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Davis' low marks Secretary of State Kevin Shelley certified the recall petition and set the stage for an unprecedented vote this fall, hours after a state appeals court rebuffed a last-minute legal maneuver to delay the process. ``The challenges are profound,'' Shelley said at a news conference. ``This could very well be one of the most important ballots our citizens ever cast.'' Shelley's decision starts a clock on the recall election, which will be held Sept. 23, Sept. 30 or Oct. 7. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat, is expected to announce the date today. But he is expected to face intense questioning over his confounding refusal to say whether the ballot will include replacement candidates, as expected. Some Democrats are still poring over the state constitution and election laws in hopes of finding a legal loophole that will allow them to thwart what they see as a political coup. Wednesday's actions also set in motion a chaotic scramble over who will vie for the chance to replace Davis. The governor has so far managed to keep every top-tier Democratic alternative from stepping in. But a crowded stable of Republicans -- from actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, the recall bid's key financier -- are fighting for position. ``This is completely bizarre,'' Democratic consultant Gale Kaufman said. ``My head is ready to explode.'' As elections officials wrapped up the signature count, Davis spent the day defending his record and vowed to fight ``like a Bengal tiger'' to save his job. ``One of my greatest strengths is people have underestimated me since I was born,'' Davis said during a stop at a San Francisco child development center. ``Every time they say I'm roadkill, I continue to win because I have great faith that California voters are fair and believe in fundamental fairness.'' Leaders of the recall movement -- who argued that Davis deserves to be recalled for leading California into its worst fiscal crisis and misleading voters about the size of the problem -- celebrated their improbable victory and began preparing for a frenetic political campaign. ``Today is a landmark for California,'' Issa, a San Diego County multimillionaire, said in a statement. ``Now that the recall election is official, it is time for the state's voters to elect a new governor who will set a new and better course for California.'' Davis' low marks Wednesday's announcement was the climax of an extraordinary drive that began as the quixotic vision of an anti-tax gadfly and evolved into a political wildfire that swept across the state, capturing the imagination of Californians frustrated with business as usual in Sacramento. In many ways, Davis laid the groundwork for a recall. Stiff, stoic and often sullen, Davis had few allies and even fewer friends in Sacramento, despite spending nearly half his life in the capital. ``My job is not to win a popularity contest,'' Davis said during his re-election campaign. ``It's to lead this state.'' But Californians gave Davis low marks for leadership as well as personality. Many viewed him as indecisive and ineffective during the state's 2001 energy crisis, which sparked a series of rolling blackouts and skyrocketing energy bills.
Faced with disgruntled voters, Davis went on the offensive during his 2002 re-election campaign. First Davis spent $9 million in the Republican primary to undermine former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan, a popular moderate with bipartisan appeal. Davis then broke records by spending a stunning $65 million to decimate Los
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