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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2003 CONTACT: Teri Smith O’Rourke
(916) 441-6197 RECALL AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S GOV. GRAY DAVIS
LED BY FORMER STATE LEGISLATOR
Website "RecallGrayDavis.com" Goes Live! (Sacramento) – Former State Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian announced today that he is leading an effort to recall Governor Gray Davis (D - California) from office. The recall campaign was launched this morning with the unveiling of the website, www.RecallGrayDavis.com, which will serve as the online hub for collecting contributions to finance the recall effort, recruitment of volunteers, and organization of the signature gathering process. Kaloogian To Lead Disaffected
of All Political Parties in Recall Drive The preliminary stages of the recall effort will focus on raising funds and organizing a volunteer force in preparation to begin the signature-gathering process to qualify the recall. Kaloogian will be reaching out to leaders in every political party to build support for the recall across the political spectrum. “I am starting this recall drive after determining that there must be a broad-based and multi-party effort that will have the credibility to qualify the recall for the ballot. As it stands right now, we need leadership to unite the various splinter recall efforts that have been sprouting up over the past several weeks,” Kaloogian declared. Kaloogian, who served in the California State Legislature as a Republican Assemblyman for three two-year terms, continued by promising to “aggressively lead those who are disaffected in a sweeping recall effort that will send the message to politicians around the country: you WILL be held accountable for deceiving voters during your campaign.” For the next several weeks the Recall Gray Davis effort will focus on organizing and recruiting the thousands of volunteers needed to collect the requisite 898,000 valid signatures to qualify the recall measure on the ballot.
Davis Malfeasance in Office and Lies to Californians
Far Exceed Standards for Recall According to Kaloogian, the recall is predicated not just on the complete malfeasance of Gray Davis while in office, but also the recent revelations that he lied about the size and seriousness of the state’s budget crisis in order to secure re-election. Davis took an $8 billion surplus and turned it into the largest budget deficit for any state in American history – almost $35 billion by his own estimates. Massive increases in taxes – even a proposed Internet tax – cuts to fire and police protection and education are being proposed by Davis as ways to bail himself out of the mess he created. In addition, criminal investigations and court testimony revealed that Davis was so consumed with fundraising, that he paid little attention to the challenges facing the state. On the day a crucial piece of legislation to address the energy crisis was before the legislature, Davis did not even work for the bill’s passage. Instead, he flew to Palm Springs for a golf fundraiser. Kaloogian explained that while the recall process is not to be taken lightly, Gray Davis has left Californians with no other choice but to recall him before we see more job losses; cuts to education, police and fire; higher taxes; suffocating government regulations; and the exodus of companies and productive individuals out of the Golden State: “The recall process is something that should be reserved for only the most serious cases of malfeasance in office. Unfortunately Gray Davis’ conduct far surpasses the standards necessary to justify a recall. It’s not a question of whether we should recall Gray Davis, it’s an issue of how long can we afford to wait – all the while watching California slide further into the abyss,” Kaloogian concluded.
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