Posted on Sun, Jul. 27, 2003
Placer County first in line to target Davis
By Lori Aratani
Mercury News
AUBURN - California's recall election may be 72 days away, but to the voters of Placer County, Gov. Gray Davis is as good as gone.
More than 1.3 million voters in California signed petitions in hopes of ousting him from office, and no where in the state did a higher percentage of voters put pen to paper to get rid of Davis than in Placer County. This area of fast-growing Sacramento bedroom communities and quiet rural enclaves, extending from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to Lake Tahoe, may lie practically in the governor's back yard. But here, being a Davis neighbor doesn't translate into being a Davis fan.
Just how much do residents here want him out? One in five registered voters in Placer County lent their support to the recall signature campaign, compared with one in 18 in Santa Clara County and one in 100 in San Francisco County.
``I couldn't wait to sign,'' said Renate Caravalho, a some-time artist and full-time homemaker, who has lived in Rocklin for more than a decade. ``I even volunteered -- unpaid -- to gather signatures in my neighborhood. It was a snap. People couldn't wait to sign.''
To be fair, even in good times, this wouldn't exactly be Davis country. Placer is the most Republican of California's 58 counties. More than 52 percent of the residents here are Republicans, compared with 30 percent who consider themselves Democrats.
Voting history
Placer and neighboring El Dorado County voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush and other Republican candidates in 2002, more often than not trouncing their Democratic opponents in area races.
``This county is so far to the right, we'd elect Strom Thurmond,'' said Al Flemming, one of the few Democrats and the fourth generation of the Flemming clan to call Placer County home. Standing in the mid-afternoon in downtown Lincoln, a fast-growing community west of Interstate 80, Flemming had a lot to say about the Republicans and their recall plan, but not a lot that actually could be printed.
Beyond partisan preferences, county residents have specific reasons for wanting Davis out. Foremost is the belief that Davis, a prolific political fundraiser, has neglected good government in his pursuit of money. Some residents are also angry about the sorry state of California's finances and the power crisis of 2001.
Michelle Adams, shopping at a home improvement store in a shopping center on Interstate 65, said Davis' style and liberal political views put him at odds with people in Placer.
``There seems to be more of a focus on family values,'' said Adams, a Republican who supports the recall effort and was one of the many residents who signed petitions. ``It's definitely more conservative here than in the Bay Area.''
Still, there is a feeling that folks in Placer -- no matter what their politics are -- would have been willing to put up with Davis for another three years if only it seemed he cared about the things that mattered to them.
Laura Enamait, who said her politics lean more right than left, was one of the few residents here who would admit to voting for Davis the first time he ran for governor.
``I thought he was going to make a difference,'' said the former Saratoga resident who now lives in the town of Cool. ``But he has failed miserably.''
And so Enamait and her husband Albert didn't just sit back when talk of the recall campaign began circulating -- they grabbed a couple of clipboards and started collecting signatures.
Changes in Placer
The fact that such sentiments are so widespread in Placer may reflect the area's changes as much as its past. Placer County has grown tremendously over the past decade, adding a large number of older, wealthier white voters to a region once centered around small towns and agriculture.
According to federal census figures, the county's population grew by 44 percent between 1990 and 2000. The county is 83 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian. Part of Placer's 10-year growth is from young families fleeing the Bay Area in search of cheaper housing. Placer is also home to a growing number of affluent senior citizens looking for a slower pace and a less crowded area.
Peach and pear orchards have given way to golf courses and townhomes. Still, visitors can drive through parts of the county and forget about less appealing things like traffic and smog.
Even with the growth, there still is a sense of the small town atmosphere in many of Placer's communities -- as well as a sense of the state's Gold Rush past. Visitors to Lincoln's tiny downtown are waved across the street by smiling drivers who stop to let them across even though they are jaywalking. In Auburn's historic downtown, locals are more than happy to spring for a cold beer for those not used to the area's searing heat.
Except, maybe, for Gray Davis. Almost no one seems likely to spring for a drink for the governor.
At the three-chair Lincoln City Barber Shop, Dave Horsley and Harry McReynolds said the sooner Davis goes, the better for everyone.
``He's only interested in special interest groups that compensate him,'' Horsley said, referring to Davis' prodigious fundraising abilities. ``He's not honest.''
Horsley is giving his support to former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. He is also open to the idea of body-building actor Arnold Schwarzenegger entering the race, but he's not as enthusiastic about that possibility.
Then again, ``Who knows?'' he said. ``He could be another Jesse Ventura or he could be another Ronald Reagan.''
McReynolds, who used to cut hair in a shop along Willow Glen's Lincoln Avenue before moving north, said Davis has lost track of what's important.
``He's never been able to sit back and look at the big picture,'' McReynolds said. ``He's going to go down.''
McReynolds isn't worried about what changes such political upheaval might bring.
``We've got Arnie,'' he said. ``We'll bring in Arnold and he'll be the exterminator.''
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