LOS ANGELES (AP) Gray Davis was never a beloved political
figure, even after five statewide election victories over a 30-year
career. Swept out of office on a tide of voter rage Tuesday, he
ultimately fell victim to his own aloof personality and his
cautious political style.
Much has been made in recent months about taxpayer discontent
with the hike in the car tax and the state's gaping budget deficit,
but some observers say the state's Democratic majority were ready
to dump Davis last November but didn't like the alternative
conservative Republican Bill Simon.
The seeds of the recall were planted last year by Davis himself,
when he helped Simon beat moderate Republican Richard Riordan in
the GOP primary. The move was considered a brilliant political
stroke but also deprived voters of any real choice in last year's
election and led eventually to the candidacy of a more powerful
Republican moderate, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
``I think voters felt shortchanged last year,'' said Ann
Crigler, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at
the University of Southern California. ``They wanted to vote for
someone else but just couldn't. This time, they got another
moderate Republican and voters made the change.''
A former Assemblyman who also served as state controller and
lieutenant governor, Davis has been known as the consummate insider
who steadfastly climbed the political ladder carefully weighing
each decision and aggressively pursuing the next job.
But he never generated much voter enthusiasm. Devoid of charisma
and considered aloof by those closest to him, Davis was forced to
rely on raw political skill for victory.
Again and again, Davis was able to size up opponents and tailor
a campaign to fit the need. If the approach brought success, it
also turned off many voters.
``As far as I'm concerned, Gray Davis is one of the dirtiest
politicians I've ever encountered,'' said Ed Troupe, 69.
After serving six years as chief of staff to then Gov. Jerry
Brown, Davis won a seat in the state Assembly in 1982. But even
before his term was up, Davis was looking ahead.
In an effort to raise his visibility, Davis launched a campaign
to put pictures of missing children on milk cartons and grocery
bags. Meanwhile, he squeezed campaign contributors for donations at
almost every turn.
He won the office of state controller in 1987 and after
re-election in 1990, set his sights on the U.S. Senate. The race
pitted Davis against Dianne Feinstein and featured attack ads that
linked Feinstein with hotel queen and convicted tax evader Leona
Helmsley.
The ads played a big part in Davis' landslide defeat. He blamed
his campaign managers and vowed to never again allow anyone else to
make his key political decisions.
Although the loss led many to believe Davis' career was over, he
assembled a new campaign team and was elected lieutenant governor
in 1994. Four years later, Feinstein decided not to run for
governor, and he saw an opening.
Davis slipped past Democratic rivals in the primary by running a
moderate campaign and then defeated Attorney General Dan Lungren, a
conservative Republican, with 58 percent of the vote.
He benefited from weak opponents whose values were not shared by
the left, but in steering a course up the middle, he rarely
received the full backing of his own party.
``Over the course of his career, Davis was never the first
choice of his own party,'' said GOP consultant Dan Schnur.
Consequently, Davis never felt the need to reach out to his base.
``It's not surprising that once he got to the governor's office, he
didn't feel the need to reach out.''
Davis didn't know it but his career probably crested in
mid-2000, when California was riding high on the high-tech economic
bubble and his name was floated as a possible future contender for
the White House.
But the state's energy crisis was just starting and the signs of
voter disenchantment were on the horizon. Some say his lack of
personal appeal left many voters cold and with little reason to
support him when times get tough.
``Gray Davis never related to people and people never related to
him,'' said Crigler. ``It's a big part of why he is where he is
today.''
Voter frustrations were finally vented Tuesday.
``We've had enough. Call him the governator or the gropenator,''
Jim Hall, 62, said of Schwarzenegger, ``we're going to see some
action now.''
A centrist most of his career, Davis had long ago distanced
himself from the liberal wing of the party although he did maintain
strong alliances with the labor unions and inner city ethnic
groups.
Davis worked hard in the closing weeks to specifically embrace
those two. He took political risk in signing a bill allowing
illegal immigrants the right to obtain state driver's licenses. And
he signed landmark legislation aimed at providing millions of
low-income workers health insurance.
But in the end even those groups abandoned him. Exit polls from
Tuesday show that two key groups Davis needed to survive
Hispanics and union members abandoned him. While nearly
two-thirds of both groups had backed Davis in his last two
elections, about half voted for recall Tuesday.
While there were concerns that Davis would take the loss hard
and look to extend the bitterness of the campaign after the
election, his concession speech Tuesday night offered yet another
side of the complex career politician.
``I am calling on everyone in this state to put the chaos and
the division of the recall behind us and do what's right for this
great state of California,'' he said.
He promised a smooth transition with Schwarzenegger and has not
mentioned whether he plans to resurrect his political career again.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)