Davis Gets Big Boost From Labor
Gov. Gray Davis got a key boost in his fight for political survival Tuesday as California's powerful AFL-CIO labor federation released a letter to elected Democrats urging them not to run in the Oct. 7 recall.
"We are united against the recall of Gov. Davis and urge all potential Democratic candidates to stay off the recall ballot and join with us in support of the governor," said a three-paragraph letter sent to Democrats in Congress and the state Legislature, as well as statewide elected officials.
"United we will defeat this ultraconservative coup attempt."
The letter was signed by Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, which represents more than 2 million union workers in the state. Pulaski and other labor leaders were in Chicago where Davis addressed a national AFL-CIO meeting and asked for money and support.
The release of the letter comes amid crumbling support from Davis' fellow party members. Some Democrats are calling for the party to put a strong candidate on the two-part ballot to ensure the governorship remains in Democratic hands if Davis is recalled.
The deadline for candidates to file is 5 p.m. Saturday.
Davis' attorneys went to the California supreme court Monday to try to delay the recall election, claiming voting officials don't have enough time or money to properly prepare for an Oct. 7 election day. They also want the governor's name to be one of the choices on the ballot.
"It's not fair to have an election where a very small minority vote for a candidate and he gets 10 percent and that person is elected governor when 49 percent of the people want the governor to be governor," Davis' attorney Michael Kahn told CBS News.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Monday she strongly opposes the recall, but that Democrats should field another candidate if polls show Davis will lose his job. Three members of Congress have called on Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the state's most popular politician, to run.
Feinstein has said she does not intend to do so. Labor leaders have disagreed with some of her stances.
Pulaski's letter did not indicate how labor leaders would respond to Democrats who strayed from their strategy of unity behind Davis, but it was a clear indication that any Democrat who did so would risk the displeasure of one of the party's most powerful constituencies, organized labor.
"We anticipate that you will work with us over the next week to maintain this clear, united message and that you will do everything in your power to campaign against the recall between now and the election," the letter said.
The California Labor Federation's executive council voted unanimously Saturday to reiterate "the strong, unequivocal position of the labor movement in California regarding the recall."
Pulaski did not immediately respond to a message left on his cell phone, and his spokesman, Nathan Ballard, said the letter spoke for itself.
Davis is the first California governor to face a recall and would be only the second governor nationwide to be removed from office if the effort succeeds.
While at the meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, Davis also had an hour-long private meeting Monday with former President Clinton.
Davis declined to say what Clinton, whom he called an adviser and mentor for more than a decade, told him, other than to call it a "very good meeting."