Rescue California

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Area Seems in Rush to Oust Davis
One out of five Placer County voters signed the recall petition. Many eagerly criticize the governor.

September 10, 2003

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as with Davis, he said. "But the governor is a good place to begin."

Partisanship reigns supreme in these parts. George W. Bush lost California during the 2000 presidential race, but won big in Placer County. From Assemblyman Tim Leslie (Tahoe City) to Rep. John Doolittle (Rocklin), Republicans fill the region's top elected offices.

A simple rule seems to apply: the more conservative, the better. Thousand Oaks Assemblyman Tom McClintock, a gubernatorial aspirant who tilts as far right as anyone in Sacramento, showed up at the county GOP's annual barbecue a few weeks back and scored two standing ovations. Arnold Schwarzenegger, though invited, chose not to appear.

The actor is too liberal for Jennifer Entz, a 33-year-old mother of three. She doesn't like his pro-choice stance and support of gay rights. When he won the backing of Rob Lowe, a former "West Wing" television star with a bad-boy past, Entz signed off. "That ruined it for me," she said.

Placer County has California's highest percentage of Republicans — more than 52% of its 204,000 registered voters. It's also the only county in the state where Democratic registration has fallen below 30% (Democrats outnumber Republicans 44% to 35% statewide.)

As Gov. Davis tries to shore up his base all over California, Placer County's scattering of Democrats seems anything but in lock step.

Jim Bell, 70, works the floor at Pioneer Mining Supply, an Auburn store that outfits modern prospectors who still work the region's ore-rich streams. Bell is a Democrat, but signed the recall petition and will vote against Davis.

"I'm angry," said Bell. "As a little person, what can you do? I want a shake-up."

So do farmer Dennis Coulter and his wife, Gayle, who live in the Sacramento Valley rice lands east of Lincoln, one of the state's fastest-growing cities. Their tidy old farmhouse sits on more than 300 acres that Gayle's family has cultivated for generations. When the city wanted to grab the land for sewage ponds needed for new subdivisions, the couple wrote to Davis asking for help to halt the sprawl.

They said he never responded. And now, both Republicans, they are full-tilt fans of the recall effort. They signed up outside a supermarket.

"Gray Davis is bad news," fumed Dennis Coulter, 60. "I wouldn't buy a used car from the man."

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