Rescue California

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Riordan, Feinstein at center of parties' recall buzz
STRATEGIES: EX-L.A. MAYOR SEEN AS TOP GOP HOPE; WORRIED DEMOCRATS CALL SENATOR A GOOD BACKUP

July 30, 2003

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being able to survive the recall vote.

``We look forward to all Democrats continuing to be unified behind the governor and not supporting a conservative, right-wing recall effort,'' he said.

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown convened a meeting Tuesday of Democratic strategists to discuss how to defeat the recall, a move Davis supporters cited as a sign of unity.

But some prominent Democrats think there should be a backup plan, especially if Feinstein won't step in.

``Feinstein is our Terminator,'' said Darry Sragow, a veteran Democratic political consultant. ``There are people within the party leadership, loosely defined, who think it makes sense to have an insurance candidate just in case the recall is successful.''

Meanwhile, Republican businessman Bill Simon took another step toward becoming a candidate Tuesday, collecting nomination papers from the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters office. Simon, who beat Riordan in the GOP gubernatorial primary last year and then lost to Davis, said he would announce his final decision ``very soon.''

State GOP officials met Tuesday at the Los Angeles office of Gerry Parsky, a key White House ally, with representatives of most of the major possible candidates to coordinate a strategy to get the recall passed.

``There was a frank discussion that, obviously, the individual campaigns would become irrelevant if the recall fails,'' said Rob Stutzman, a spokesman for the California Republican Party.

As the odds of a Schwarzenegger run fade, some of his advisers are offering their services to Riordan. Don Sipple, a Republican consultant, said Riordan needs ``someone at the helm who runs an autocratic campaign,'' particularly given the short time frame and Riordan's missteps in last year's primary race.

Even as the parties planned strategy, the field of potential replacement candidates for Davis mushroomed: To date, a total of 123 Californians have taken out papers to run for governor in the recall, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mercury News Staff Writer Jim Puzzanghera contributed to this report. Contact Mary Anne Ostrom at mostrom@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5574.

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