Issa's bid to recall governor questioned

San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 5/12/2003 | John Marelius

[dalereed]

Issa's bid to recall governor questioned

To many, intentions remain under cloud

By John Marelius

STAFF WRITER

and Dana Wilkie

COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

May 12, 2003

What is Darrell Issa up to

That is the question preoccupying California political circles as the wealthy Republican congressman from Vista appears to be hijacking the struggling grass-roots effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis.

Republicans are confident Issa and his political team have the wherewithal to force a recall election against the governor, but are perplexed by conflicting statements as to what Issa's intentions are.

On Thursday, Issa donated $100,000 to his new committee, "Rescue California, Recall Gray Davis," to kick-start a paid signature-gathering campaign out of concern that other recall efforts were moving too slowly.

Republican legislators say they have been told Issa would collect $1.5 million to $2 million in donations from himself and others, which political professionals say would be enough to get the job done. The signatures of 897,158 registered California voters must be collected by Sept. 2 to force a special recall election.

Recall proponents contend Davis should be ousted because he concealed the magnitude of the state's fiscal crisis to win re-election last year. But the two original recall committees – one directed by anti-tax crusader Ted Costa and the other by Sal Russo, who managed Republican Bill Simon's losing campaign for governor – have collected 100,000 signatures with one-fifth of the allotted time elapsed.

There is little question Issa could bankroll the entire paid signature-gathering effort. He spent nearly $10 million of his own money to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998. He sold the car alarm company that made him wealthy before he ran for the House in 2000.

Yet, in an interview from his Washington office Thursday, Issa was equivocal about how much money there would be and where it would come from.

"I expect not to be the largest contributor," he said, adding that he expected to give "less than a majority of the money."

Issa has also contradicted himself in recent weeks about his intention to run as a candidate to replace Davis if there is a recall election.

In the interview, he said, "The only thing that would take me off the ballot at this point is if I found a candidate I preferred."

As to whom he might prefer to himself, Issa did not say.

Issa insists he is driven by altruistic motives.

"I became convinced that whatever I did in Washington . . . was being undone in Sacramento," Issa said. "We couldn't send enough money back to meet the incredible overspending that was going on with Gray Davis."

The political consideration that Issa professes not to be thinking about is this: He has nothing to lose but money. He would not have to relinquish his House seat to run for governor in a special election.

"He's been after statewide office," said congressional expert Gary Jacobson, a political science professor at UCSD. "This is an opportunity for him to get some statewide attention that he otherwise doesn't get."

The more conventional career path would be to take another run against Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer next year. But Issa has quickly made a mark in the House and may not want to leave it behind.

Although just beginning his second term, he landed a coveted seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"People fight to get on this committee, and they fight mightily," said Louisiana Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Republican committee chairman. "The people who make it are pretty much the cream of the crop."

Issa, who is of Lebanese descent, has also emerged as an unofficial foreign policy emissary for the Bush administration. He met last month with Syrian President Bashar Assad and said he received assurances that Syria would not offer asylum to Iraqi war criminals.

As for the recall, there is no consensus among Republicans as to whether it is in their interests, despite their disdain for Davis.

A recall election would be a two-part vote. Voters would cast a yes or no vote on whether to remove Davis. Then they would choose from among a list of candidates from all political parties for a replacement. There is no runoff; whoever gets the most votes becomes governor.

"The recall is the easy part. Then what?" said one Republican legislator who worries about a weakened, unpopular Davis being replaced by a stronger Democrat who would be well-positioned to win a full term in 2006.

That, Issa said, is not his problem.

"That's a distinctly separate fight from the question of has the governor crossed the line, and should he be considered for recall," he said.

Issa's emergence has already made him a target.

Bob Mulholland, campaign strategist for the California Democratic Party, has been bombarding newspapers and radio stations with e-mails reminding them of controversies about Issa's past that surfaced in 1998: a car theft indictment as a youth, a suspicious fire at his manufacturing plant and charges that he once brandished a gun at employees.

"If he applied for a teacher's job in any of our schools, he'd have to put all this stuff down," Mulholland said. "He's applying for governor – so, of course, this is going to be an issue."

Responded Issa: "I must be a candidate if I'm being beaten up like that."

Issa's interest in the gubernatorial recall seems to come as more of a surprise in California than it does in Washington, where he has been discussing it with colleagues for a number of weeks.

"Lately, we've had a pretty good sense that this was going to happen," said Rick Kykema, chief of staff to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Newport Beach Republican. Tauzin said Issa told him he might be a candidate for governor.

Other House colleagues seemed reluctant to discuss Issa's role until it becomes clear there will be a recall election.

"It's not at the point where people are expressing opinions one way or the other," said one House Republican staffer who asked not to be named. "They're not saying, 'Yeah, Darrell, go for it.' And they're not saying, 'No, Darrell, that's a dumb idea.' "

During the April trip to Damascus, Issa confided that he had to return to the United States for an important political errand "and that it related to the recall movement," said Rep. Nick Rahall, the West Virginia Democrat who traveled with Issa.

"He didn't specifically tell me that he wanted to run for governor," Rahall said. "But I could surmise as much."

One chief of staff to a California congressman said Issa has made it clear for a while that he was interested in some day running for governor.

"He's used to having been in a chief executive position in his company," the chief of staff said, "and the governor's office has interested him from that standpoint for quite a long time now."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Marelius: john.marelius@uniontrib.com

Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

[dalereed]

Written in a very negative manner but at least it made the front page.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I don't care that he's working towards recalling Davis, but he's certainly not my candidate to replace him. His pro-Arab stands are rather troubling, if not an outright liability. This man will never become Governor of CA.

[dalereed]

He isn't my choice either, although he is my congressman.

Even if he doesn't run, his money and help in the recall is most welcome.

My choice would be for either Simon or Tom McClintock to run.

[Taft in '52]

I would favor McClintock. He is a solid conservative, and his knowledge of state government is thorough and encyclopedic. As for the others, Simon's campaign skills are definitely wanting, Riordan is the Mike Bloomberg of the West Coast, and I have never trusted Issa since National Review raised doubts about his character.

[dalereed]

"Riordan is the Mike Bloomberg of the West Coast"

Riordan makes Bloomberg look like an ultra conservative!

Running for president of China would be more suitable.

[Congressman Billybob]

The San Diego Union is missing the point, probably on purpose. The motivations of Dan Issa are irrelevant. If 900,000 Californians agree with him in writing, there will be a recall election on Gray Davis.

But the petition signers only have to agree with Issa that Davis should be removed. Not why he should be removed, or who should be elected to take his place. And exactly the same logic applies to the election which will take place if enough Californians sign the petitions.

Again, individual motives won't matter. The question is which way a majority of the voters taking part, decide to vote. There may be a hundred different motives -- all that matters is the count.

What gets tricky is the simultaneous election of the successor to Davis. Major Democrats will probably stay off the ballot -- because if they go against Davis by joining the run-off, and Davis survives, he will send them to electoral Hell when he does survive. However, there is no such fear on the Republican side. Expect some heavy-hitting Republicans with high name recognition to jump into the fray, shortly after the recall qualifies for the ballot.

I am expecting Arnold Swartzenegger to throw his barbells into the ring at that point. And because it is a short campaign and a winner-take-all result, I expect him to win.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, now up FR, "Brave New Moment."

[No Dems 2004]

How many recall signatures have they gotten so far?

[hattend]

Here's a news update as of April 30th

[CyberAnt]

Remember - this paper is lovingly called the "San Diego Union of Soviet Socialist Tribune.

That should answer a lot of questions about the negativity of this article.

Issa is a repub - I guess that also answers a lot of questions.

[Impeach98]

www.RecallGrayDavis.com

[fieldmarshaldj]

McClintock or Bill Jones.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Ah-nold the Sexual Predator will sink us, and rightly so. We might as well put Riordan on the ballot, he just as liberal, but without the sexcapades. In which case, might as well keep Davis, we don't need either of those RINO boobs.

[Happy2BMe]

The new California Quarter:

INSPIRED BY THIS MAN . . .

JERRY BROWN'S NEW CAMPAIGN

(REUTER-ROOTER) Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown stunned the city when he announced that, contrary to earlier reports, he was not mulling a run for State Attorney General, but had instead joined the KISS Army.

Brown told reporters at a hastily-called press conference this morning that he would now serve as the Minister of KISS Information.

"I'm very excited at this opportunity to serve the KISS Nation. This is a dream come true for me."

City Hall regulars were caught unawares by the quixotic politician's latest stunt.

"Has he been drinking again?" asked a visibly agitated Robert Bobb. "I told him -- no martinis on the clock!"

City Attorney John Russo was also flabbergasted. "I guess I didn't get the memo," he said, rolling his eyes.

Governor Gray Davis was also thrown for a loop.

"Dude, this is totally bogus!" he exclaimed in a phone call from Sacramento. "He was so into Whitesnake and Twisted Sister when I knew him. Heinous! It's like he's not the same rocker."