Full Steam Ahead In Recall Race
The campaign to recall Gov. Gray Davis steamed toward an Oct. 7 vote after a federal judge rejected a delay over punch-card voting, while the leading Republican candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger, outlined his economic plan.
The action star surrounded himself executive-style with big-name advisers Wednesday, while Republican Peter Ueberroth, the former baseball commissioner and key organizer of the successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, held a lean, straightforward news conference to offer his proposal.
Davis, who went on the offensive Tuesday with a speech blasting the recall as a Republican power grab, kept up the campaign to keep his job — with a few jabs at Schwarzenegger — at a town hall-style meeting Wednesday night before about 50 people in Hollywood.
"If someone wants to replace me, let's see a plan of how they want to manage the state, not just a couple sound bites," he told the group at Raleigh Studios.
Davis, a Democrat, planned similar meetings in San Francisco on Thursday and in San Diego on Friday. Also on the governor's agenda Thursday was an appearance with Sen. Dianne Feinstein to discuss gun control.
The fragile support Davis has held among the state's Democratic congressional delegation also faced another test Thursday, right on the heels of a poll showing 58 percent of likely voters would recall the governor.
The delegation scheduled a conference call for Thursday to discuss whether to show support for Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante as a replacement candidate by endorsing a "no on recall, yes on Bustamante" strategy.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, scheduled to speak to reporters in San Francisco later Thursday about the Bush administration's education policies, was expected to field questions on the conference call.
In addition to looking at support for the recall, the poll released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California found that if Davis is removed, 23 percent of the 993 likely voters surveyed would replace him with Schwarzenegger, while 18 percent would pick Bustamante. The error margin was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Davis said Wednesday that Bustamante's campaign might help him by bringing more anti-recall voters to the polls, adding the two might campaign together at some point.
"It's entirely possible that we can find ways going forward to coordinate one another's activities," he said.
A federal judge in Los Angeles kept the recall on schedule by turning down arguments by American Civil Liberties Union lawyers that it should be delayed until March so that six counties can complete the replacement of old punch-card machines with more reliable modern systems.
"Because an election reflects a unique moment in time, the court is skeptical that an election held months after its scheduled date can in any sense be said to be the same election," said U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson.
The Schwarzenegger and Ueberroth plans were the latest put forth after general criticism of a lack of specifics from candidates. Bustamante, the major Democrat among the 135 replacement candidates, announced his plan earlier.
Flanked by billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former Secretary of State George Shultz, Schwarzenegger emerged from his own economic summit Wednesday with some big-picture announcements, reports CBS News Correspondent Jerry Bowen.
Schwarzenegger said he would not raise taxes to solve the state's budget problems, but when pressed, the pro-business candidate clarified his no-taxes pledge.
"There could be an earthquake or a disaster or something, so you can't say never," he said.
The 56-year-old Republican also said that until he's elected governor and a special audit identifies the waste in government programs, he's unwilling to say what he'll cut to save taxpayer dollars. But cuts will be made, Schwarzenegger insisted.
"It's like the doctor, sometimes cuts have to be made to save the patient," he said.
An overflow press corps covered Schwarzenegger's first full news conference – a dramatic contrast to the contingent that greeted Ueberroth, a Republican running as an Independent.
Ueberroth has vowed to only serve out Davis' term and not seek re-election, said he would cut state spending across the board by 5 percent and create a one-time tax amnesty that would bring in $6 billion.
"I am a businessman. I'm a leader and a problem solver,'' he said. ``I've had some successes and I've had some failures. Fortunately, I've had more successes than failures, and I pay a lot of taxes.
"What am I not? I am not a politician. I'm not good on television, and I can't give you answers in sound bites,'' he said.