Top Democrats Lockyer, Angelides Opt Out of Possible Recall Election

After months of refusing to say whether they might run to replace Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election, two leading Democratic contenders said Tuesday that they would not join the race if it occurs, offering Davis the first hint of party unity he has sought to save him from getting tossed out of office.

Davis and his allies continue to hope they can keep the recall off the ballot. But the announcements by Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer and state Treasurer Phil Angelides reflected a growing concern among Democrats that the recall is likely to qualify -- and that the party must focus on how to respond to the threatened loss of power.

Davis, Lockyer, Angelides and other top Democrats met privately with organized labor leaders Saturday to assess the threat and plan a response.

Lockyer and Angelides, who are preparing to compete for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2006, denounced the recall effort Tuesday as an attempt by Republicans to seize power regardless of the potential disruption to California as it struggles through a fiscal crisis. Lockyer termed the recall “a profound threat to democracy” and said he hopes it fails to make the ballot.

“However,” he said, “if it does, I do not intend to submit my name as a candidate, and I will do all that I can to convince California voters that supporting the recall will cause irreparable harm to our state and democracy.”

Angelides called the recall “an odious use of the political process.”

“I do not intend, nor will I consider running in, this recall election,” he said.

In addition to Lockyer and Angelides, state Controller Steve Westly, who just won statewide office last year, said Tuesday that he would not run.

If the recall qualifies, the ballot would offer a yes or no vote on whether to bounce Davis, followed by a list of candidates to replace him. If Davis were recalled, the candidate with the most votes would become governor.

The chaotic nature of such a statewide race, which would be a first in California, has befuddled even the state’s most seasoned political strategists as they try to understand how standard campaign calculations could apply under such extraordinary circumstances.

Davis, whose popularity has plunged during the protracted debate over the state’s budget, has discouraged other Democrats from considering the race. An absence of Democrats vying to replace him could bolster his contention that the recall is a sour-grapes attempt by Republicans who lost the governor’s race in November to capture the seat that eluded them.

Davis’ quest for a united front, however, has been complicated by his lack of warm relations with many fellow Democrats.

Recall supporters, meanwhile, say the governor should be ousted because he lied about the depth of California’s fiscal troubles when he was running for reelection, a charge Davis has denied.

On the Republican side, Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista has already launched his campaign for governor on the recall ballot. Issa, a multimillionaire, is financing much of the recall effort and pushing for a fall election. Other Republicans weighing whether to run include actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the party’s 2002 gubernatorial nominee, Bill Simon Jr.

The Democrat most notably silent on Tuesday was Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. He is widely seen as the Democratic officeholder most likely to gamble on putting his name on the recall ballot. Bustamante, who has had a number of clashes with Davis, has said he opposes the recall but dodged questions on whether he might run if it qualifies for the ballot.

“If the recall effort becomes a reality, he’ll make his intentions known,” said Bustamante spokeswoman Deborah Pacyna.

Much speculation also has focused on U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein entering the race. As a popular officeholder, Feinstein could hurt the Republican Party’s chances of capturing the governorship but also might knock Davis out of that spot by making it easier for Democrats to support his recall, knowing that she might succeed him.

Although Feinstein and Davis are not close, she has sharply denounced the recall effort. She has stopped short, however, of ruling out a candidacy.

The announcements by Lockyer and Angelides came three days after they attended a private recall strategy meeting called by California’s organized-labor brass. About 40 union leaders gathered around a conference table at a Holiday Inn in Sacramento, participants said.

Labor unions are one of the Democratic constituencies with the most to lose if a Republican replaces Davis; they have donated millions of dollars to his campaigns, and he has supported much of their agenda.

The labor group invited Lockyer, Angelides and state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi into the meeting for about 45 minutes; Bustamante participated by speakerphone.

Art Pulaski, California Federation of Labor leader who called the meeting, said all of the state officials “agreed to join us in a public statement opposing the recall.”

“We think it’s important for the state that no recall election be forced down our throats,” Pulaski said.

But the group avoided discussion of who might run on a recall ballot, he said.

After the officials departed, the governor, unaccompanied by aides, met separately with the union leaders. They too discussed the recall problem for about 45 minutes, Pulaski said.

“He expressed his concerns about it and his appreciation of our efforts to oppose the recall,” Pulaski said.

Under a plan devised by the governor’s campaign strategy team, a largely labor-funded committee, Taxpayers Against the Governor’s Recall, is trying to hinder efforts by recall supporters to gather the nearly 900,000 voter signatures they need on their petition for a special election.

Roger Salazar, a Davis campaign consultant, said the governor “shares the sentiment” of Lockyer and Angelides that a recall runs counter to the public’s interest at a time when state leaders should stay focused on California’s fiscal problems.

“Democrats understand what Republicans are trying to do here and aren’t going to play into their hands by putting their names on the ballot,” Salazar said.

But the months of hesitation by Lockyer and Angelides to foreclose the option of putting their names on the recall ballot underscored the reluctance by candidates from across the political spectrum to pass up the chance at running in this unusual governor’s race.

In an interview at his Sacramento office Tuesday morning, Lockyer said: “I hope and expect that all of the major Democratic candidates will make it clear at the right time that they oppose the recall and that they won’t be candidates.”

He declined to do so himself, saying that Democratic contenders for governor “need to do it together to have the convincing impact with California voters.”

He described his resistance to an early definitive announcement as akin to the impulse anyone would have in declining to express interest in a promotion.

But an hour later, Angelides went ahead and made his own announcement at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon: He not only did not intend to run, but would not even consider it.

A few hours later, Lockyer released his own statement saying he did not intend to submit his name as a candidate.

“In a cynical attempt to abuse a tool of direct democracy, political opponents of the governor are now seeking to use a recall to effectuate a regime change in an off-year that could result in a new governor being elected with an electorate of fewer than 1 million voters,” Lockyer said.

“Nothing could be more threatening to the value of our votes and the future of majority rule in California than the overthrow of elected government by a sliver of the electorate.”

Republican consultant Ken Khachigian, the chief strategist of Issa’s gubernatorial campaign, said he expects Lockyer or Angelides to run on the recall ballot despite their statements.

“I don’t think for a minute they’re going to stick by this,” he said. “If they are on record that this is a threat to democracy, then my challenge to them is to go ahead and circulate a petition to amend the state Constitution and repeal this [recall] portion of it,” he said.

“Otherwise, the people of this state have put in this provision, and it was intended for precisely this sort of thing. These are extraordinary circumstances where this governor has reached a historic low in the confidence level of the people, and I can’t imagine any public officeholder who would question the right of the people to have a vote.”