When California Governor Gray Davis was the subject of a recall effort in 2003, he said in a televised speech at UCLA that he thought the recall would damage “the very fabric of our democracy.”
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Elected officials may not like to see accountability arrive earlier than expected, but that doesn’t make Californians’ recall powers a threat to democracy.
While Proposition 5 doesn’t attack the people’s ability to hold a recall election, it does tinker with how a replacement candidate is selected.
We urge voters to reject it.
Proposition 5 would eliminate the election of a replacement candidate on the same ballot as a recall. Currently a recall ballot has two questions: 1) Should the elected official be removed, and 2) Choose a candidate to replace that official if the recall is successful.
The measure would remove question 2, eliminating the simultaneous election for a replacement. Instead, if a state official other than a governor was recalled, the office would become vacant and would be filled by special election or appointment, according to existing law. If a governor was recalled, the lieutenant governor would take over and serve until the end of the term or until a special election could be held, depending on timing.
Under current law, a recalled official is barred from running as a replacement candidate in the special election to fill the seat. Proposition 5 changes that as well. In a special election to replace a recalled official, the recalled official could be on the ballot.
These changes turn a process to remove officials from power into a cynical blueprint to keep power in the hands of the same officials. It makes a mockery of the recall, which was designed to empower voters to remove and immediately replace an officeholder for any reason, whether the officeholder thinks the reason is sufficient or not.
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Rejecting Proposition 5 is also about preserving the state’s ability to empower unique and independent political voices.
Under current rules, officials who are recalled are succeeded by the candidate seeking that official’s job who gets the most votes at the same time as the recall. This process is why Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to quickly replace the deeply unpopular Davis.
Nearly one million more Californians voted to recall Davis than to retain him, and the Republican Schwarzenegger won a plurality of the replacement vote after running as a pro-business social liberal who wanted the state to lead the global response to climate change.
But if Proposition 5 had been in place, Davis would have been succeeded by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. He was an uninspiring but mostly baggage-free politician who would have likely been the favorite in a subsequent regular or special election in California to finish Davis’ term, even against Schwarzenegger.
Changing the California Constitution in a way that creates even bigger obstacles to electing independent-minded candidates — while stripping the people of their primary tool of accountability — is a bad idea.
Reject Proposition 5.
Editor’s note: To read our other recommendations for the most important races and measures on Bay Area voters’ ballots, please visit mercurynews.com/endorsements.
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