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Davis flipping his stance on key bills There was no pretending. Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, told Davis that he was bartering with him: Opposition to the recall would come only in exchange for a promise to sign the bill. "To mobilize Latinos, you need to deliver for them," Gonzalez told Davis before hundreds of people at the July 11 dinner. "You need to declare your unconditional support for SB 60, the driver's license bill for immigrants." Davis, who had twice vetoed driver's license bills, said he would sign it in "a heartbeat," surprising even his aides. His switch played well with the Latino community. However, he hit a bump last week when a union - which has given Davis $542,500 since January 2000 and $25,000 in June as recall petitions circulated - issued a press release opposing the bill. The California Union of Safety Employees got a bill amendment that added a costly Department of Motor Vehicles computer upgrade that would capture and compare drivers' thumbprints. Even after this change, the bill still lacks last year's requirement that applicants submit Immigration and Naturalization Service documents. These records would show the immigrants' identities had been confirmed and they were in the process of becoming citizens. Davis said he was not concerned about dropping this provision because several law enforcement agencies were now backing the bill. On Thursday, however, law enforcement threw a wrench in this. The California State Sheriffs' Association now opposes the bill because the INS provision was dropped and said the price tag for the thumbprint identification system - roughly $60 million - was "tough to swallow at a time when local law enforcement keeps sustaining tremendous budget cuts and laying off deputies statewide." Law enforcement officials say they are angry with Davis over his reversal and, as the bill stalls, the governor isn't benefiting from the kind of support he hoped for from the Latino community. Polls continue to show no change - 50 to 60 percent of Latinos support the recall. And Latino lawmakers are not rallying behind him. Last election they pulled their endorsement after he vetoed the driver's license bill. On Wednesday, the state's Latino legislative caucus voted to support Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the leading Democratic candidate in the campaign. Tribal support The same pattern developed with American Indians. Lobbyists and leaders for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians met in early May with Rescue California to discuss funding the recall drive against Davis. By mid-May Davis had dropped from his proposed budget more than $1.5 billion that he wanted tribes to pay to the state's general fund. He also attended a grand opening of a new Morongo casino in Riverside County and met with tribal leaders to discuss their concerns. Shortly after that meeting, he announced he had reversed his position on a "sacred sites" bill he vetoed last year. The proposed law would allow tribes to claim land their ancestors inhabited, specifically if there is proof of sacred artifacts or history. Still, as with Latinos and the driver's license bill, the governor's efforts haven't turned the tribes into devoted supporters. More than 20 tribes decided last week to support Bustamante.
Other Davis reversals are seeping into his daily campaign speeches, including a privacy bill that died four years in a row until he revived and signed it this month. The bill blocks banks from selling client information. Also, environmentalists - who last year
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