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Recall Vote Set for Oct. 7 But in the absence of court intervention, the concrete fact of an election date put California's political establishment definitively on track for an intense 74-day campaign. "Anybody who goes in thinking 'traditional campaign' in this circumstance is probably going to get a big surprise," said Republican ad maker Don Sipple, a member of the team of former aides to Gov. Pete Wilson that is now poised to reassemble for Arnold Schwarzenegger should the actor run. "It's going to be very fluid. Unpredictable things will happen," Sipple said. "It's going to take a very nimble, adaptive, creative team to pull this off." It is also likely to take considerable amounts of money. As the target of the recall, Davis is allowed to raise and spend an unlimited amount in his defense. The governor plans to raise $15 million to $20 million for the campaign, said Steve Smith, director of the anti-recall effort. That's a fraction of the $78 million that Davis spent over the four years leading up to his reelection less than a year ago, but enough for several weeks of television ads. Candidates to succeed Davis also are likely to spend millions. Several of the possible Republican contenders have large personal fortunes they could tap for their campaigns. Beyond that, the state Democratic and Republican parties plan to pour money into efforts to draw voters to the polls for a contest in which turnout will be crucial. Independent groups including labor unions, Indian tribes and others could also spend money on the campaign. Schwarzenegger was in Mexico City on Thursday to promote his new movie, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." Asked by reporters about his political ambitions, he declined to comment. In California, his spokesman Sean Walsh said Schwarzenegger "honestly has not made up his mind" whether to run. Before leaving for Mexico, the actor met Wednesday with former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who is also thinking about putting his name on the ballot. "Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is my first choice, would do a tremendous job," Riordan told KNBC-TV Channel 4 in Los Angeles. "If, for some reason, Arnold decides not to do it, I will take a hard look." Republican investment banker Bill Simon Jr., the party nominee who lost to Davis in November, is weighing a second attempt to unseat the governor. "He's very busy today doing stuff in terms of a potential candidacy," Simon advisor Sal Russo said. Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks, who lost his bid for state controller in November, said he expects to declare his candidacy for governor. McClintock, who worked the phones raising money Thursday, said he would not heed the call of Republican leaders to step aside for the sake of uniting the party behind one candidate. "The next governor of California needs to be elected by the people of California and not appointed in some back room," he said. At the other end of the political spectrum, Peter Camejo, the Green Party candidate for governor in the last election, is also planning to run. The only declared Republican candidate, Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista, has been a major target for Davis since the congressman started bankrolling the recall petition effort in the spring. Issa strategist Ken Khachigian warned that the candidate, whose arrest record as a young man has been publicized aggressively by Davis operatives, would soon lash back. "If they think we're going to be patsies like all their other opponents, they're crazy," Khachigian said. "The terms they have set make Gray Davis' life history fair game for this campaign. Every element."
A Davis campaign memo, dated Tuesday, said
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