let us hope that the will of the people is accurately represented with this recall, and the person who will best lead California is elected 

Doh! I just heard some scandalous news about the leading Republican contender for Davis's job on MSNBC's countdown.

Oh well, its probably better to let the Dems get all the credit for this mess anyway.

As a democrat living in California, I'd end up voting for Davis

No, its not that I even like Davis.  Its just that the reasons for this reelection are totally.. well, wrong.

Generally, most people complain about the energy crisis, the econmy, etc for reasons that Davis should be ousted.  But, all of this happened BEFORE the last election.  It all happened during his last term, not his current term.  If he did something worthy of getting called out this cureent term, then I'd select another a moderate republican.

I think Davis is self-serving, if he really looked out for his political party, he would allow another democrat to run.  But, he knows if one did, that canidate would win.  So, he's really trying to save his own skin right now.

I voted for Arnold, only because I think his celeb status may get him there.

Or because you thought Arnold was Gary Coleman?

If Jack Kemp had decided to run for governor I would have moved to California just to vote for him.

Too bad he isn't.  I think Richard Riordan gets in and wins it.   

Edited to add:
My choice: Bill Simon. They need a fiscal conservative to bail them out of this mess and California knows it.

I had heard on C-SPAN that once the recall petition had been certified and a recall election date had been set, that even if Davis resigned, Cruz would only be governor until the election date. And thus a new election would still be held.
Does anybody have a link if this is true?

No link, but if the ballot says, "Should Governor Gray Davis be recalled?" and he is not the governor, then logic dictates that he cannot be recalled.

Since it is impossible to recall someone who is not the governor from being governor, the election should be null and void.

Mike

Not to cast doubt Mike, but while I agree with your application of logic, I think you need to provide some kind of supporting information for your argument.

Aquilla, thanks for doing the research on this. We all know that election law is rather abstract, and certainly open to interpretation.

Article II of the California Constitution states:


SEC. 15. (a) An election to determine whether to recall an officer and, if appropriate, to elect a successor shall be called by the Governor and held not less than 60 days nor more than 80 days from the date of certification of sufficient signatures.
Exactly what constitutes certification, and when is the "date of certification of sufficient signatures"? Article II, SEC. 14. © states:

The Secretary of State shall maintain a continuous count of the signatures certified to that office.
Furthermore, Section 11104 of the California Elections Code specifies that:

11104. (a) The elections official, 30 days after a recall has been initiated and every 30 days thereafter, or more frequently at the discretion of the elections official, shall report to the Secretary of State all of the following:
... (3) The number of valid signatures, verified pursuant to subdivision (, submitted during the previous reporting period, and of valid signatures verified during the current reporting period.

Each county is going to be forwarding its counts of valid signatures to the Secretary of State, and in most cases that will occur as quickly as possible. If there are enough valid signatures to qualify the recall through sampling procedures, rather than a complete count, if won't take the counties very long to process the petitions.
In my opinion, the California Constitution is quite clear: As soon as enough valid signatures are reported by the counties to the Secretary of State, that becomes the "date of certification". Most likely it will be July 23rd, five days after the end of the monthly reporting period. After that, a recall election must be held.

If a vacancy occurs in an office after a recall petition is filed
against the vacating officer, the recall election shall nevertheless
proceed. The vacancy shall be filled as provided by law, but any person
appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold office only until a successor is
selected in accordance with Article 4 (commencing with Section 11360) [which
appears to have been repealed] or Article 5 (commencing with Section 11380),
and the successor qualifies for that office.

It's easy to shoot down a theory by asking for sources, but remember the original topic at hand: Simply put, will Grey davis keep his post of governor? and who would replace him if he cant?

Nighttimer, I ask you, can you provide any supporting sources saying my theory is impossible? See, it works both ways.

California Election Code section 11302 states:


Sorry couldn't find a link to the actual statute.

The vacancy shall be filled as provided by law, but any person
appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold office only until a successor is
selected in accordance with Article 4 (commencing with Section 11360)[U] [which
appears to have been repealed] or Article 5 (commencing with Section 11380)

Yes, it does work both ways.  And your theory doesn't.  


Q: If it becomes clear that Gov. Gray Davis will lose the recall election, could he resign and leave the state in Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's hands?

A: Nope. If Davis resigned today, Bustamante would take over until the Oct. 7 election. But if voters then opted to oust Davis, the elected replacement would take Bustamante's place. Officials aren't sure what to do if Davis resigns and the recall doesn't oust him—but presumably Bustamante would remain in power.

[I have never claimed this will happen; I have stated it could happen. Until it happens, the speculation as to what would happen as a result is just that -- speculation.

I wouldn't be against Arnold as governor, but I think this recall is ridiculous.  They're in deficit because of bad energy contracts with Enron (who Bush is in bed with) and because 80% of the dotcom busts happened in CA.  Granted, Davis hasn't done much to help, but I'm a little concerned about how much the media is pushing Arnold.  There's plenty of other big names in the race, some of which actually have political experience.  Arnold hasn't come out with any new ideas or plans, and yet he's the front-runner in this popularity contest, paid for by Darrell Issa.  If any of these candidates were serious about helping the people of CA, they would wait til the real elections came up again.