Mr. Unpopular Can Only Persist

Friends often approach First Lady Sharon Davis these days with a demeanor that suggests there’s been a death in the family. In hushed tones, they ask how she and her unpopular husband are doing.

“I just kind of look at them and go, ‘Fine, really fine,’ ” she said, laughing. “They think we’re just being beaten down on a daily basis, and it doesn’t feel that way. It feels more like, this is a huge challenge, but we’re up for facing it.”

These are not happy times for the nation’s governors, most of whom are struggling with daunting budget shortfalls attributed to a stumbling economy. But they’re especially bleak days for California Gov. Gray Davis.

Three years ago, Davis was at the peak of his power. The state budget was billions of dollars in surplus, his job approval ratings were pushing 60%, and he was being mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential nominee.

Now, just six months after winning reelection to a second term, Davis has become California’s most unpopular governor in modern times. His approval ratings have plummeted to 24%, he has proposed fixing a record budget shortfall with billions of dollars in tax increases and cuts in government services, and he’s facing a recall campaign that seeks to remove him from office.

This week, Davis will submit a revised budget expected to show that the state’s financial hole is only getting deeper. Many lawmakers say a deal by the June 15 constitutional deadline will only get done if he takes the lead in forging a compromise.

Sharon Davis insists that her husband is calmly coping with his trials, steeled by previous tests during 35 years in politics. At night or on weekends, they rent movies such as “Road to Perdition,” watch sports on television and dine with friends such as Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle and his wife.

At home, “he doesn’t brood about it,” she said. “He spends his energy trying to figure out how do we deal with the set of circumstances that we find ourselves in now.”

At work, say those who see him most often, Davis has never been more on his game as governor, with a demeanor that reflects one of a career politician’s trademarks -- consistency. The meticulous man known for never allowing a hair to be out of place has responded to the political pressure, aides say, by focusing on the complex equations of the unpleasant budget deliberations -- who should get less money: sick people, poor people, schoolchildren, police?

Davis is well aware of his poll numbers and the recall rumblings. Indeed, as he prepares the revised budget for release on Wednesday, he is considering ways to mend fences with important constituencies by softening the blow of proposed public education cuts, people involved in the discussions said. He is also considering concessions to two important constituencies by restoring money for law enforcement training and for unionized nursing home workers.

“He feels like he’s got to have some friends out there,” said one person involved in the discussions, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The governor resists characterizing these as the worst times in his career, but he acknowledges that the budget presents “the most difficult challenge I’ve ever faced.”

As for the recall, which he attributes to some of the far-right Republicans he defeated in last fall’s election, he insists that he doesn’t “feel in any jeopardy because I know we can crank up a campaign if we need a campaign.”

“I’ve been in politics 30 years,” Davis said in an interview. “There have been many dark moments. Everyone likes positive feedback, and I’m no exception. But I understand how the process works. In good times, we get more credit than we deserve. In bad times, the opposite is true.”

Davis and his supporters see his plight as a result of circumstances beyond the governor’s control, chiefly the sluggish national economy. Republicans, however, say Davis and Democratic lawmakers exacerbated the problems by not making deeper cuts in state spending last year during his reelection campaign when trouble appeared on the horizon.

Longtime Davis political strategist Garry South said the governor has indeed weathered other difficult times, such as his crushing 1992 defeat to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the Democratic primary.

“He’s had very high highs in his political career and he’s had very low lows, and he understands all of that just comes with the terrain,” South said. “His demeanor doesn’t differ much whether it’s a glorious day or a gory day.”

Since November, Davis has hosted 19 “Big 5” meetings with the four Democratic and Republican legislative leaders from both houses, after rarely seeking legislative reaction during the previous four years, several lawmakers said. Republican Senate Leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga, who faults Davis and Democratic legislators for failing to act earlier to head off the budget crisis, rates the governor’s recent efforts to consult with the Legislature as “a lot better than they’ve ever been.”

Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson Jr. (D-Culver City) credits the Big 5 meetings with facilitating bipartisan agreement on a $3.6-billion package of loans and spending cuts in early May.

But Davis still has few friends in the Legislature. Some lawmakers and staff members say the governor’s engagement with his staff hasn’t translated into a willingness to use the full power of his office to promote a budget compromise and sell the hard choices to Californians, although, as Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) noted, “It’s tough to use a bully pulpit when people are not overjoyed with you.”

There are also hard feelings within his own party over the governor’s political calculations earlier this year in refusing to support a Democratic proposal to raise vehicle license fees because it would anger anti-tax Republicans.

Davis and Democratic lawmakers called a truce after obtaining legal opinions that said higher fees could be triggered administratively -- without legislative action -- in a fiscal crisis like the current one.

“I think the complaints today are largely born of frustration,” Davis said. “I’m basically asking them to cast votes that put them in political peril. That understandably upsets people.”

The political vulnerabilities created by his low poll ratings and the threat of a recall have made Davis an inviting target for Republicans and would-be successors. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer and Treasurer Phil Angelides have all taken public swipes at Davis in recent months.

Despite his unpopularity, Davis hasn’t hunkered down in his Capitol offices. He makes appearances before friendly groups and at staged events like one earlier this month to announce his proposals to fix the state’s ailing workers’ compensation system.

At a typical event last week, Davis talked of the difficulty of his budget choices before the annual conference of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO in Sacramento. Afterward, he spent nearly an hour shaking hands and posing for photographs, listening patiently as union members vented about some of his budget proposals.

“Gray was so good,” said Willie Pelote, the union’s lobbyist. “He was warm and friendly. My members loved it.’ ”

Davis is confronting his challenges with a new policy team after the departure of trusted Cabinet Secretary Susan Kennedy, Finance Director Tim Gage and other key players in the first weeks of his second term. He brought in Steve Peace, a former state senator from El Cajon, as finance director and replaced Kennedy with Nancy McFadden and Daniel Zingale, a pair of savvy policy hands with Washington experience.

Senior aides and other staff members say they see no signs that the political pressures are wearing on Davis. Support staff who served under Davis during his first term say his ill-tempered flashes have become less frequent since the November election, and he seems to have regained some of the confidence he lost during the energy crisis of 2000-01.

Davis has even been able to poke fun at his approval ratings in meetings with his staff and public appearances.

“He’s learned over time not to take it personally,” said Zingale, a colleague during the administration of former Gov. Jerry Brown, when Davis was chief of staff. “We take our lead from the governor that if we focus on the job and do well, the politics will take care of itself.”

If the poll numbers and political attacks are eating at Davis, his wife says she doesn’t see it either.

“I have what I call a no-politics zone in the house,” said Sharon Davis. “He doesn’t come home with his head hung and dragging his feet. He comes home and it’s the normal husband-and-wife, ‘how was your day’ kind of stuff.”

Weekends, usually spent in their West Los Angeles condominium, revolve around dinner with friends and a movie at home. They go to Mass every week and believe that “faith in a higher power helps you get over the rough times,” she said.

The governor finds diversion as well in television shows such as ESPN SportsCenter, with the uneven playoff progress of the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings his current preoccupation.

Longtime associates say it would be foolish to write Davis’ political epitaph just yet.

“The one thing I would say about the governor is he’s a survivor,” said Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Los Feliz), who worked for Davis during his first term as governor and when he was lieutenant governor and controller. “I saw that during the primary in 1998 when a lot of people were referring to him as road-kill. I always tell people I’d put my money on him, because he’s a tough customer.”