulty of this race – a relatively unknown public servant looking to take on a global action hero, an international celebrity,” Mr. Angelides said. As is his custom, Mr. Angelides was unsparing in his criticism of Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican who won office in an unprecedented recall election in 2003.

“We have a governor who thinks it’s fine to cut assistance to children, to the poor, that somehow, if we just shower more fortune on the fortunate, the crumbs will fall to the rest, like the leftovers of a Hollywood dinner party,” Mr. Angelides said. He faulted Mr. Schwarzenegger for reducing state spending on public schools and for forcing enrollment limits in California’s higher education system.

“The California dream is in danger,” Mr. Angelides warned. He promised to balance the state’s budget and to provide free preschool to all 4-year-old children in the state.

Last year, Mr. Angelides was one of a few elected officials in California who opposed a $15 billion bond referendum that Mr. Schwarzenegger championed as essential to solving the state’s fiscal crisis. Mr. Angelides said tax increases should be part of the plan to help the state regain its fiscal footing; Mr. Schwarzenegger disagreed. The bond measure passed easily.

Yesterday, Mr. Angelides did not propose any tax increases, but he did accuse the governor of embarking “on an unbridled spending spree, a parade of fiscal irresponsibility that will hamstring our ability to invest in our future.”

A political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, John Pitney Jr., said in an interview that Mr. Schwarzenegger’s approval ratings have sagged a bit in recent polls, but they are still at an impressive level.

“They were in the stratosphere. Now, they’re just in the upper troposphere,” Mr. Pitney said.

The professor said Mr. Schwarzenegger would likely respond to the state treasurer, who once was chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, by trying to paint him as a tool of labor unions and Democratic insiders.

“The Schwarzenegger counterattack is pretty clear: Mr. Angelides is part of the establishment that people elected Arnold to clean up,” Mr. Pitney said.

For his part, Mr. Angelides sought yesterday to tie the popular governor to President Bush, who is viewed unfavorably by most California voters. The state treasurer even suggested that Mr. Schwarzenegger’s trip to Ohio to campaign for Mr. Bush may have clinched the president’s re-election.

A Republican political consultant from southern California, Allen Hoffenblum, said Mr. Angelides’s early entry into the race was designed to discredit other Democrats who might declare for governor if Mr. Schwarzenegger runs into trouble later this year or next.

“Should Arnold stumble, [Mr. Angelides] can say, ‘I was there right from the beginning,'” Mr. Hoffenblum said. He noted that Mr. Schwarzenegger has yet to indicate whether he will seek reelection.

Another Democrat who has been actively laying the groundwork for a gubernatorial campaign is the state controller, Steve Westly. He has not formally announced, but has established a campaign Web site. He spoke yesterday at a California Israeli Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Palo Alto.

Mr. Angelides has made enemies on Wall Street by using his post with California’s state employee retirement fund, Calpers, to crusade for corporate reforms. He has also supported unusual restrictions on the fund’s investments, such as a ban on holdings in China.

Mr. Westly has won the support of some in the financial community by taking a moderate stance on such issues.

In his announcement speech and an accompanying video, Mr. Angelides repeatedly stressed his background as the son of Greek immigrants.

When Mr. Angelides referred to low-wage competition that California faces from overseas, he cited Indonesia and Malaysia. He made no mention of China and India, the two countries that pose the most serious economic challenge to America but which also happen to be the native lands of two of California’s largest immigrant groups.

Despite his jabs at Hollywood and Mr. Schwarzenegger’s past career as an action star, Mr. Angelides is not totally removed from the movie business. One of his close advisers is a former speechwriter for Vice President Gore, Eli Attie. Mr. Attie, who was on hand for yesterday’s announcement, works as a writer for the NBC television drama “The West Wing.”

Robert Reiner, the Holllywood producer and director, has also been named as a potential candidate.