-
May 8, 2008 7:18 am US/Pacific
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Senate Leader Abruptly Stop Denham Recall Campaign
SACRAMENTO (AP) ―
In an abrupt political reversal, Democratic state Senate leader Don Perata said Wednesday he is ending his campaign to recall a Republican senator.
How much good Perata's sudden announcement will do is unclear. The recall against Sen. Jeff Denham of Merced already is on the June 3 ballot and pamphlets have been sent to voters.
In a statement, Perata said he was ending the recall campaign "in the spirit of putting politics aside to solve problems."
Perata had orchestrated the recall because Denham had angered him during last year's budget stalemate, which lasted roughly seven weeks after the start of the fiscal year.
Perata thought Denham, a moderate Republican, would provide one of the GOP votes needed to reach the two-thirds threshold required to pass the budget in the Senate. Instead, Denham sided with his Republican colleagues, who were concerned the spending plan would lead to a multibillion dollar budget deficit.
California faces a deficit estimated between $13 billion and $20 billion for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Both parties have feared another deadlock in the months ahead over whether taxes should be raised to close that gap.
In his statement, Perata said he was dropping the campaign against Denham because he wanted to seek a measure of unity between the parties.
The recall attempt against Denham kept coming up as a sore point in his attempt to discuss budget issues with Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto.
Perata said that when he launched the recall drive, "I had no idea the (state's) cash flow was going to be as severe as it is."
"This did not feel like the way to constructively get a budget on time," he told reporters during an evening news conference outside the Capitol. "That's why I did it. ... I think that working together has got to be the pre-eminent value here."
Denham campaign spokesman Kevin Spillane estimated that the Republican senator has spent several hundred thousand dollars to defend himself so far and planned to spend at least $2 million throughout the campaign.
Denham said he will not seek reimbursement from taxpayers, as he could under state law.
"I don't know what's driving him. I'm certain he's seen the polling and the support I have in my district," Denham said of Perata in a telephone interview.
The Republican senator said he had not spoken with Perata and did not know about his decision ahead of time.
"If he really wants to show that it's over, he can come clean up the signs, he can stop the ads, he can transfer the money out of the account," Denham said. "I'm still going to campaign, I'm still going to run ads, I'm still going to walk precincts."
Perata's recall campaign had collected more than $1.3 million since March 17.
Both sides said there were no deals cut to persuade Perata to halt the recall effort.
Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the administration was pleased Perata had called off the campaign. The governor opposed the recall.
Cogdill also said he welcomed Perata's decision to end recall campaigning, saying it had become a distraction in budget talks.
Perata's reversal comes just days after he told The Associated Press that a successful recall against Denham would help the Senate pass a budget with tax increases. If Denham were replaced with the only other candidate on the recall ballot, a Democrat, then only one Republican vote would be needed in that house to reach the two-thirds majority.
"If I have an opportunity of picking up a Democrat who would support a balanced approach to solving the budget problem, I'm going to do that," Perata, the Senate's president pro tem, told the AP in an exclusive interview last week.
He said unseating Denham during the June primary would help the state avoid massive cuts in state programs and services. Passing the budget still requires a two-thirds vote in the Assembly, where six Republican votes are needed.
Even if Perata puts the brakes on an active campaign, the recall will remain on the primary election ballot in Denham's district, which includes all or parts of Madera, Merced, Monterey, San Benito and Stanislaus counties.
County election officials already have begun sending vote-by-mail ballots that include the recall.
"The question will still be on the ballot," said Kate Folmar, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's office.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)