Davis Tries to Strengthen Support Among Latino Voters

Touting his ties with Mexican leaders and his record on issues such as insurance for the working poor, Gov. Gray Davis courted the Latino vote Friday, hoping to capture a crucial segment of the electorate that may lean toward Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in the Oct. 7 recall election.

A deliberate, straight-talking Davis recited portions of his record to the audience of 550 business leaders at the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s annual convention, reminding them, for example, that he had approved the nation’s first paid state holiday honoring Cesar Chavez.

Davis also told the luncheon that he had rekindled relations with Mexico to counter the damage done by former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and Proposition 187. When it was challenged in court, Davis declined to defend the 1994 measure that sought to deny public services for illegal immigrants, effectively derailing it.

Bustamante and commentator Arianna Huffington, two of the 135 candidates vying to replace Davis if he is recalled, also targeted Latino voters Friday.

At an awards show hosted by Spanish-language television personality Cristina in San Diego Friday night, Bustamante avoided talk of the recall or Davis. Instead, he recounted stories of his personal and political past. He spoke of his humble upbringing in San Joaquin, a small town near Fresno, where his family of eight shared one bathroom.

He recalled his first interview with a reporter after he was elected the first Latino speaker of the state Assembly in 1996.

The reporter asked him if he intended to pursue an agenda of radical ethnic politics. Bustamante said he replied, “Yes.” His agenda would be devoted to providing good jobs, good education and safe neighborhoods.

Friday night’s listeners, many of whom were Latino, responded with a standing ovation.

Huffington met with a group of 50 Latinas earlier in the day in Los Angeles and told them that women’s issues would be central to her campaign.

“I am determined to represent women -- immigrant women, Anglo women -- because their concerns are central to what should be the policy priorities in Sacramento,” Huffington said.

Late Friday, Huffington announced that her campaign manager, Dean Barkley, was resigning following disclosures that he worked as a lobbyist in Minnesota for tobacco, gambling and other corporate interests. Huffington, who has fashioned herself as a candidate who wants to reduce corporate influence in government, said she and Barkley “agreed it would be best for him to leave the campaign.”

In California, the Latino vote has become critical to any politician’s prospects and Davis enjoyed considerable support from the voting bloc in his 1998 and 2002 campaigns. Latinos make up about 30% of California’s population.

If the chamber of commerce audience was any indication, however, Davis may have a difficult time doing so again.

Many said afterward that they had been unimpressed by Davis and intrigued by Bustamante, who could become the state’s first Latino governor in more than a century.

Maria Luisa Vela, a Los Angeles paralegal, said she planned to vote for the recall because Davis had not lived up to his promises on education, health care and labor issues -- areas the governor often touts as strengths.

“He’s done a poor job, as far as the Latino agenda,” said Vela, who focuses on Mexican affairs for the chamber.

Others said they were angry at Davis for not taking the blame for the state’s fiscal mess.

“He has yet to truly admit that it’s his fault,” said Andrew Ysiano of Stockton, owner of the Latino Times newspaper. “The honeymoon is over.”

Though Ysiano is a Republican, he said he planned to vote for Bustamante. Many of those who oppose the recall also said they would vote for Bustamante.

“I think if we have a Latino governor, it’ll make it better for us,” said Julissa Cabrera, who said she was still undecided on whether to oust Davis, but favored Bustamante as his potential replacement. “Just being Latino, he would have more passion to do more for our community.”

Still others said they opposed the recall, and noted that Davis has appointed 30 Latino judges, including California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, since taking office.

“What matters is not so much whether the person is a Latino, but what they stand for,” said Bonavita Quinto, dean of student services for the Riverside Community College District.

But Quinto, who said she hosted then-Assemblyman Bustamante at a gathering with Latino college students years ago in Fresno, acknowledged that she had an affection for the lieutenant governor.

“He does come from an immigrant family,” she said, “and for that reason alone he must understand the issues we face.”

The support for Bustamante underscores the problem Democrats face as they struggle to defend Davis from the recall while also promoting the candidate they want to replace the governor if he is ousted.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, who spoke before Davis at the San Diego event, received her loudest cheer when she said she opposed the Davis recall, but was emphatically behind Bustamante.

“I’m going to be on the trail with the governor, and the lieutenant governor,” Boxer said.

For his part, Davis on Friday declined to endorse Bustamante. Although he and his aides have edged closer to urging Democrats to support the lieutenant governor as a potential successor, Davis chafed when asked about the support Bustamante was receiving from his fellow Democrats.

“You know, every Democrat has said they are ‘no’ on the recall,” Davis told reporters following his speech. “There are two questions, and the only place I am on the ballot is on the recall question. And so I am very glad the Democrats are getting behind the central issue on this ballot -- whether or not to recall the governor.

“Polls go up and down,” Davis added, unsolicited, before leaving with his security entourage. “In 1998, I was called roadkill. I wound up winning by 20 points.”

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Times staff writer Joel Rubin contributed to this report.