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State Supreme Court refuses to block Davis recall election The court, by a 5-0 vote, with two justices out of the state, declined to consider a restraining order sought by backers of the governor, who argued that the election should be delayed until a court can rule on a challenge to the legal status of some recall petition circulators. That issue still is scheduled to be decided by a Los Angeles court on Aug. 8. Nick Velasquez, spokesman for Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall, called the ruling "basically irrelevant." "The key thing is we've got 76 days and we're very focused on getting our message out," Velasquez said. His comment was echoed by Dave Gilliard, spokesman for Rescue California, one of the recall committees. The legal fight is now over, and it's time for Gray Davis to face the voters and explain his record," he said. On Wednesday, the first recall of a governor in the state's history was certified for the ballot and on Thursday, an election was called for Oct. 7. Voters will decide first whether Davis should be recalled from office and then pick his replacement from a list of candidates on the same ballot. The replacement election will count only if the recall succeeds and Davis is ousted from office. But as recall proponents and foes ramped up their campaigns and speculation swelled over who might run to replace the governor, the court's swift decision was widely seen as just the first on a bonanza of lawsuits and legal challenges to a recall law that is largely untested and unprecedented. "We're in uncharted territory, no question about it," said Richard Hasen, constitutional law specialist at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "The one prediction I'll make is that we haven't seen the last lawsuit." Two legal challenges were filed against Secretary of State Kevin Shelley before he certified the recall election on Wednesday. Three more legal challenges have been filed. One in federal court challenges the ruling by Shelley that voters can cast ballots for governor only if they've voted on the recall election. SAN DIEGO SUIT Another suit in a San Diego state court asserts that it is illegal to require independent candidates to meet a higher standard to qualify for the replacement ballot. Candidates with a party affiliation must pay $3,500 and obtain 65 signatures from registered voters. Independent candidates face a much higher number of signatures -- a requirement put in place because independents would not have to run in a primary election. A third challenge was filed this week with the Commission on the Governorship asking for a Supreme Court ruling that only Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is constitutionally empowered to assume the governorship, should Davis be ousted. The challenge, in the form of a legal petition, was filed by two Peninsula residents, both attorneys. "California is not a banana republic. The purpose of the recall is to remove the unsatisfactory official, not to redo the gubernatorial elections every six months," said Rafferty, one of the people who filed the petition with state Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco, who chairs the commission. Some of the issues raised, and some yet to be raised, might have the potential of derailing the Oct. 7 election or placing in doubt the election's outcome. Some have more potential than others.
"I do think there's a sleeper or two out there," said UC Davis law school Professor Floyd Feeney. "If you
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