AHC: Gray Davis Survives the California Energy Crisis

Delta Force

Banned
Gray Davis was a rising star in the Democratic Party in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Shortly after taking office California experienced a severe energy crisis due to electricity market reforms implemented by his predecessor in 1996. At the time it was thought to be due to summer conditions and poor management, but later investigation revealed that the crisis was an artificial one instigated by Enron, the infamous energy trading firm. Enron collapsed shortly after the crisis for falsifying financial documents, and the 2003 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report on the California Energy Crisis placed the blame on Enron and other firms that manipulated the market. However, the Crisis ultimately ended up costing the state of California tens of billions of dollars and led to the 2003 recall election which ended Davis' career.

While still having the California Energy Crisis occur, how could Davis go on to continue his career in some form, especially by avoiding or winning his recall election?
 

Delta Force

Banned
Bonus if he becomes someone involved in energy policy at the federal level as a Senator, Representative, or Cabinet official.
 
It wasn't just the Energy Crisis; it was a very unpopular car tax (everyone's car registration fees got hiked a lot) to make up for the budget shortfall as well. One of the first things Arnold did when he became Governor was to repeal it. You could say that both events were a perfect storm, politically. Folks were angry, and wanted to blame someone. He got the blame, and that was that.
 
This is what makes politics so difficult, and interesting at the same time. Sometimes it's the small local stuff that voters really object to.
 
Well, for one,he might survive by not raising the car tax. Seriously, in California, I recall personally that people treated it only slightly less than Britons treated Maggie Thatcher's poll tax. Californians are a notoriously tax-averse electorate, even more than some Southern states.

Though honestly, for Davis, the writing was long on the wall IMO. Even if he avoids the recall election, I don't think he's winning reelection. The only difference is we might not have a Governor Schwarzenegger - maybe a governor Simon or Bustamante, or even Jerry Brown come 4 years early.
 
He was in his second term when the recall was held. A term limit on Governors went into effect before the '82 election, but didn't affect Jerry Brown: the law stated that the current Governor would not be affected by said term limits (two terms as Governor).
 
He was in his second term when the recall was held. A term limit on Governors went into effect before the '82 election, but didn't affect Jerry Brown: the law stated that the current Governor would not be affected by said term limits (two terms as Governor).

D'oh! I wonder, then, what effect that would have on the 2006 election - an unpopular sitting Democratic governor in a state that hasn't shied away from electing Republicans to statewide office when dissatisfied with the Democrats. IIRC the biggest GOP figures at the time were Bill Simon and Darrell Issa, maybe Mary Bono Mack. On the other side, you have Cruz Bustamante and the aformentioned Jerry Brown.
 
All are possibilities. But given how hostile the voters would've been towards anyone seen as Davis' anointed successor-or connected to him-like Bustamante, you might just see a GOP candidate win in '06.
 
All are possibilities. But given how hostile the voters would've been towards anyone seen as Davis' anointed successor-or connected to him-like Bustamante, you might just see a GOP candidate win in '06.

Do you think Jerry Brown would leapfrog back into the election, instead of starting his comeback with local office like OTL? If he did, Bustamante would be toast, but does Brown circa 2006 even want to be Governor?

Also, I wonder who'd win the GOP primary. Issa has a lot of connections which OTL helped get the recall petition off the ground in the first place; Bill Simon has connections to the Heritage Foundation types, while Bono Mack has the Hollywood connections. Or it might be an insurgent candidate, like Richard Riordan, though Riordan's problem is that he at this time was percieved to be a RINO (he endorsed DiFi for Senate once)
 
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Brown's comeback was that after Mayor of Oakland, he became AG. I may disagree with him on a lot of things-and I do, but he does have political smarts and learned his lessons from the last time he was Governor. He may see the writing on the wall, and wait until 2010.

Darrell Issa is a good possibility, and so would be Congresswoman Bono-Mack. Either one has a decent shot at winning the primary.
 
The shit hit the fan with Enron in Dec. 2001. So, besides getting in line at the bankruptcy, I'm not sure there was a whole hell of a lot the state of California could do.​
But I think people wanted to see Gray Davis confidently and matter-of-factly take action. Not Attila the Hun. But someone who in effective and straightforward fashion stands up for the citizens of his state.​
 
All are possibilities. But given how hostile the voters would've been towards anyone seen as Davis' anointed successor-or connected to him-like Bustamante, you might just see a GOP candidate win in '06.
On the other hand, 2006 nationally was a terrible year for the GOP (and I doubt butterflying the recall changes that), so the Democrats might hold on (especially if the Republican is seen as a conservative rather than a Schwarzenegger-style moderate).
 
People would still have been angry at Davis' leadership (or lack of it), and that anger would transfer to any Democratic candidate seen as either his anointed successor, or as someone who would be "more of the same." A Republican victory that November would be one of the few GOP bright spots that year.
 
On the other hand, 2006 nationally was a terrible year for the GOP (and I doubt butterflying the recall changes that), so the Democrats might hold on (especially if the Republican is seen as a conservative rather than a Schwarzenegger-style moderate).

I think you underestimate how much most Californians detested Gray Davis since the car tax debacle at least. If the Democrats hold on, it will be a narrow victory, and would probably require the miraculous intervention of Jerry Brown, which is unlikely at this point in time.
 
The shit hit the fan with Enron in Dec. 2001. So, besides getting in line at the bankruptcy, I'm not sure there was a whole hell of a lot the state of California could do.​
But I think people wanted to see Gray Davis confidently and matter-of-factly take action. Not Attila the Hun. But someone who in effective and straightforward fashion stands up for the citizens of his state.​

Which was definitely not Gray Davis.
 
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