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Governor fell to 'series of wrong turns' Gray Davis is the first one to face a vote for removal. How did the veteran politician, who swept into office with a 20 percentage point victory in 1998, meet this fate? Some Democrats blame the political ambition of one man: Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista. He bankrolled the signature gathering that put the recall on the ballot. Others say Davis can only blame himself. Time and again, Davis failed to lead, his critics say. He never inspired loyalty because of his centrist policies, political maneuvering and aloof style. His public support has eroded steadily since an energy crisis hit the state with full force in January 2001. So when the economy tumbled into recession and state revenues crashed, which forced difficult decisions on service cuts and tax increases, few rushed to the governor's defense. Democrats in the Legislature abandoned him. "Davis does not really have a political constituency," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. When his predecessor's popularity plummeted, there was a key difference, Pitney said. "There were Republicans who were fiercely loyal to Pete Wilson. No one is fiercely loyal to Gray Davis." Despite his charisma shortage, Davis has managed to methodically climb the rungs of the state political ladder for 30 years. He overachieved, many say, thanks to brains, commitment and good luck. Davis outmaneuvered two millionaires -- airline executive Al Checchi and Rep. Jane Harman -- in the 1998 Democratic primary by portraying himself as a public servant and the most experienced candidate. He won a landslide victory over Attorney General Dan Lungren that fall by blasting the Republican as an out-of-step ultra-conservative. Davis took the state's helm in 1999 as the booming economy produced budget surpluses. For two years, extra cash allowed him to run up education spending, boost tax credits and expand social service programs. By September 2000, the governor's popularity soared. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found two-thirds of the state's likely voters approved of Davis' performance. The governor's standing and good fortune caught the eye of national media. When Vice President Al Gore lost the presidential race to Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Davis' name began popping up as a potential 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. But as the presidential vote count wound its way through the courts, California electricity prices rose and its energy supplies tightened. By January 2001, a full-blown electricity crisis gripped the state. California's two biggest utility companies warned they were on the edge of bankruptcy. The state experienced blackouts in January and again in March. Faced with his first big test as governor, Davis appeared to dawdle, and his public support waned. "If there was something that triggered his decline in popularity, it's when the lights went out," said Darry Sragow, a Democratic strategist who ran Checchi's 1998 campaign. "Every time the lights went out, his (poll) numbers dropped and then they never came back up." While Davis pushed to expedite the construction of power plants, his obsessive fund raising began to draw attention. Then the economy soured. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center led to further cuts in tourism and travel. State tax revenues plunged. California faced its first deficit under Davis. He proposed bridging the gap with a mix of fund-shifting, borrowing and program trimming. Critics accused him of avoiding tough budget decisions and papering over the revenue shortages to protect the 2002 re-election campaign he was launching.
In that race, Davis made a bold decision to attack the front-runner in the Republican primary, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard
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