The year was 1910, and the Southern Pacific Railroad had a lock on California's political institutions. Disgusted with graft and corruption, a little-known San Francisco prosecutor rode a wave of public discontent into the governor's office, promising to release the state from the hold of powerful companies and their political allies.
In his inaugural speech the following January, newly elected Gov. Hiram Johnson argued for the adoption of a statewide recall measure, saying citizens should have the power to throw out "a recalcitrant official."
Nearly a century later, California is headed for its first gubernatorial recall election, and once-arcane constitutional provisions -- from whether the governor can run to succeed himself to whether he can be reimbursed for the campaign from the state treasury if he prevails -- suddenly have become the focus of more than academic interest.
Last week, proponents of a recall of Gov. Gray Davis said they had gathered enough signatures to put the issue to a vote, and Davis advisors have conceded that an election appears likely, as soon as this fall.
Each side in the Davis recall debate says history supports its approach.
Recall supporters say Davis has fallen under the control of large political donors and other interests, and that the recall is being used as intended: to let the people of California clean house.
The recall was created in "reaction to special interests controlling the Legislature in that era," said Dave Gilliard, a political strategist hired by millionaire Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), who funded the recall drive and is a candidate to replace Davis. "Because the governor has sold his political soul to various groups -- mostly public employee labor unions -- our state budget has been put so far out of balance there's almost no light at the end of the tunnel," Gilliard added.
Davis backers counter that the recall distorts the intent of the Progressives who wanted to give average citizens a way to remove a corrupt leader.
"The recall mechanism was designed to be able to take care of problems that arise when a leader has committed some gross malfeasance," said Roger Salazar, a Democratic consultant advising Davis. "What we have here is essentially a manipulation of the existing process by a multimillionaire who is bent on buying himself a seat in the governor's office."
