California Governor Gray Davis, ousted in a stunning recall vote on Tuesday, spent three decades steadily climbing the ladder of state politics only to be bumped off after reaching the top by the ”Terminator” Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Davis, a Democrat, was elected governor of California in 1998 and re-elected just 11 months ago but the state’s financial crisis and a spirited challenge from a Hollywood superstar combined to cut short his stay in the governor’s mansion this time around.
At 61, the New York native boasts a long resume in California politics, starting in 1975 when he was named chief-of-staff by then-governor Jerry Brown at the age of 32.
He held the post for six years before moving on to other jobs in the Golden State’s political hierarchy, as assembly member, state controller and lieutenant governor.
Davis prepared for his career at top universities, earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University in California and a law degree from Columbia University in New York.
A straight arrow he did not bend to the counter-culture of the 1960s: Davis entered the US Army in 1967, rose to the rank of captain and earned a merit medal for service in Vietnam.
Despite his remarkable resume, Davis’ enemies derided him as a political animal who did not hesitate to drag his adversaries through the mud when he felt threatened.
Republicans believe Davis was behind a host of negative allegations that bombarded the Schwarzenegger camp in the last week of the recall campaign.
More than 15 women came forward to say that the film star groped and humiliated them over the course of his 30-year Hollywood career.
Whether they came from him or not, Davis jumped on the allegations, saying the incidents could be criminal and, together with reported 1975 comments that he once admired Adolf Hitler, made Schwarzenegger unfit to govern California.
”Are all those 15 women and their families lying?” Davis asked in numerous television appearances.
Schwarzenegger’s wife, the telegenic member of the Kennedy clan, Maria Shriver, accused Davis of ”gutter politics.” Republicans and many Democrats blame Davis for California’s economic woes — the state has a $38-billion deficit — but another cause of the governor’s downfall may have been his robot-like personality.
With his helmet of white hair and monotonous voice, Davis appeared especially wooden when faced with Schwarzenegger’s movie star charm.
Whatever the reasons, the voters of the country’s most populous state voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to bring Davis’ second term as governor to a premature end. – Sapa-AFP