Davis Chides GOP for Budget Behavior

One day after outlining his plan for the state’s fiscal recovery, Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday accused Republican legislators of acting irresponsibly by refusing to support higher taxes to help close the state’s $38.2-billion budget shortfall.

And the governor slammed as “shameful” and “pathetic” Rep. Darryl Issa, a Republican from Vista who is one of the principal financial supporters of a recall movement to oust him from office and who is a candidate for governor.

Davis said the recall campaign was “disruptive” and “distracting,” but said he has still managed to focus “almost all my energies” on the state budget and other official duties.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times editorial board, the Democratic governor promoted the revised budget he released Wednesday, describing it as a compromise between the divergent views of lawmakers and interest groups and accusing Republicans of “not being responsible” by refusing to vote for his plan because it proposes about $8 billion in tax increases.

At the same time, Davis reiterated a formula for compromise that he first discussed in January: adoption of a ceiling on state spending as a trade-off for Republican votes on tax increases.

“When Republicans say that [higher] taxes are ‘nonstarters,’ they are not being responsible,” Davis said. “My revision represents substantial movement from my initial proposal, so I showed some flexibility and willingness to listen. I suggest to you all parties have to do that.”

June 15 Deadline

Davis noted that Republicans voted for $7 billion in new taxes in the early 1990s to help then-Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, close a $14-billion budget shortfall. And he said they also voted for a tax increase during the gubernatorial tenure of Republican George Deukmejian.

“Is this about a Democrat sitting in the corner office?” Davis asked rhetorically. He said the budget decisions confronting legislators represent a historic challenge. Legislators face a June 15 constitutional deadline to approve a budget, but they didn’t approve a state spending plan last year until Sept. 1. This year, a late budget could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars and further damage California’s already fragile credit rating.

“This is a big moment,” Davis said. “What we do now will impact the reputation of the state for years, if not decades.”

In his revised budget, Davis proposed cutting $18 billion in state spending, raising $8 billion in new taxes and borrowing $10.7 billion to spread the current year’s deficit over the next five years or more.

Republicans support the plan to borrow money to pay off the looming deficit, but they denounced the governor’s proposal to raise taxes to finance the loan.

“I don’t think that the governor’s May revision budget is a consensus document at all,” said Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge). “In fact, the governor was much more fiscally prudent in his January budget.”

Democratic lawmakers and many interest groups wanted Davis to propose an even larger tax increase. Republicans, however, contend that a tax increase would damage the state’s already struggling economy.

“Republicans are interested in not harming the economy and making sure we have a vibrant economy that is generating good middle-class jobs so that we don’t run into this type of deficit problem in the future,” Richman said. “I was extremely disappointed with the governor’s budget.”

As for the governor’s idea of using a spending restraint to attract GOP votes for a budget, Republicans contend that a spending cap must be part of any budget deal.

Davis was most animated during the hourlong interview with Times editors and reporters when asked about the recall campaign being mounted by at least three groups.

“I believe when you have elections in this country, people have spoken,” Davis said. “The people were kind enough to allow me to serve for the next four years. I understand that many people did not vote for me and they’d like to have another chance. I’m sure the Oakland Raiders would like to play Tampa Bay again after their deplorable showing in the Super Bowl.”

He added, “There has to be finality in the electoral process. I think when you’re asking leaders to make tough decisions, you can’t be looking over your shoulder every five minutes.”

Davis angrily singled out for criticism Issa, who donated $100,000 to the slow-moving recall campaign on May 8 and filed papers for a gubernatorial campaign Thursday.

“If Mr. Issa wants to run [for governor], he should come in the front door, not the back door,” Davis said. “It’s shameful that somebody would finance a recall and then say he wants to run. It’s pathetic. Stand up and be a man. Run like most people do.”

A spokesman for Issa dismissed the governor’s comments.

“This is classic Gray Davis: Blame others for your problems and don’t take responsibility,” said Scott Taylor, gubernatorial campaign consultant for Issa. “With his dismal approval rating, it would appear that the majority of Californians feel that his conduct in office and his administration’s conduct in office is shameful.”

Recall supporters said they have gathered 100,000 of the nearly 900,000 signatures of registered voters they must obtain by Sept. 1 to force a vote.

Political Future

Davis alluded to his political future at one point, saying: “I have no other offices in mind. I have one goal, which is to leave this state better off than when we found it. I am convinced that things will get better.”

Armed with a copy of his revised budget and carrying a sheaf of notes, he repeated his support for reforms to reduce the volatility in state spending and tax collections.

He advocated “some sort of restraint on spending” but resisted describing it as a spending cap, a Republican-supported budget device that many Democrats and interest groups oppose.

Asked if such a cap would be a bargaining chip to win Republican votes for a budget, Davis answered affirmatively with a flippant: “Uh, hello?”