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Governor fell to 'series of wrong turns' That helped a political newcomer, Los Angeles businessman Bill Simon Jr., emerge as Davis' Republican challenger. The governor's incursion into the GOP primary and his subsequent negative attacks on Simon infuriated Republicans, said Tony Quinn, co-editor of the California Target Book, a nonpartisan guide to state elections. "It looked as though he corrupted the process," Quinn said. A steady drumbeat of news stories about Davis' phenomenal fund raising and its potential connection to policy decisions bolstered the governor's reputation as someone willing to do anything for political gain. He won re-election by a surprisingly slim 5 percentage point margin. A month later, Davis announced the state's projected deficit had grown to nearly $35 billion. It's that sudden news of financial doom that provided recall backers the excuse to mount a signature-gathering drive. "For several years, Davis benefited from an economy he didn't create and now he's suffering from an economy he didn't create," said Pitney, the government professor. "To the extent Gray Davis got himself in trouble, it was from a series of wrong turns, not one big wrong turn."
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Andrew LaMar covers state government and politics. Reach him at 916-441-2101 or alamar@cctimes.com
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