Jeff Denham

Under the category of What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger, here comes Jeff Denham, the Republican state senator who survived a recall attempt Tuesday. In fact, the recall was something of a victory, with more than 80 percent of voters in his district casting ballots against. In a time of bipartisan anger at California's elected leaders, such a vote is a sign of strength. Denham also showed a talent for raising money--even after Don Perata, the state senate's Democratic leader, who organized the recall, announced he was abandoning the campaign against Denham. More than two decades ago, San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein got an enormous political boost by easily beating a recall effort. Could Denham benefit in a similar way? He's the sort of moderate Republican who can win statewide -- if the public learns who he is.

Its sponsors have ended their campaign, but State Senator Jeff Denham tells the Sacramento Bee that he's going to kepe up his campaign against his recall. The measure remains on the June 3 ballot.

Don Perata, the top Democrat in the state senate, has decided to drop his campaign to recall Republican state senator Jeff Denham. A wise move, but perhaps too late. The recall has added to Denham's profile and may make him more politically influential than he was before. (Other California pols who survived recalls -- notably Dianne Feinstein -- gained politically from the experience). And it's too late to remove the question from the ballot--voters in Denham's district will still see the recall on the ballot June 3.

Updated: Here, via the Sacramento Bee, is Perata's statement. It's wildly different than what he told the Associated Press in a fire-breathing interview last week -- that he needed a Democrat in Denham's seat to protect programs and get a budget passed. (Perata added that it was "immaterial" whether Denham's vote against last year's budget -- the number one reason given for seeking his recall -- proved to be right). To some Capitol observers, this reversal on the recall is part of a pattern of erratic decisionmaking by Perata, who soon will be replaced by State Senator Darrell Steinberg.

NEW SPEAKER MAKES BALLOT INITIATIVE A PRIORITY: Here's another example of how thoroughly California has become a blockbuster democracy: the state's new Assembly Speaker, the formidable Karen Bass, has announced three priorities for her time as speaker. One is a ballot initiative to set aside funding for foster care. That's right, the speaker of the assembly, with considerable power, must look to the voters for a budget item. And her other two priorities -- balancing the budget and reforming the tax system -- almost certainly would require voters to sign off on constitutional changes at the ballot. 

ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION: A $42 billion transportation tax initiative is expected to be filed in Arizona this week. And The Republic has a preview.

LEAGUE OF CITIES INVESTMENT: The California League of Cities has now put more than $4 million into its no on Prop 98/ Yes on Prop 99 campaign on eminent domain. The campaign's goal, which includes the counter measure Prop 99, is to stop an effort by property rights and taxpayer groups to limit municipalities' ability to take property. Hat tip, Election Track.

State Senator Jeff Denham, target of a June 3 recall vote, has filed two criminal complaints against the main backer of the recall, the Democratic Senate Leader Don Perata. In the complaints, filed with the state attorney general's office, Denham charges Perata is using government staff and resources to back the recall. The Sacramento Bee has the details and the full complaints. This is as much public relations as anything else, amplifying reports about Perata pushing legislative staff to participate in the campaign. If there is an investigation, it's unlikely to be completed before the vote.

In California, you need to state some reason in your recall petition, but there's no rule governing what those reasons must be. Supporters of State Sen. Jeff Denham, who faces a recall vote June 3, have argued that he shouldn't be recalled because he's not guilty of criminality or public official corruption. A Denham radio ad says: "When a public official is guilty of malfeasance or criminal conduct in office, the California constitution provides for the right to recall."

Wrong. There's no constitutional standard. And this is not a small point. In his successful 1911 campaign to convince California voters to amend the state constitution to include the recall (along with the referendum and initiative), Gov. Hiram Johnson was criticized again and again on this very provision of his recall proposal by, among others, then-U.S. President Taft. They were worried that a recall with no standard would be used to remove judges who made unpopular decisions. In 2005, I reviewed Johnson's gubernatorial papers, on file at the Bancroft Library at Berkeley, and his response to this criticism was fierce, unrelenting and often profane. Essentially, he would say, "What part of 'the people are absolutely sovereign' don't these guys understand?" In Johnson's defense, the recall has been rarely used against judges, or legislators. Only four have ever been recalled. And this is the first legislative recall vote in 13 years.

Here, by the way, is Denham's latest TV ad.

The first ads have gone up in the effort to recall Jeff Denham, a Republican state senator in California. This would be the first legislative recall in California in 13 years. Don Perata and labor are behind the measure. Denham, a moderate who was one of the few Republican legislators to vote with Democrats, is accused of treachery by Perata for not voting for last year's budget (Given how quickly that budget fell apart and led to the current budget crisis, that vote is highly defensible).

But the attack of this ad is more personal. It's at once, funny, unfair and probably effective in getting voters to pay attention to the recall.