Darrell Issa

With a burst of publicity and the promise of badly needed funding, the movement to recall Gov. Gray Davis gained strength this week. But the effort is still hampered by a struggle for cash and credibility that bolsters Davis' chance of survival despite his widespread unpopularity, political analysts say. Even as proponents said they planned to launch a stepped-up petition drive as soon as this weekend, Rep.

A company controlled by Rep. Darrell Issa has donated nearly $450,000 to an effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, a filing made public Friday shows. Political aides to the Vista Republican said earlier this month that Issa planned to provide "seed" money for the recall and indicated he had given $100,000 to help finance a signature-gathering drive to place the recall on a statewide ballot. Records posted on the secretary of state's Web site show that Greene Properties Inc.

An ally of Gov. Gray Davis said Wednesday that she would file a legal complaint today charging Rep. Darrell Issa with illegally raising money for the recall campaign against the governor. Raquelle de la Rocha, a San Fernando Valley lawyer and Davis appointee on the state Parks and Recreation Commission, said she would submit the complaint to the Federal Election Commission.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) was just back from a Middle East trip in late April when he turned his attention to matters closer to home. Efforts to recall Gov. Gray Davis appeared to be stalled. Hungry for money, groups backed by veterans of the ill-fated Bill Simon Jr. campaign, a former assemblyman and an anti-tax advocate had collected only a small portion of the nearly 900,000 signatures required to put the matter on the ballot.

The Orange County Republican Party billed its banquet Saturday night in Costa Mesa as a salute to Flag Day, but the star speaker, Darrell Issa, bounded to the stage and quipped, "This is the farewell party for Gray Davis, isn't it?" The ballroom erupted in cheers. Party loyalists waved newly made Issa for Governor signs.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) said Thursday that he would probably run for governor on a recall ballot even if the election is delayed until next spring, and he dismissed recent questions about past arrests as irrelevant to his goal of ousting Gov. Gray Davis from office. Issa has spent more than $1 million of his personal fortune to back the effort to recall Davis, along with additional money to open his gubernatorial campaign. He said there was no cap on his potential donations.

The marathon Medicare overhaul negotiations in Congress had dragged on for hours, and several committee members wandered off for fresh air and sustenance. At 9:30 p.m., finally ready for a vote, aides took a head count and realized they were one Republican short. Out went the call, and minutes later in walked the vote: Rep. Darrell E. Issa, straight from the House gym, in shorts and a sweaty T-shirt, a towel draped around his neck.

The drive to remove Gov. Gray Davis from office qualified for the ballot Wednesday, clearing the way for a campaign unlike any other in California history. Barring intervention by the California Supreme Court, the certification of the gubernatorial recall, announced by Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, meant Davis would face a popular vote of confidence in late September or early October, less than a year after he was reelected.

Representatives of two gay-rights groups on Sunday criticized San Diego-area congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Darrell Issa for comments made by his campaign manager that some perceived as anti-gay. The comments, made by Issa campaign manager Scott Taylor and published in Sunday's editions of The Times, were in response to an announcement by former congressman and 1994 Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Huffington that he was considering running for governor as a moderate.

In his transformation from car-alarm magnate to Republican congressman and, now, candidate for governor, Rep. Darrell Issa has often recalled his rags-to-riches rise in the business world. Issa's campaign Web site touts an achievement that seems to symbolize his story: "In 1994, Inc. Magazine recognized Darrell Issa as Entrepreneur of the Year." In fact, Issa has never won the prestigious national award.