Rescue California

-0

Calif. governor targeted

June 15, 2003

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of thousands of Californians are signing petitions to kick Democratic Governor Gray Davis out of office, spurred on by a campaign bankrolled by a Republican congressman who wants to take his place. Representative Darrell Issa, a conservative whose multimillion-dollar fortune comes from the car-alarm business he built, has contributed $645,000 to the effort. He says it is ''not a means to be governor. It's a means to eliminate a bad governor.''

But he acknowledges: ''I'd be very interested in being governor. I've made that clear.''

Democrats who are increasingly worried about the recall said Issa's cash infusion looks like political opportunism by a man too inexperienced to be governor. They note he has only 2 1/2 years in elected office and was defeated in a US Senate campaign.

''He is someone who wants a position,'' said Representative Hilda Solis, Democrat of California.

The idea for a recall was raised by Republican activists after Davis's narrow reelection victory over Republican businessman Bill Simon. They say Davis has mismanaged the state and lied to voters about the size of the budget deficit, projected to be as much as $38.2 billion by July 2004.

Recall efforts have been begun against every California governor in the past 30 years, but none has collected the needed signatures. This effort seemed headed for a similar fate until Issa started pouring money in.

Supporters say they have more than 600,000 of the 897,000 signatures they need.

If organizers reach their goal, a recall election could be held as early as this fall. If voters then decided to oust Davis, they would choose his replacement from a list of candidates on the ballot.

Topping most Republican lists is actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has criticized Davis while deflecting questions about whether he would be a candidate to replace him. Potential Democratic candidates are especially cautious, not wanting to lend additional credibility to the recall effort. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante are the most frequently mentioned.

While attacking the recall campaign, Davis supporters also are focusing on Issa. They say he is too conservative for heavily Democratic California, opposes abortion rights, and would allow offshore drilling for oil.

In an interview in his congressional office, Issa said he would not try to alter laws relating to abortion in California and has supported bans on offshore drilling, including a Democratic-backed measure in the House last year.

The San Diego-area congressman also is facing a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission that says he is violating the new campaign finance law by soliciting money for and contributing to the signature-gathering campaign.

Issa said the FEC complaint, filed by a Davis backer, is frivolous and an act of desperation.