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Few doubt Davis can afford a recall fight "I think they might even get people who have not given to him in the past and just don't like the recall idea," said Eli Broad, a billionaire Los Angeles developer. Broad, who is close to Richard Riordan, gave Davis $105,000 last year but has not contributed to anyone in the recall. "It's my intention to do what I can to defeat recall," he said, "including making a contribution, because I'm against it." Those opposing Davis believe he can raise any amount of money he needs. "His well is a bottomless pit," said Ted Costa, an anti-tax activist from Citrus Heights who started the recall effort later financed by millionaire Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista. Issa has already declared he's running. "In a short period of time, he's kind of limited to what he can spend. But if he spends $1.5 million a week, he can saturate all the media with that amount and there's not that many weeks." Davis has another advantage, too. Campaign law says he doesn't have to abide by the $21,000-per-individual contribution limit facing other candidates because Davis is not technically running for the office. He's running to avoid being recalled. "He'll do OK because of the way the rules are," said Don Novey, the former head of the correctional officers union. "That's the real bottom line. Everybody's restricted to a max of $21,000 in individual contributions and he can raise unlimited. That's the way the rules are. He's free. None of the others can play by that game. That's a huge tool. He can go out and ask for six-figure checks from a lot of people." But those who've raised money for Davis in the past said they won't be able to do it the same way. The campaign's too short, all the variables and potential candidates are still unknown and Davis has too many monumental problems on his desk -- the $38.2 billion state budget deficit, for one -- to make many personal campaign appearances. In past elections, contributors were often lured to dinners, receptions and cocktail parties in part by an invitation to meet and talk with Davis in person. Davis has always insisted he has clear boundaries about not discussing legislation or pending policy at such encounters, but a chance to meet the governor was a draw for some givers. "He's made it quite clear he does not want to spend a lot of time distracting himself from dealing with this budget issue," said Jerry Hallisey, a prominent San Francisco lawyer who's organized fund-raisers for Democratic politicians in California -- Davis among them -- since 1970. "I'm going to have to get at it pretty much at a full-time basis pretty much now," Hallisey said. "I kind of thought this year was going to be a restful year and I could get a couple vacations in, but that isn't happening." Davis is already in campaign mode, however. He's announced his staff, his pollster has enunciated the campaign's strategy in an internal memo distributed to supporters, and the checks have begun to pour in. In recent weeks, Davis has received contributions totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars from labor unions representing Teamsters, state, county and local employees, firefighters and service employees. Consistent big givers such as Haim Saban, the creator of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and movie producer Stephen Bing have written $100,000 checks. Companies such as Mercury Insurance, which is backing legislation now on Davis' desk that would allow auto insurers to offer discounts to longtime customers of competitors, gave $100,000 last month.
"People give for policy reasons," said Bob Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based
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