Despite reports that he would consider adding his name to an
ever-lengthening list of candidates to replace Gov. Gray Davis in
the Oct. 7 recall election if his friend Richard Riordan did not,
state Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Monterey, said Thursday he would not
be a candidate.
Despite reports that he would consider adding his name to an ever-lengthening list of candidates to replace Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 recall election if his friend Richard Riordan did not, state Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Monterey, said Thursday he would not be a candidate.
Instead he said he would be supporting the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger who announced on Wednesday that he would run.
“Arnold helped me in my campaign (for lieutenant governor) last year,” McPherson said, “and I will be helping him.”
McPherson, a moderate Republican who represents Morgan Hill, Coyote, San Martin, Gilroy, all of San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, said he did not believe Riordan would be running. Riordan, a former mayor of Los Angeles, had said he would not run if Schwarzenegger did.
McPherson did not jump on the recall bandwagon right away.
“I did not sign a petition or circulate one for recall,” McPherson said. “I had hoped the fiscal catastrophe created by the governor and Legislature could be fixed some other way.”
But, having determined that it can’t, he is throwing his support behind Schwarzenegger.
“He is a very well-organized person and knows political issues better than most people might think,” McPherson said of the actor. “He has name identification, lots of money and his wife is squarely behind him.”
“The people are doing the job, the people are raising their families,” but the politicians are not doing their job, Schwarzenegger said on Wednesday’s Tonight Show.
The actor is not totally new to the political scene. He was successful, in the fall of 2002, in getting Proposition 49 on the ballot and passed. The proposition increased state funding for before and after school programs and was estimated to cost the state up to an additional $455 million, beginning in 2004-05.
McPherson said he thought Schwarzenegger would be wise to focus on state issues, especially the state of the budget.
“He’d be smart to stick to the business of California as a main campaign issue, instead of going off on social issues,” he said. “He will have to establish how he will fix the state’s fiscal problems.” He said that, over the next 60 days – until the election – the people of California should expect to hear a great deal about Schwarzenegger’s plans for repairing the budget problems.
“Arnold is focused and driven,” McPherson said. “People underestimate him.”
On Thursday, Darrell Issa pulled out of the race. Issa is the Republican from Vista in San Diego County who bankrolled the recall petitions, paying hired collectors for each signature. Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante jumped in, along with Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. Bustamante said he had tried to stay clear of the recall, supporting the governor instead.
“I had no choice,” Bustamante said.
As of 1 p.m. Thursday, the Secretary of State’s office reported 363 pending applications to join the fray with completed paperwork from four Democrats, two Republicans and two Independents. Two propositions will also be on the ballot.
The last day to file with the Registrar of Voters as a candidate for the recall ballot is 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9. Candidates need only the signatures of 65 registered voters and $3,500 for the filing fee. The last day to register to vote for the special election is Monday, Sept. 22; absentee ballots must be returned by Tuesday, Sept. 30. Registrar of Voters: www.sccvote.org or 299-8000.
