MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., Aug. 26 — The leadership of California's most powerful labor union voted today to oppose the recall of Gov. Gray Davis and promised to spend millions on an anti-recall campaign.þþAlmost as an afterthought, the union endorsed the fall-back candidacy of Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the only well-known Democrat on the long list of candidates to replace Mr. Davis should the recall succeed.þþMr. Bustamante welcomed the action of the union, the California Labor Federation, A.F.L.-C.I.O., which has more than two million members, saying it matched his ÿno on recall, yes on Bustamanteÿ position.þþBut the federation's stand, taken at a meeting of its leadership at a hotel here, was a half-hearted endorsement of Mr. Bustamante, who entered the race against Mr. Davis's wishes. Mr. Davis said he believed that the two-track strategy diluted the anti-recall message.þþMiguel Contreras, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the largest component of the federation, said: ÿOur position is no, no, no on the recall. We also recommend a vote for Bustamante.'þþOther California unions, notably the California Teachers Association and the California State Employees Association, have also adopted a strategy of opposing the recall while supporting Mr. Bustamante. Many Democratic elected officials also embrace that position.þþMr. Contreras said his group of unions would raise and spend as much as $2.5 million to oppose the recall, which will be voted on in a two-part ballot on Oct. 7. The first question is whether Mr. Davis should be recalled; the second is who should succeed him if the recall passes. þþMr. Contreras and other leaders said no money would be spent to promote the candidacy of Mr. Bustamante, who is trying to raise money from many of the same groups and individuals supporting Mr. Davis's efforts to defeat the recall.þþMr. Contreras said the chief advantage of Mr. Bustamante's candidacy was that it would bring Latino voters to the polls. He said he hoped they would heed Mr. Bustamante's call to vote no on the recall.þþMr. Contreras said the union would sponsor phone banks and mailings to its members with a strong call to vote against the recall.þþÿThey may say, `By the way, vote for Bustamante,' ÿ he added.þþMr. Bustamante's chief strategist, Richie Ross, welcomed the federation's endorsement even though it was served up lukewarm.þþÿWe're pleased that the Democratic family is embracing the idea that no is not enough,ÿ said Mr. Ross, an influential Sacramento lobbyist. ÿI think people's views are evolving as we move closer to the election, and more and more people will come to see that Cruz's candidacy is more than just a backup position.ÿþþMr. Davis, who addressed the labor delegates today and then spoke to reporters, called Mr. Bustamante a ÿgood, decent personÿ but said he was grateful that the labor federation was devoting all of its resources to fighting the recall. He said that he last spoke to Mr. Bustamante, with whom he has long had a strained relationship, 10 days ago.þþAs Mr. Davis picked up the support of organized labor, the leading Republican candidate in the race, the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was tacking to his right, trying to shore up support among core conservative Republican voters.þþAppearing for the second straight day on a conservative radio talk show, Mr. Schwarzenegger emphasized that he was a committed member of the Republican Party who intended to run a conservative administration if elected. He was trying to clean up some damage he caused on Monday when he told a talk-show host in San Diego that he was running as an independent.þþÿLet's make this clear: I'm a Republican, I'm a proud Republican from the first day I came to this country,ÿ he told Eric Hogue, host of a talk show on KTKZ-AM in Sacramento. ÿI'm a Republican, and I'm running as a Republican to be the next Republican governor.ÿþþThe other two most prominent Republicans on the replacement ballot of 135 names are State Senator Tom McClintock and Peter V. Ueberroth, the former baseball commissioner. Both are running to the right of Mr. Schwarzenegger, who has expressed moderate views on social issues like abortion and gay rights.þþMr. Schwarzenegger is keeping a light schedule of campaign appearances this week. He plans to travel to Fresno on Thursday and is then expected to begin a more ambitious schedule starting on Labor Day.þþAt a news conference in Albany today, Gov. George E. Pataki of New York vowed to raise money and to campaign for Mr. Schwarzenegger.þþþ
Source: NY Times
