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Recall picks up steam Todd is a 40-year-old volunteer who said he spends several hours a day moving around, from gas stations to Borders Books, looking for like-minded people to support the recall. A former Marine with his head still shaved, Todd looks intense but ends up sound relatively low-key as he rattles off the reasons Davis should be recalled. Todd said he has collected about 3,000 signatures -- worth at least $3,000 if he were working for a paid signature-gathering firm. Todd said he has noticed that people want to feel a part of something. If Todd is standing alone, he said it's much harder to get people to approach him. "If there is a whole bunch of people crowded around," Todd said, "everyone will come up and sign." Todd said he might even consider voting for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., or a qualified Republican candidate. He doesn't know much about Issa and finds the political maneuvering distasteful. "I want to keep the recall process in its pure form," Todd said. "It's not supposed to be about jockeying for position. It's about removing Gray Davis. The issue is, 'Is this person qualified for the job?' " It's difficult to find anyone on the street who has a favorable opinion about Davis. Most of the people opposed to the recall said they objected to overturning a recent election, even while holding a low opinion of Davis. ON SECOND THOUGHT One shopper blew past Todd, then stopped and turned toward him on second thought. Jordan Towers, 18 years old and about to join the Marines, said Davis "is a crook, but he's not that bad." "So soon after you vote a guy in, you yank him out. That says something about Californians," Towers said. "It will lead to a chaotic situation. If you have to vote between two foxes, you're going to get a fox in office." A recall election doesn't necessarily mean Davis will be ousted from office. A Field Poll released three weeks ago showed that only 24 percent of those surveyed gave Davis a favorable rating, likely the lowest opinion of any governor in California history. But nearly 60 percent also opposed the recall. Retired state worker Gwendolyn Lemons, 67, said Republicans have sour grapes. "I think it's a waste of money. I really thinks it's unfair," Lemons said. "He went through all of the process of the voting, and just because Republicans can't have their way, they recall him. I don't think that's right." At the same time Todd was collecting signatures, another crew is trying to undermine his work. A committee working for Davis, set up to oppose the recall, is gathering signatures for a plebiscite that would carry no legal weight but would put people on record as opposing the recall. It's a way to keep the roving armies of signature gatherers who travel the country making $1 to $3 a signature tied up and away from the paid signature- gathering effort to support the recall. SIGNATURES FOR DAVIS Organizers supporting Davis said they have more than 200,000 signatures so far, and that a viral effect also is infecting their campaign. Carroll Wills, a spokesman for Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall, said hundreds of people have volunteered to "carry our message to the streets."
The plebiscite also is a way to plant a seed in the minds of voters, a one- on-one chance to sway their vote, said Dustin Wefel,
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