The Recall - Bay Area Local HR Activist Van Jones helps start www.runariannarun.org
by repost Friday July 25, 2003 at 08:45 AM

excerpt from Oakland Tribune:

"Asked their first-choice preference for a replacement governor, Bay Area likely voters put 2002 Green candidate Peter Camejo, and Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Riordan and Bill Simon in a statistical tie at 12 or 13 percent each. Another 34 percent picked someone else or none, and 10 percent were undecided. The poll had a 4 percent margin of error.

Van Jones, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in San Francisco, this week helped launch www.runariannarun.com to help draft progressive pundit Arianna Huffington into the race.

"True progressives are not going to come out to save Gray Davis' butt, that is just a fact," Jones said. "He has sold this state to the prison guards' union, he's been such a right-wing, pro-prison fanatic that true progressives can't support him.

"But if there's somebody on the second half of the ballot for them to believe in ... you'll have a better progressive turnout overall," he said, adding many Huffington supporters "will be saying no to the recall as a way of standing up to the Republicans, yet at the same time wanting to show support for a real change in Sacramento in a progressive direction.

Jones acknowledged it's "a tricky message ... to vote your conscience on the top of the ballot and vote for a true progressive on the bottom, so we don't split the progressive movement standing against the Republicans."


From www.runariannarun.org:

1. Why are people getting so excited about Arianna Huffington possibly running for governor?

Because Arianna would electrify the race. She would speak honestly about the real issues that are dragging our state down: the over-spending on prisons, the abandonment of public education, the big money corruption, the destruction of the environment, the flawed tax structure, the plight of the poor – everything.

And she would do it with unforgettable humor and style. Arianna was the one who created those hillarious anti-SUV ads, which poked fun at Bush on national TV this year. Just imagine the kind of political ads Arianna would run about Davis and the GOP during this crisis!

She is brilliant, with a razor-sharp wit and a fearless capacity to tell it like it is. Can you imagine Arianna Huffington debating Schwarzenegger? Or Davis? We'd finally hear someone tell the truth about the real issues affecting California.

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2. Wouldn't Arianna just be another "Ralph Nader," splitting the liberal vote so that the Republicans win?

Not in this election. It turns out that a recall election is one time where voting for someone you actually believe in is UNDENIABLY the smartest thing to do, politically.

The reason: there are no primaries to narrow the field before the recall, and there are no run-offs to ensure that the winner has a high number of votes. So whoever gets the most votes wins. Period. That's true, even if that person wins just a small fraction, say, 15 percent or even less of all votes cast.

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3. How does the recall work? How could someone from outside the two main parties get elected in this race?

No governor has ever been recalled in California, so no one is sure exactly what the process will be. But the most likely scenario is that voters will be asked two questions on the same ballot:

1) Do you support the recall of Gray Davis
2) Who should replace him IF he is recalled?

Everyone gets to vote on BOTH halves of the ballot, even those who vote AGAINST the recall. If the majority votes to recall Davis, he is out. And then whichever candidate garnered the highest number of votes on the second half of the ballot automatically becomes governor.

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4. When will the recall happen?

State officials haven't set the exact date of the recall election yet. Recent news suggests it could be October 7, 2003. However, if Governor Davis and his allies have their way, the recall election would be pushed back later, to November or even March 2004.

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5. Under what scenario would a candidate like Arianna actually win?

Assuming that the vote to recall the governor takes place simultaneously with a vote to pick his replacement, a very interesting scenario could boost a progressive populist into the governor's mansion:

(1) The Democrats offer up only Davis, and refuse to list any credible, marquee Democrat as one of his potential replacements;
(2) The GOP fields three or four major candidates at the same time;
(3) Liberals and progressives field only one, big-name populist like Arianna as a potential replacement for Davis.

Under that scenario, if Davis is recalled, Arianna would likely garner a 20 percent plurality over the divided GOP candidates. She would be sworn in as governor soon after.

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6. But won't the Democrats eventually add someone to the list of replacement candidates, just to be safe?

Apparently not! All the Democrat Party leaders are saying that they will back Davis 100 percent – and offer the voters NO CHOICE on the second half of the ballot! The party leaders have essentially signed a "suicide pact" with Davis. As far as they are concerned, it's "Davis or Death."

But California can't afford that kind of blind loyalty to one man, especially someone who is widely seen as corrupt and incompetent. The stakes are too high. On the second half of the recall ballot, we need a progressive alternative to the GOP, even (especially!) for people who vote AGAINST the recall. That's why Arianna should run.

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7. What about the Green Party? I heard Peter Camejo is running.

He has declared himself a candidate. Fortunately, he has also said that he is willing to bow out under certain circumstances, in favor of Arianna. We hope that these two leaders will eventually join forces, under Arianna's candidacy.

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8. So I could vote AGAINST the GOP-sponsored recall of Davis and STILL vote FOR Arianna to replace him, just in case?

Yes, that's exactly right. Or you could vote to recall Davis, and then vote for Arianna. No matter how you feel about Gray Davis, you can support Arianna Huffington on the second part of your ballot.

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9. Extreme right-wingers are behind the recall. Isn't it bad for progressives, independents and conscientious conservatives to ally with them?

We are not trying to ally with right-wingers. We are trying to STOP right-wingers (including Davis) from wrecking the state. We want to prevent the right-wing takeover -- without pledging allegiance to Gray Davis or getting stuck with the miserable status quo. The challenge is: how do we turn a bad thing (this power grab by the extreme right) into a good thing (the election of a governor we can believe in).

The GOP is attempting a top-down, right-wing coup. But we can turn this into a bottom-up, people's rescue of the state government. Given the wacky rules of the recall process, California's independents and progressives actually have the power to do that.

California is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, monumental political corruption and gridlock. In times like these, we CERTAINLY deserve much better than Davis, Schwarzenegger or the rest of the GOP mob. California needs someone in Sacramento with Arianna Huffington's courage, smarts and integrity.

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10. Does Arianna support the GOP-initiated recall?

She has not endorsed the recall.

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11. Has Arianna agreed to run at this point?

No. Arianna has not committed herself in either direction, at this point. But many of her fans, supporters and admirers believe that, if enough people show support for this idea, Arianna Huffington can be convinced to jump into the race to help rescue the state. California certainly needs her.

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12. How do you get on the recall ballot as a candidate?

A candidate in the recall must get 65 nomination signatures and pay a $3,500 filing fee OR submit 10,000 signatures with no fee.

The candidate must also file nomination papers, including a declaration of candidacy. This paperwork must be filed at least 59 days before the date of the recall election. If the election is scheduled for October 7, a candidate must file no later than August 9.

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13. How do you win?

Assuming that people vote to recall Davis (more than 50 percent of people vote "yes" to the recall), then whoever gets the most votes wins, even if that's less than 50 percent of total votes. There would be no runoff vote.
www.runariannarun.com/article.php

www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1532632,00.html