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Few doubt Davis can afford a recall fight The question he faces now, with his popularity at an all-time low and having just come off an election where he raised more than $70 million, is: Can he do it one more time? The answer, with some fairly significant qualifiers, seems to be yes. "It's not long after people contributed to the campaign in November," said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Federation of Labor, longtime Davis backers. "It's going to be hard for him. That's what makes it so topsy-turvy. But he's got to do it. He could be running against a lot of rich boys able to bankroll their own campaigns." Sources close to the governor and some of his top fund-raisers cite a number of obstacles Davis has to overcome on the money front. Some big givers who've contributed to him in the past are said to be hedging their bets, waiting to see how the polls look and whether other Democrats declare their candidacies by the Aug. 9 filing deadline. Others who wrote big checks to Davis for the 2002 campaign have complained in private that they felt slighted because Davis never called and personally thanked them for contributing. Still others are angry that Davis allowed himself to get into the political mess he's in and don't feel like rushing in with the cash to help bail him out. And while organized labor, particularly public employee unions, have made it clear they'll be there for a Democratic governor they believe has been good to them over the years, at least two powerful unions are holding back. "The money has been slow to come in," acknowledged Darius Anderson, a Sacramento lobbyist who has organized a number of highly successful fund-raisers for Davis in the past. "But now, as Democrats unite behind Gray Davis, I think he'll have all the money necessary to defend himself against the recall." The California Teachers Association, which has given Davis more than $1 million over the years but didn't contribute during the 2001 campaign, has been at odds with Davis lately on a number of policy issues. Like other potential givers, the union also has several pieces of legislation that may make it to Davis' desk just as the recall election is entering its final days, and at the moment there's no rush to pull out the checkbook. "At some point we may talk to (Davis) about money," said Barbara Kerr, president of the 335,000-member association, "but right now isn't the time." Another powerful union taking a wait-and-see attitude is the 28,000-member California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which has put more than $3.4 million into Davis' last two campaigns. Davis has taken a tremendous amount of criticism over the past two years for agreeing with the Legislature to give the union pay raises that were to be around 7 percent this year. But like pay hikes for other state employees, the CCPOA raises have been held up during the state's budget crisis. CCPOA officials insist their support of Davis isn't contingent on their salaries, but the union has been notably absent from Davis contributor lists since the recall effort began. "We're more concerned about 1,800 layoff notices sent to our members and whether we can operate the prisons safely," said CCPOA spokesman Lance Corcoran. "This is a wait-and-see sort of situation for us. We plan to take the pulse of our membership at our upcoming annual convention." CCPOA members meet in Reno on Aug. 20-21. Financial support for Davis will be on the agenda.
Despite the obstacles, no one doubts that Davis can raise the $15
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