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Davis recall grows Nearly every political professional in the state dismisses the campaign -- being mounted by an anti-tax crusader and a political consultant whose candidate lost to Davis last year. But they always add, "... and yet." And yet, as in, if public interest builds as the petition drive nears the 900,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. And yet, as in, whether the campaign can raise money needed to hire professional firms. And yet, as in, whether major political figures decide to back the measure and announce their candidacy for governor. "Forget the Internet. Forget talk radio. Forget the volunteers and mail," said Sal Russo, the Sacramento-based consultant who managed the unsuccessful campaign of Republican Bill Simon against Davis last year. "Forget all of that, and we have passed a landmark no one thought we would get to. I hate to embarrass everybody, but we are succeeding." The landmark passed last week was the filing of 100,000 signatures of registered voters who want to recall Davis -- the first threshold to qualify the measure by the Sept. 2 deadline for a statewide election. "No one thought we would get this far," Russo gloats. "There have been 31 other recalls of governors tried in the past and no one has gotten this far." Despite public statements to the contrary, Davis is apparently taking the movement seriously. He has made himself more available publicly in recent weeks, focused on new issues and begun a fund-raising effort -- using his annual golf tournament to raise money just in case it is needed. A California Poll released last month showed Davis to be the most unpopular governor in state history -- a marked turnaround from only a few years ago when he was considered the most popular. It is a decline prompted by Davis' handling of the energy crisis, as well as the current budget debacle, with the state facing a $35 billion deficit. "This is something being fueled by disgruntled Republicans who were unable to defeat the governor last year," said Roger Salazar, spokesman for the Gray Davis Committee. "People see this for what it really is: an effort to undo the results of the last election. Their argument that this is a bipartisan effort has proven hollow." And if it were not for the war in Iraq, Salazar argued, President George W. Bush would also be facing popularity problems. Russo said hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded the recall petition at www.recallgraydavis.com and he cites the California Poll as showing 46 percent would vote to recall Davis. However, the same poll shows 60 percent opposed to a recall election. And yet ... Russo said his group could qualify the recall election for the ballot with the relatively small number of signatures required. "If that happens, it's 'Katie, bar the door," said Rob Stutzman, a spokesman for the state Republican Party, which has endorsed the recall effort even though it has not given any money. "We can't give any money under the new campaign laws and we are focused more on getting President Bush re-elected and defeating (Democratic Sen.) Barbara Boxer. But we think recalling the governor is an excellent idea." Russo said he has tried to avoid making it a partisan issue, but the fact is he handles Republican candidates exclusively and most of the public support has come from the GOP. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, a multimillionaire who ran unsuccessfully for governor in the past and has made no secret of his desire to hold higher office, has said he will help raise money for the recall effort.
As a result, many
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