 |
 -0 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
Recall is on Secretary of State Kevin Shelley announced more than 1.3 million valid signatures on petitions to oust Davis from office, far more than needed to qualify the recall for the ballot. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante said he would set a date for the unprecedented election today, likely for late September or early October. "The message has been delivered to the politicians: maybe we better consider the people," said recall organizer Ted Costa, an anti-tax activist whose effort was written off by experts only months ago. At the same time, recall organizers braced for potential legal action that could thwart or delay the recall. An obscure commission, dominated by Democrats and Davis allies, could petition the state Supreme Court to block any election of a replacement for Davis, assuring Bustamante would become governor if Davis is recalled. The possibility threatened to throw the recall process into legal chaos and force a hearing before the state Supreme Court. Backers of the recall said they are prepared to battle any legal challenges. "You can rest assured that we are not going to just stand by and allow this to be hijacked at the 11th hour," said Thomas Hiltachk, legal counsel for the Rescue California recall committee. With more than $1.2 million in financial assistance from Rep. Darrell Issa, a San Diego-area Republican who is now running for governor, recall organizers ended up collecting more than 1.6 million signatures to force the election. Before Issa entered the picture, the recall was discounted as the pipe dream of Costa, head of the Sacramento group that brought California the Proposition 13 tax revolt 25 years ago. The stage now is set for a full-scale political battle through the summer and into early fall. In increasingly combative language, Davis has likened the recall movement to a right-wing coup, a hostile takeover of the government only eight months after he was elected. "I said from the very beginning if the recall got serious I would get serious," Davis said in Sacramento Wednesday. "I've had to fight for everything in my life, and trust me, I've had more political obituaries written about me than you could possibly imagine. "In the end, this is more about changing directions than changing governors, and I don't think the people of this state want to trade in a progressive agenda for a right-wing agenda." California voters installed the recall laws during a Progressive revolution in 1911, the same year women were given the right to vote and amid a backlash against powerful railroad interests that had dominated state politics. There have been 32 attempts to recall governors in California, including Republicans Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson, but before Wednesday night, none had qualified for the ballot. The recall election is likely to be held Oct. 7 -- on a Tuesday, like all elections -- which means potential candidates would have until the first week of August to file papers with elections officials. Candidates can enter the race if they produce 65 signatures from members of their political party and pay a $3,500 filing fee. Candidates are not required to pay a filing fee if they submit 10,000 valid signatures. State election officials are researching whether candidates can enter the race as independents, rather than party members.
Unless the courts intervene, the recall ballot will include two questions: Should Davis be recalled and who should replace him? The free-for-all
|
|
|
