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Politics : IMPEACH GRAY DAVIS! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (636)	7/29/2003 10:53:44 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1641

Subject 54158 :-)

To: calgal who wrote (636)	8/1/2003 7:47:09 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1641

Davis' camp ready to put hurt on Riordan in election Last year's primary was only a taste of what's to come Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross Wednesday, July 30, 2003 ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle \| Feedback URL: sfgate.com With growing doubts about Arnold Schwarzenegger running for governor, moderate Republicans are pinning their hopes on former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan -- but from what we hear, Riordan could be in for a very rough ride. Gov. Gray Davis spent $7 million to blast Riordan out of the Republican primary last year. Now, the governor's team says those TV whacks -- over Riordan likening abortion to murder and Los Angeles' profiteering on the energy crisis -- were only a taste of what they would have hit Riordan with in the general election. "We were just getting warmed up," said a Davis insider. Now, for starters, there's the issue of Riordan's age -- he's 73 -- and his health. And we're not just talking about his having been treated for prostate cancer. The Davis troops hope to fuel suggestions that Riordan -- who is prone to giving disjointed answers to questions -- is showing signs of having lost a mental step or two. But don't look for the Davis folks to bring up the issue themselves -- instead, they'll simply demand that Riordan tell all about his health. "No way you are going to be able to run at his age to be chief executive of California without releasing your medical record," said our source. If Riordan survives the physical test, then look for a lot of ink on the former mayor's corporate ties. The warm-ups would be Riordan's very public privatization efforts in L.A. -- including efforts to have Duke Energy take over the Los Angeles power system and a plan to sell the city's central library to tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds Co. on a lease-back arrangement. But the biggest attack will probably be over the way lawyer Riordan made his fortune doing leveraged buyouts two decades ago alongside the likes of infamous junk bond king Michael Milken. "That campaign," our source adds, "will resonate much more against him today than it did a year ago, because now everyone has lived through all the corporate scandals and they know what it's all about." A NEW GRAY: For the first time in anyone's memory, the word "progressive" is starting to trip from the lips of Gov. Gray Davis on a daily basis. Even more interesting was middle-of-the-roader Davis' announcement that he was now ready and willing to sign legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to get California driver's licenses. That was something he vetoed just last year, and he paid a political price - - it cost him the backing of the Legislature's Democratic Latino Caucus during his re-election. But that was then. Now Davis is clearly trying to win over Latino voters, whose turnout is seen as critical if he wants to keep his job. "Let's not kid ourselves. He has to energize his base," said Davis adviser Paul Maslin. "But it's not like he's never had a progressive agenda -- there've just been times when he hasn't pushed it. But it's there." And he'll have plenty of chances to push it now. From what we're hearing, the license play could just be the first in a series of feints Davis makes as he tries to win back the liberal, union and minority forces he has ticked off in recent years. "There's going to be a lot of fun stuff in the next few weeks," confided one union lobbyist who works the capital. "Everyone is after everything they can get because, one, the governor needs all the friends he can get and, two, if this recall succeeds, then these bills won't ever get signed," the consultant said. One of those waiting in the wings is state Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who's trying to get the governor's signature on his landmark amendment to include gays and transgenders in the state's fair employment and housing law. "He's not given us any indication of whether he will sign or won't sign," Leno said. "But as far as we're concerned, at this point, no news is good news. " Ballot blues: San Francisco's already stressed elections office dodged a potential meltdown when the state rejected the voter-approved instant-runoff plan for the November mayor's race -- but there's still plenty to be shaky about. For instance, having to pull off five elections in the next 10 months. And they won't come cheap either -- city officials estimate the combined cost will be more than $20 million. The most notable contest, of course, is the Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall -- for which the city has yet to budget any money. Next come the Nov. 4 races for mayor and district attorney, almost certain to be followed by a runoff Dec. 2. Then there are state and presidential primaries March 2. On top of that, there are bills with broad legislative support pending in Sacramento to split the presidential and state primaries, which could lead to the statewide primary being moved to yet another election on either the first or fourth Tuesday in June. Add it all up and you have a monetary and logistical headache of grand proportions -- especially for an elections office that has been rife with financial fiascoes, political turmoil and screwups such as anthrax scares and ballot box tops floating in the bay. With so much at stake, Mayor Willie Brown has decided (at least for now) to put aside his past grudges with the Elections Commission. He even convened a 45-minute meeting in his office Tuesday with key staffers and elections officials to talk about plans for his most pressing concern -- making sure the fast-approaching recall comes off without any more of the embarrassing delays or glitches that plague so many San Francisco elections. "He wants to make sure there are as many precincts available as possible so voters can get out and vote," said one attendee. In other words, make sure heavily Democratic San Francisco does its part for Davis. Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. They can also be heard on KGO Radio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Phil Matier can be seen regularly on KRON-TV. Got a tip? Call them at (415) 777-8815 or drop them an e-mail at matierandross@sfchronicle.com. ©2003 San Francisco Chronicle \| Feedback Page A - 17