Rescue California

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Davis To Face Recall Election
California Secretary Certifies Signatures Of 1.3 Million Voters

July 24, 2003

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such a thing."

Burton said today that he was seeking legal advice on the commission's role but that it was his initial impression that the panel is consulted only when there is "a vacancy" in office -- if a governor becomes incapacitated, for example.

The Bustamante move, which his spokesman said was supported by lawyers in the California secretary of state's office, adds greater uncertainty to a process that is fraught with challenges.

County election officials have warned that holding a special election in so short a time (usually they have about 131 days to print and mail ballots and train poll workers) is a recipe for an electoral debacle like the one that engulfed Florida after the 2000 presidential election. California is also in the middle of modernizing its voting systems.

The confusion over the ballot also places greater pressure on possible candidates to replace Davis. The field is wildly uncertain. All it takes is 65 signatures and $3,500 to get on the ballot. But because the election appears to be on such a fast track, anyone with ambitions of replacing Davis now may have only a few days to decide whether to run.

Only Issa and a Green Party candidate, Peter Canejo, have committed to running. But the Republican and Democratic parties here are buzzing with behind-the-scenes intrigue about other prospective recall campaigns.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has never sought public office, has flirted with the idea of running against Davis for months. He also has organized a campaign team that would consist mostly of advisers to former two-term California governor Pete Wilson (R), whom Davis replaced in 1999.

But several Republican strategists with ties to Schwarzenegger said today that his wife, journalist Maria Shriver, is opposed to his running -- and that her opposition could keep him out of the race.

"Arnold is ready to go," said a prominent Republican official. "But she doesn't really want him to do this."

If Schwarzenegger doesn't run, his friend Richard Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles, might. Riordan is a moderate Republican with a record of attracting Democratic voters. He ran for governor last year, but his campaign did not entice conservative Republicans and fizzled in the GOP primary. Polls suggested that he could have beaten Davis in the general election. The candidate that Davis defeated in November, Republican businessman Bill Simon, also may run in the recall election.

Democrats, meanwhile, have rallied behind Davis. Every prominent elected official in the party here has vowed not to run in the recall. But some Democratic officials are so worried that Davis could be ousted -- because less than 25 percent of voters say he is doing a good job -- there is continuing chatter about whether the party should embrace a "caretaker" candidate who is in better standing with the public and who could complete the governor's term but not run for reelection in 2006.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) and former congressman Leon Panetta, who was President Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff, have been approached with such overtures but have rebuffed them.

The recall ballot also may be packed with lesser names because the requirements for qualifying are much easier than in regular elections. If voters decide to recall Davis, the winner of the election would need only a plurality of votes -- not a majority -- and would take office immediately.