California's governor attacks recall as GOP power grab

LOS ANGELES -- Gov. Gray Davis, taking a combative stance Tuesday in the first major address since the recall qualified for the statewide ballot, denounced the Oct. 7 vote facing him as a Republican power grab.

The Democratic governor acknowledged he was slow to act on California's energy crisis and that no one was happy with the budget he just signed.

Since the 2000-2001 energy crisis, Californians have witnessed the decline of the state's technology sector and a record $38 billion budget deficit, which triggered the vehicle tax increase, forced college fees to rise as much as 30 percent and has threatened state employees with layoffs and pay cuts.

But Davis sought to place the state's troubles in the perspective of an American economy that has "tanked" and proudly pointed to his accomplishments in education and health care, and his focus on privacy protection, civil rights, the environment and reproductive rights.

"The Republicans behind this recall say they want you to oust me for past mistakes," he said. "My friends, they don't give a rip about past mistakes. This is all about control in the future, seizing back the governor's chair and ... with so many candidates running they can do it with just a handful of California voters."

Davis sought to reassert himself in a campaign that has largely focused on Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and more than 130 other candidates seeking to replace him on Oct. 7.

His speech came hours after Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the most prominent Democrat on the recall ballot, released his own plan to turn around the state's economy, further complicating Davis' fight to remain in office. Davis had sought to keep other Democrats off the ballot so he could focus on defeating the recall.

Bustamante's plan imposed most of the pain on the state's wealthy and its businesses.

"The folks at the top have to pay their fair share," Bustamante said. "The folks at the bottom have to pay something and the people being squeezed in the middle need some relief from the car tax and college fees."

Bustamante has urged Californians to vote against the recall, but to choose him in case the governor is ousted.

Davis also addressed criticism of his personal style, saying, "This is not going to shock you: I may not be the warmest TV personality in politics, but I am warming to this fight."

Duf Sundheim, chairman of the California Republican Party, rejected Davis' assertions. "To say that this is a right-wing conspiracy I think is an insult" to the 1.6 million people who signed petitions to force the recall, he said.

Petition signers included many independents and Democrats, Sundheim noted, describing the recall as "a grassroots revolt."

Davis is the first California governor to face a recall election, and if it is successful he would be only the second governor in the nation to be removed from office.

"This recall is bigger than California," Davis said. "What's happening here is part of an ongoing national effort by Republicans to steal elections they cannot win."

The address by Davis at the University of California at Los Angeles was among several key statements released this week as major candidates began to address the critical issues facing the state.

Bustamante is running in the recall election to give Democrats a choice in case Davis is recalled by voters. Both Davis and Bustamante were elected in 1998 and re-elected last year, but they have long had a distant relationship. On Sunday, Bustamante said Davis' aides had been blocking his attempts to raise money for his campaign.

With the Oct. 7 election just seven weeks away, Bustamante's economic plan was the first major policy announcement by a high-profile candidate in the week after the slate of 135 candidates was certified by the secretary of state.

Arnold Schwarzenegger promised a discussion of economics on Wednesday, planning a news conference after a private meeting with advisers who include billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former Secretary of State George Shultz, a spokesman said.

Fellow moderate Republican Peter Ueberroth, the former baseball commissioner, also plans to make his first campaign appearances Wednesday.

Schwarzenegger is set to begin airing television ads on Wednesday. In the 60-second commercial, the Republican does not mention Davis or any of the other replacement candidates.

"We, the people, are doing our job, working hard, raising our families and paying taxes," says Schwarzenegger, who made $30 million filming "Terminator 3." "But the politicians are not doing their job."

Schwarzenegger's campaign on Tuesday released text and videos of the ad, the first television commercial set to air in the recall campaign.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Los Angeles said he would rule Wednesday on efforts to postpone the election because some counties will use old punch-card voting machines. The American Civil Liberties Union claims that the machines used in six counties have error rates as high as 3 percent.