Top Democrats Lockyer, Angelides Opt Out of Possible Recall Election

"We think it's important for the state that no recall election be forced down our throats," Pulaski said.

But the group avoided discussion of who might run on a recall ballot, he said.

After the officials departed, the governor, unaccompanied by aides, met separately with the union leaders. They too discussed the recall problem for about 45 minutes, Pulaski said.

"He expressed his concerns about it and his appreciation of our efforts to oppose the recall," Pulaski said.

Under a plan devised by the governor's campaign strategy team, a largely labor-funded committee, Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall, is trying to hinder efforts by recall supporters to gather the nearly 900,000 voter signatures they need on their petition for a special election.

Roger Salazar, a Davis campaign consultant, said the governor "shares the sentiment" of Lockyer and Angelides that a recall runs counter to the public's interest at a time when state leaders should stay focused on California's fiscal problems.

"Democrats understand what Republicans are trying to do here and aren't going to play into their hands by putting their names on the ballot," Salazar said.

But the months of hesitation by Lockyer and Angelides to foreclose the option of putting their names on the recall ballot underscored the reluctance by candidates from across the political spectrum to pass up the chance at running in this unusual governor's race.

In an interview at his Sacramento office Tuesday morning, Lockyer said: "I hope and expect that all of the major Democratic candidates will make it clear at the right time that they oppose the recall and that they won't be candidates."

He declined to do so himself, saying that Democratic contenders for governor "need to do it together to have the convincing impact with California voters."

He described his resistance to an early definitive announcement as akin to the impulse anyone would have in declining to express interest in a promotion.

But an hour later, Angelides went ahead and made his own announcement at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon: He not only did not intend to run, but would not even consider it.

A few hours later, Lockyer released his own statement saying he did not intend to submit his name as a candidate.

"In a cynical attempt to abuse a tool of direct democracy, political opponents of the governor are now seeking to use a recall to effectuate a regime change in an off-year that could result in a new governor being elected with an electorate of fewer than 1 million voters," Lockyer said.