Sacramento State political science professor Kim Nalder was working out at a Sacramento gym in 2003 when she overheard a conversation about the upcoming recall election of then-Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat.<\/p>\n
She remembers \u201cguys in the weight room just saying, like, \u201cHow cool would that be to have Arnold Schwarzenegger as our governor?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt had nothing to do with policy at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few months later, the international action film star triumphed in a field of 135 candidates to replace Davis, who\u2019d been re-elected the year before but had come under fire for rolling blackouts in the state and unpopular vehicle license fees. \u201cThe Governator\u201d went on to serve nearly two terms.<\/p>\n
If the election were just about whether or not Davis should keep his job, and not also who should replace him if he were recalled, Nalder doubts the Republican Schwarzenegger would ever have taken office. Accompanying him on the ballot were a host of other colorful characters, including actor Gary Coleman and porn star Mary Carey. Per the rules of the recall, the candidate with the most votes, not necessarily the majority, wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think the recall probably wouldn\u2019t have happened \u2014 because there wasn\u2019t that much upset at Davis himself \u2014 if we didn\u2019t, you know, have any fun alternatives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
California voters this year are deciding whether to approve Proposition 5<\/a>, which would do away with \u201cthe second question\u201d of who should replace a state elected official if they are recalled. Instead, depending on the office and the timing, a replacement would be appointed or elected in a special election.<\/p>\n The measure was placed on the November ballot by Democratic lawmakers in 2024 with the support of the secretary of state and good governance groups Common Cause and League of Women Voters. It came in response to the 2021 attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Republican lawmakers voted against it, arguing that it would dilute the power of the voters and add costs associated with follow-up special elections.<\/p>\n However, with 14 propositions on the ballot and not a dollar raised so far in support or opposition, both sides may have to rely on voters\u2019 gut reactions.<\/p>\n The \u2018weak gazelle\u2019<\/p>\n Aside from the recall of Davis, the only other successful state recall this century was that of the author of Prop. 5, Democrat Josh Newman.<\/p>\n In 2017, Newman was a freshman lawmaker representing a purple Southern California district when he joined 27 of his colleagues in approving the gas tax<\/a>, which added a 12 cent surcharge to every gallon of gas purchased in California to fund transportation projects. Republicans fiercely opposed the effort, arguing new taxes weren\u2019t necessary. The bill passed with the bare minimum of votes.<\/p>\n Less than two weeks later, then-conservative commentator and now-San Diego Assemblymember Carl DeMaio<\/a> told Orange County talk show hosts that gas tax opponents needed to use the \u201cgazelle strategy,\u201d to begin taking out lawmakers who\u2019d approved the tax.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve identified that weak gazelle, the slowest gazelle, the one with the limp,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s Josh Newman, in Orange County.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Newman? Because he was elected by the slimmest margin of any senator, fewer than 2,500 votes.<\/p>\n In the ensuing weeks, DeMaio\u2019s organization, Reform California, led the effort to recall Newman, helping to collect more than 64,000 signatures \u2014 equivalent to 20% of voters in the last election \u2014 and centering its campaign on Newman\u2019s \u201cdeciding vote\u201d on the tax.<\/p>\n Close to 60% of voters chose to recall Newman in June 2018, replacing him with Republican Ling Ling Chang. The recall ended the Democrats\u2019 supermajority in the state Senate.<\/p>\n In a recent interview with CalMatters, DeMaio stood by his \u201cweak gazelle\u201d strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cIf voters want to stop something from happening and being repeated, then mid-term, sometimes the only thing they can do is to use a recall as a way of expressing their opposition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But Newman said that kind of \u201cpolitical gamesmanship\u201d was not what former progressive governor Hiram Johnson intended when he proposed the law in 1911.<\/p>\n In a speech<\/a>, Johnson characterized the recall process as \u201cthe precautionary measure by which a recalcitrant official can be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n Newman said he doesn\u2019t feel he fit that bill.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t do anything other than cast a tough vote,\u201d he said. \u201cWas I malfeasant? I hardly think so. Especially given the state of the state\u2019s road systems at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n