Posted on 07/31/2003 4:43:40 AM PDT by randita
Davis insists Demos united
He plays down calls for Feinstein candidacy in recall
Carla Marinucci and Mark Simon, Chronicle Political Writers
Thursday, July 31, 2003
URL: http://sfchronicle.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/07/31/RECALL.TMP
Gov. Gray Davis insisted Wednesday that "no prominent Democrats" will become candidates in the Oct. 7 recall election and that his party remains united behind him, even as another Democratic House member joined those urging Sen. Dianne Feinstein to enter the campaign.
"I am very proud of all the Democrats that have stood by my side," he told reporters at a women's shelter in San Francisco's Chinatown, where he appeared to mark the Legislature's passage of the $100 billion state budget.
Davis downplayed the first cracks in the Democratic Party strategy to fight the recall as a GOP-backed effort, in part, by keeping Democrats off the ballot as alternatives to the governor.
"I believe we will go into this election with virtual unanimity in terms of Democratic support," he said. "They understand this is a Republican cabal to undo a duly justified election.
"Hey, look, we're going to win the election," Davis told reporters later, shaking his fists -- and grinning broadly. "I'm getting the job done for the people of this state."
Voters will have two questions in the unprecedented recall election: "yes" or "no" on whether Davis should be removed from office; and who should replace him if he is removed.
While several prominent Republicans have announced their intention to file as candidates by the Aug. 9 deadline, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was still "leaning against" a candidacy, but had not made a final decision, a spokesman said Wednesday.
At the same time, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan -- who lost a bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in March 2002 -- appears to be moving closer to joining the race.
Davis' comments trumpeting party unity came, however, as Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, told The Chronicle that a Feinstein candidacy would help draw Democratic voters to the polls and improve the party's chances of defeating the recall.
TURNOUT CRUCIAL
"The recall election will be determined by turnout," Sherman said in a telephone interview, becoming the third House Democrat to publicly urge Feinstein to run. "The thing that turns people out is a face on the ballot that they really like. . . . The Republicans have faces. Every Republican who goes to vote will have a face on the ballot they like."
Sherman joined Democratic Reps. Cal Dooley, D-Hanford (Kings County), and Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, who suggested Tuesday that the unpopular Davis may not survive the October election -- and called on Feinstein to put her name on the ballot. Sanchez also suggested that she might run if Feinstein doesn't.
"I have been in San Francisco all day. Almost everybody I saw just said, 'Aren't you Loretta Sanchez? You run, girl," Sanchez said Wednesday. "I'm telling them I hope they'll vote no on the recall, and I truly believe we deserve a choice. So let's hope Dianne decides to get in."
Feinstein has publicly opposed the effort against Davis and again Wednesday declined to comment on the calls for her to run.
Other members of the Democratic congressional delegation surveyed Wednesday by The Chronicle supported Davis, calling the recall among other things a destructive, radical, costly Republican power grab. But some also indicated they were keeping their options open about a possible major Democratic candidate on the replacement ballot.
"I haven't made a statement that someone else should run at this point," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose. "I think all of us are watching the situation, and we're doing our best to make sure the state of California is not delivered into the hands of the right wing."
BROWN HARSHLY CRITICAL
San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown explained, in biting personal terms, just why elected officials in Davis' party may be wavering in their support.
Brown, in an interview with KTVU Channel 2, said the governor has "zero personal relationships," is cold and distant, and that "people do not like him."
Davis tried to laugh off Brown's criticism as he stepped up his campaign to keep his job now that the Legislature has settled a budget deal almost a month late.
"He said I wasn't warm and cuddly," Davis told KTVU political editor Randy Shandobil, who had asked for a response. "Come over here, I'll give you a hug" -- and he bear-hugged the surprised reporter as the governor's staff broke into guffaws.
Among the other developments Wednesday:
-- At a Rose Garden news conference, President Bush sidestepped a question on whether he supports the recall, telling reporters "the most important opinion is not mine, but it's the people of California. . . . It's their decision to decide whether or not there will be a recall, which they decided. Now they get to decide who the governor is going to be."
-- Barry Keene, a former legislator and Davis administration official who authored the update to the state's recall law in the 1970s, filed a petition with the California Supreme Court arguing that Davis can be succeeded only by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
-- Republican sources said Riordan is putting together a campaign team. First Lady Laura Bush's spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez, a longtime Riordan aide, has urged him to distance himself from his Democratic advisers, political strategist Clint Reilly and pollster Pat Cadell.
Insiders suggest Riordan is now leaning toward hiring George Gorton -- the political consultant to former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and current adviser to Schwarzenegger -- and that he could bring many of the veterans of the Wilson campaign into his orbit.
And there is growing speculation that Riordan, 72, is considering entering the race with the promise of being a "caretaker" candidate who would not run again for the office in 2006. Such a move, insiders note, would allow Riordan to appeal to Democrats and independents by arguing that he has no political ambitions, but only wants to help California in a time of crisis. That also would leave the door to the 2006 race open for other Republicans -- including Schwarzenegger.
While the Republicans jockeyed for position, congressional Democrats responded to the comments about Davis' future and a potential Feinstein candidacy.
"There's no question about it, the California congressional delegation, including Reps. Cal Dooley and Loretta Sanchez, stands 100 percent opposed to the recall. There is some speculation in our ranks about having a Democrat on the ballot, but we are all opposed to this process," said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel.
But House Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said through a spokeswoman that "she believes the best way to defeat the recall is for no other Democrat to be on the ballot."
And some California congressmen called into question the political judgment of those who broke ranks.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, criticized the statements by Dooley and Sanchez as "the wrong way to do things." Having a Democrat on the replacement ballot "just confuses the electorate even more and lets them think this is a legitimate way to help resolve the state's problems."
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
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You tell it, Willie.
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