Huffington Pledges Money, Time to Allen Recall Effort

Former Santa Barbara Congressman Michael Huffington announced Thursday that he is not only endorsing the recall of Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress), but will back it financially and walk precincts to help unseat her.

Huffington, who narrowly lost a bitterly fought campaign for the U.S. Senate to Democrat Dianne Feinstein last fall, said his decision to back the recall was prompted by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), who launched the battle to topple Allen, and Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

“They asked me to support the recall and I said I would,” Huffington said in Beverly Hills. “I think it’s a travesty that the voters of California elected what they thought was a Republican Assembly and they ended up with a Willie Brown puppet in the Assembly Speaker’s seat. We want a real Republican in that seat.”

Allen, the Assembly’s senior member with 13 years in the lower house, has been targeted for recall since she was elected Speaker last June with the help of all 39 Democrats, replacing Assemblyman Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). The election of Allen, the first woman ever named Assembly Speaker, triggered charges of betrayal from her Republican colleagues.

Along with his endorsement, Huffington said he has contributed to the recall campaign and would travel to Allen’s district to encourage recall support.

“I put in the mail today a $5,000 check made payable to the Committee to Recall Doris Allen and I will not only support the recall financially but in person,” Huffington said. “I will go down in a couple of weeks to the district and walk precincts to get out the people to recall her.”

The California Republican Party endorsed the recall attempt last week and agreed to lend the party’s name and finances to the effort. Recall boosters claim to have already gathered more than 16,000 of the 25,606 signatures of registered voters in Allen’s district needed to force a recall election.

Allen’s backers claim she has helped place Republicans in key committee spots. At various times she has won support from several Republican Assembly members, most notably Speaker Pro Tem Brian Setencich of Fresno.