Decision time is near for the Democrats. Sanchez and Boxer are just itching to take Davis down.
sfgate.com
Calif. Democrats mull whether to field recall candidate
LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer
Monday, August 4, 2003
(08-04) 19:46 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
California Democrats showed signs of growing unease Monday over the election to recall Gov. Gray Davis, with state lawmakers meeting behind closed doors to discuss a possible Democratic alternative and Sen. Barbara Boxer saying Democrats should field another candidate if polls indicate Davis would lose.
After the meeting, Democrats in the state Senate declined to endorse putting an alternate candidate on the Oct. 7 recall ballot, but remained nervous "about whether or not putting all the eggs in one basket makes sense," said Sen. John Burton.
When asked if Democrats would keep off the ballot, leaving only Republicans and unknown Democrats as alternatives to Davis and the recall, Burton said, "One never knows."
Rep. Loretta Sanchez said Monday she believed the Democrats would have an alternate to Davis on the ballot even if their first choice, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, decides not to run.
"If Dianne's not the name, maybe I am. But I will tell you this, I believe there will be a prominent Democrat on that No. 2 question," Sanchez said.
State Sen. Don Perata said the issue goes beyond the recall: "We have a lot a stake here that has nothing to do with the future of a Democratic governor and everything to do with the future of the party."
Democratic leaders in California decided early on to try to defeat the recall by keeping viable Democratic candidates off the ballot. But several elected officials -- including Boxer, Sanchez and two other of the state's representatives in Congress -- last week publicly questioned that strategy.
Boxer said Monday that some leading Democrats believe it's a mistake to stick to a campaign strategy that just opposes the recall without considering the need for a viable Democratic candidate.
Boxer said she strongly opposes the recall, but that Democrats should field another candidate if polls show Davis would lose his job. After examining poll results this week, Boxer said she'll say by Friday if she thinks another Democrat should run. The deadline to enter the race is Saturday.
"The strategy of defeating the recall is a very good strategy. I want to make sure it's working before the time is over that somebody (else) can run," she said.
Disagreeing was San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who served 14 years as speaker of the California Assembly. He said the party's best strategy would be to keep Davis as the sole candidate.
"No Democrat can successfully negotiate those waters," Brown said Monday.
Davis met with labor leaders in Chicago on Monday. While at the meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, Davis also had an hourlong private meeting with former President Clinton.
Davis declined to say what Clinton, whom he called an adviser and mentor for more than a decade, told him, but said it was a "very good meeting."
Lawyers for Davis, meanwhile, asked the California Supreme Court on Monday to delay the Oct. 7 recall election until March and to list Davis' name on the ballot among the candidates seeking to replace him.
The defendants, including Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, have until Wednesday morning to respond.
Voters will make two decisions in the recall election: whether to remove Davis, and whom to choose as his successor if he is recalled. Under California election law, the subject of the recall cannot be on the list of replacement candidates.
Counties have reported 344 people taking out nominating papers so far, but none had completed the application process, the secretary of state's office said on its Web site.
The rapidly changing list of potential candidates grew Monday, as pornography mogul Larry Flynt declared his intent to join the race.
Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, said the candidate with the best name recognition would probably win.
"I felt that there was nobody out there that had better name recognition than I did," said Flynt, who would run as a Democrat.
A potential Flynt candidacy and speculation about the aspirations of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger led Boxer to conclude Democrats shouldn't necessarily pin all their hopes on Davis, she said.
Schwarzenegger is expected to announce Wednesday he is not running for governor, then appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to discuss the decision. The actor donated $50,000 to the main recall committee, according to state campaign finance records. A spokesman for Rescue California Recall Gray Davis said the donation was to defray legal costs.
"When one of the leading candidates is announcing yes or no on Jay Leno, another taking out papers is a publisher of pornography, the thing is turning into a somewhat chaotic situation," Boxer said.
Associated Press writers Erica Werner and Tom Chorneau contributed to this story. |
