Recall

Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Weintraub writes today that politicians will lie to beat the redistricting reform initiative on the November ballot. But if Ted Costa's views are heard, they may not need to do much.

Ted Costa was the original proponent of both the recall of Gov. Gray Davis and of Prop 77, the failed redistricting initiative in 2005. In an email, he blasts the new initiative, Prop 11, as a "power grab," matching the rhetoric -- if not meaning -- of the measure's opponents.

Democrats and legislators have constituted most of the opposition to this point. But Costa is a Republican, and his argument, if it gets heard over the din of the presidential election and the gay marriage ban, could peel Republicans off the measure. Costa also betrays his own personal frustration with Common Cause and other backers of the measure; he's spent years trying to work with them on redistricting, and doesn't like their approach, from how the lines are drawn to the fact that Congressional districts aren't included. The measure only covers state legislative districts, and the districts for California's Board of Equalization.

Here's Ted's email:

Partial results show a big victory for those supporting "autonomy" for the gas-rich province of Tarija. It's the fourth Bolivian province to vote for autonomy from the central government this year. A recall vote on President Evo Morales is scheduled for August. Morales says that, if he survives the recall, he will push for a new constitution that would put more power in the hands of the central government. Given Bolivia history, it's possible that in that country, these autonomy referenda aer serving as a prelude to civil war.

Ted Costa, the Sacramento anti-tax activist best known as the original proponent of the 2003 recall of California Gov. Gray Davis, once told me that the recall was his second choice. He wanted to pass an initiative to strip California's state legislators of the power to draw their own districts. But the courts knocked a measure he drafted off the ballot. With the money he had raised for redistricting, he decided to launch the recall effort.

In 2006, looking back at all the political change his recall had produced, Costa looked back and said, "I would trade it all for a fair redistricting." Well, another redistricting initiative is headed to the ballot in California this November. And Costa doesn't like it at all.

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.

Tom Elias is an independent columnist who was the first journalist to write about the possibility of a recall of then-California Gov. Gray Davis. He weighs in with a new column in which he says that for all the interest and excitement the recall and Davis' susccessor Arnold Schwarzenegger have sparked, the state is no  better off than it would have been without the recall.

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.

Take out the over-the-top claims about "free speech blockers" and this video posted by supporters of the recall effort against Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon gives you a look at what a blocking campaign looks like. And it's not nearly as big a deal as press reports and advocates on both sides of a measure make it out to be (blockers really don't block much, but they're rarely the "thugs" they're described as by those being blocked). Blocking campaigns are mostly a waste of everybody's time and money.

The video shows some political looking folks showing up and surrounding a circulator. At one point, one of the blockers claims the recall petition is really about gay marriage. Self-styled reformers would like to make it crime to make such false claims, but this is political speech.

Now comes news that an effort to recall the Democratic speaker of the state House in Michigan has gained new momentum. Conservatives there are upset about Speaker Andy Dillon's support for tax increases. It's already a nasty business. As the Detroit News reports, recall supporters are criticizing Democrats for hiring a convicted felon to lead a "blocking campaign" to dissuade voters from signing the recall petition. Dillon's supporters went to court and got an order telling recall backers to stop using out-of-state petition circulators. But Dillon is taking it seriously, sending out mail to every voter in the district.