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Recall petitions certified Capping off a surreal day of protests and rallies outside the state Capitol, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley announced the certification shortly after 6:30 p.m. More than 1.3 million valid voter signatures in support of a recall had been submitted from counties throughout the state, he said, easily surpassing a 897,158-signature threshold needed to trigger the first-ever recall election against a sitting California governor. Shelley said the election would be held between Sept. 23 and Oct. 7. He sent word to the governor and also notified Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, whose job it will be to choose the date. "All of us were very aware that we were making history and setting precedent," Shelley told reporters. "This could very well be one of the most important ballots our citizens may ever cast." Davis, who toured a San Francisco child-care center Wednesday, girded for an election driven by partisan discord and general voter discontent over the state's fiscal condition. Democratic-controlled California, the largest state in the nation, is struggling against rising unemployment and a $38.2 billion budget shortfall, worse than that of all other states combined. "I said if the recall gets serious, I will get serious, and I will fight to advance a progressive agenda," Davis said. "I'm going to fight like a Bengal tiger, and one of my greatest strengths is, people have underestimated me since I was born," he said. "Every time they say I'm roadkill, I continue to win because I have great faith that the California voters are fair, and believe in fundamental fairness." The governor's wife, Sharon, also took time to defend her husband. "We've got a strong base to run from," she told The Bee. "We can win this." Schwarzenegger, who has widely flirted with a possible candidacy, spent two hours closeted with political adviser George Gorton, telephoning supporters for advice. Gorton, emerging from the meeting, said no decision had been made. His comments were more guarded than the day before, when he predicted, "It seems to me like he's going to run." "This is an intensely private man and an intensely private family," he said. "It's an open question, and I am optimistic." The deliberations left moderate Republicans, who have hoped to field a candidate with broad appeal to Democrats and independents, pondering the possibility that neither of the two highest-performing Republicans in polls, Schwarzenegger and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, would enter the race. Riordan has not flatly ruled out a run but in the last week has downplayed the likelihood he would become a candidate. "Republicans, independents and a large chunk of the Democrats do not want Gray Davis as governor, but they want a viable replacement," said GOP political consultant and former Riordan adviser Kevin Spillane. Nevertheless, Spillane said, "if Schwarzenegger doesn't run and Riordan doesn't run, I think pessimists are jumping the gun. I still think there is a very real chance for Davis to be recalled." Rep. Darrell Issa, the San Diego County Republican who has financed a majority of the recall campaign, and Green Party member Peter Camejo, a Bay Area money manager, remained the only declared candidates with any statewide visibility. But last year's GOP gubernatorial nominee, Bill Simon, and state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Simi Valley, each opened exploratory accounts that would let them begin raising money and campaigning.
Schwarzenegger has said his decision to enter the race will depend
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