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Friday, Mar. 14, 2008

Denham recall backers say they have the signatures

The recall team trying to boot state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, from office announced Friday that they've filed more than enough signatures to force an election.

The Dump Denham campaign shipped two boxes of petitions Friday morning to Merced County and more to the other four counties that the state senator represents, days before the Wednesday deadline.

Denham was unavailable for comment Friday.

Two Democrats, meanwhile, say they're interested in running against the state senator if the recall qualifies for the ballot.

One, attorney George "Wiley" Nickel of Los Banos, unsuccessfully challenged Denham in 2006. Denham won nearly 60 percent of the vote.

The other, Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas, served in the Assembly between 2000 and 2006.

Each of the five elections offices have 30 working days to verify that the signatures are from registered voters in their county and report the results to Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

The campaign declared that it collected about 50,000 signatures from residents in Merced, Stanislaus, Madera, Monterey and San Benito counties. At least 31,084 need to be valid to put a recall before voters.

If it qualifies, it would be up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to decide when it would be on a ballot. It's unclear if it could make the June election.

Nickel said he supports the recall, arguing that Denham shifted his focus to running for statewide office.

Denham has filed paperwork in the California Secretary of State's office signaling his intent to run for lieutenant governor in 2010, when his Senate term expires.

Salinas didn't say whether he favored the recall, but said he would consider running depending on when it goes before voters.

"It's a process that's available for the voters, and they're using it just like the Republicans against the Democrats," he said, referring to the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis.

The Dump Denham drive's announcement is a precursor of what will likely be a bitter and costly fight for Denham's seat, a prize that may cost more than a $1 million total.

Each side has spent somewhere around $200,000 so far, leaving much more in the bank, and their public relations machines have been ratcheting up the blame game.

Denham has labeled the effort partisan politics at its worst. He said he's been attacked for not voting for last year's budget, which he wanted trimmed by about $700 million.

Publicly and privately, education groups and Schwarzenegger pressured Denham to cast the sole remaining vote needed to end the 52-day standoff. In the end, though, he never wavered.

Denham recently noted that the budget he refused to approve has left the state with more than a $14 billion deficit.

"I wish I was wrong and we didn't have a deficit," Denham told the Sun-Star in mid-December.

The drive has polarized the Capitol, he said, adding that it has been a distraction during a crucial time.

Friends of Jeff Denham Against the Recall has raised $461,000 and spent almost $200,000 so far. Major bills are from advertisements, lawyers, campaign strategists and mailers.

Denham's critics accuse him of breaking promises and morphing into a far-right Republican, not the moderate he's portrayed himself.

They're also eyeing the state senator's seat because he was elected in a district where there's a majority of registered Democrats. Replacing him with a less conservative leader would bolster the party's power in the Senate.

As of September, 45 percent of the 320,493 district voters are registered Democrat, and 37 percent are registered Republican.