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Davis Shifts to Campaign Mode for Recall

Posted on: Thursday, 24 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Gov. Gray Davis and his advisers began shifting into campaign mode after state officials announced that the nation's first gubernatorial recall election in 82 years is headed for the ballot.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley said the state's 58 counties had reported 1.3 million valid petition signatures, well over the 897,158 required for the unprecedented recall.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, required by law to set an election date within 60-80 days, was expected to announce it at a news conference Thursday. An election could be held as early as Sept. 23.

"This is the first statewide special election in California's history. The challenges are profound," Shelley said at a news conference. "This could very well be one of the most important ballots our citizens ever cast."

Davis spent Wednesday night in Los Angeles and was scheduled to appear at an event with law enforcement officials there on Thursday. He is expected to continue a series of public events spotlighting programs threatened by proposed Republican budget cuts and the state's lack of a budget deal.

The state has been without a budget since July 1, with Republicans refusing to go along with Democratic-proposed tax hikes to help close the state's $38.2 billion budget deficit.

Davis has branded the Republican-led drive to oust him "a hostile takeover by the right," and said he will fight and win. Known for his aggressive campaigning in past elections, Davis said he was ready for the challenge.

"In a strange way, this has got my juices flowing," he said Wednesday.

The Republican field was still uncertain Wednesday, with just one candidate - Rep. Darrell Issa, who bankrolled the recall signature gathering effort with $1.7 million of his own money - definitely in the running. He planned to return from Washington as early as Thursday to begin campaigning.

The widely expected announcement touched off a flurry of activity among potential Republican candidates on Wednesday. Businessman Bill Simon, who lost to Davis in November, said he would announce his plans on Saturday and state Sen. Tom McClintock formed an exploratory committee.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's spokesman said the actor has not decided if he will run.

The state's Democratic officeholders have closed ranks behind Davis and say they will not run.

The ballot would have two parts: The first section would ask people to vote yes or no on whether to recall Davis and the second would provide a list of candidates to choose from in the event he is recalled.

If a majority of voters support the recall, Davis would be replaced by the candidate with the most votes, meaning a candidate in a large field could be elected governor with a relatively small percentage of the overall vote.

But Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who is in charge of scheduling the vote, suggested Wednesday that he may not have the power to set an election to choose a replacement candidate. "The authority I have is to set the date, but not the other," he said. "I don't think I have any other authority."

Bustamante says the decision on a replacement candidate should be up to the state Supreme Court or an obscure five-member body known as the Commission on the Governorship.

Shelley said law is clear that both questions should be on the same ballot. "We believe that it must include the second question, which is the option for other candidates. I've shared with Mr. Bustamante our point."

Davis allies are awaiting a ruling by the state Supreme Court after a last-ditch appeal to block the recall from making the ballot, alleging illegal signature gathering by recall backers. A spokeswoman said the justices were considering the case on an expedited basis.

Both sides were preparing for a bruising and costly recall election.

Although he was elected to his first term in 1998 by a landslide, Davis' standing slipped during California's energy crisis of 2000-01. A budget crisis further eroded his popularity and he won re-election by just 5 points in November over Simon, a political novice.

This year's $38.2 billion budget deficit has already caused the state's car tax to triple, and Davis' approval rating to sink into the low 20s in many polls.

Domenic Pepe, a 59-year-old semiretired engineer from the Los Angeles area, said he supported the plan to oust Davis.

"He really screwed things up. So let's see what the Republicans can do," Pepe said. "The deficit is a disgrace, and he failed to deal with the energy crisis. I just want to see him go."

But polls have also shown that many voters are concerned about the $30 million to $35 million cost of a special election, and about the prospect that a candidate could win with relatively few votes.

Los Angeles school district employee Laura Chardiet, 40, said those were the reasons she opposed the recall.

"I think it's a waste of time and money," she said. "Why should such a small portion of the population be able to overturn the vote of so many?"

Davis acknowledged Wednesday that he has not "done everything perfect," but predicted he will withstand the recall.

"Remember, there's a lot more people willing to vote against the recall than there are who think I'm doing a good job," Davis said. "If you look at those voters, they say, 'It's not fair to blame this on the governor.' It's that sense of fairness that I think will carry the day."

The last gubernatorial recall election was in 1921, when North Dakota Gov. Lynn J. Frazier was removed from office.

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Editor's note: Associated Press Writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.

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