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A Weblog by
Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub

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June 21, 2003

Feinstein: "Not a candidate"

The circle is now complete. Or is it? According to an AP report that just hit the wires, Sen. Dianne Feinstein swore off running in the recall to replace Gov. Davis. But Feinstein’s statement, which she made while opening the new SFO Bart station with Davis at her side, was not an emphatic “never.” What she actually said, according to the report, was “I am not a candidate.” We already knew that, didn’t we? The piece doesn’t say whether she ever will be a candidate – and several people close to her say she is still considering it.

The Davis people were also kind enough to send over a transcript of some of her comments, and if it’s accurate, they were rather inane. According to the Davis transcript, Feinstein mused about the possibility that Davis could lose the recall 51-49 and then see his replacement elected in a multi-candidate field with only 11 percent or 15 percent of the vote. This scenario, she said, would present a “very interesting legal challenge.” The governor, she said, “ought to be able to put his name” on the ballot to replace himself if he is recalled. Except for the minor fact that the recall law is in the state constitution, was put there by the people in 1911, and it bars the official being recalled from running to replace himself. The fact that Davis might get “more votes” than his replacement makes interesting salon chatter but it has absolutely no significance in a legal sense. It’s also misleading. The 49 percent to whom Feinstein refers would not be voting for Davis, they’d be voting against the recall. That’s not the same thing. In fact, Feinstein’s scenario points out exactly why the recall is so perilous for Davis. He has excelled by being the lesser of evils. He has no great core of support in this state. But in the first question on the recall ballot, it will be Davis against Davis, the governor yes or no? And that’s a much more difficult case for him to make. It's also why he desperately wants to keep other Dems off the ballot, so he can get voters to focus on the second question -- should a Republican replace him? -- while they ponder the first.