With election day fast approaching, gubernatorial candidate Bill
Simon is just days away from achieving the impossible: getting Gov.
Gray Davis re-elected.
This is bad news for Californians because while Bill Simon may
not be a perfect fit for the state’s highest office, Gray
Davis has already proven his inability to govern. In the last four
years, Davis has been nothing short of an ethical and political
failure. Because of this, voters should vote for anyone but Davis
come Nov. 5.
Even the Los Angeles Times, a liberal paper by most accounts,
has written that “Davis’ obsessive pursuit of every
last campaign dollar from special interests is unseemly, and the
governor has been slow to grasp the lead on critical issues “¦
he is robotic and humorless. He is often at war with the
Legislature.”
Without an attractive record or personality to run on,
Davis’ only option has been to lob grenades at Simon’s
character. But if any candidate needs a moral awakening, it is
Davis.
Since his days as a state controller, Gray Davis has been dogged
by a well-deserved reputation as coin-operated politician. In his
insatiable quest for campaign contributions, there have been a
staggering number of “coincidences” in which
Davis’ political actions have perfectly coincided with the
whims of key contributors.
In just one of a laundry list of improprieties, the San Jose
Mercury News reports that Davis gave his blessing to one of
California’s biggest polluters as it dumped toxic waste into
the San Francisco Bay. Though Davis had previously vowed to
“fight to protect the environment,” it appears his
resolve was tempered by a $70,500 donation.
In a similar case, the Washington Times reports that Davis
vetoed legislation that would have informed the public about the
adverse health risks of ephedra, a substance found in many products
sold by the Metabolife Corporation. Not surprisingly, Davis also
received a $125,000 donation from Metabolife and its then
president, Michael Ellis.
There has also been recently released documentation which
suggests that while serving as state controller, Davis worked in
conjunction with former coastal commissioner and convicted felon
Mark Nathanson in a bribes-for-permits scheme.
When Davis was questioned about corporate influence on his
political agenda, the governor assured CNN interviewer Lou Dobbs
that he “operates fully within the law.” When Dobbs
pressed on, asking if the state should be held to a higher ethical
standard, Davis, in true Clintonian fashion, refused to recognize
the difference between legal and moral requisites.
But while the public was willing to overlook Clinton’s
ethical transgressions because of a fruitful economy, Davis cannot
lean on such a crutch. There is no denying that California is in a
financial slide, largely due to a handful of Davis blunders.
The most outstanding of the blunders is Davis’ bungling of
the California power crisis. When broached with news of a potential
shortage, Davis remained idle for months. Finally, when political
pressure grew too hot to bear, Davis overreacted, blowing the $8
billion state surplus on emergency power purchases. When the dust
settled, California was on its way to a $24 billion deficit, a
rising unemployment rate and a sluggish economy.
Things haven’t been much better on the education front,
despite Davis’ declaration that scholastic issues are his
“number one priority.” In addition to letting statewide
SAT scores drop substantially, Davis has displayed his educational
apathy by failing to attend even a single UC Board of Regents
meeting as governor. This can hardly be chalked up to a lack of
time, as Davis has had no problem fitting hundreds of political
fundraisers into his schedule. It is just more evidence of his
skewed priorities.
The last thing Californians should do is provide Davis with a
mandate for another term of incompetent, corruptible leadership.
There are a host of other candidates on the ballot, and the worst
that can be said about them is that they have the potential to
fail.
Gray Davis, on the other hand, is a proven failure. Californians
deserve better.
Eisner publishes every Thursday.