While Governors of our respective fifty states can be removed from office via resignation, death, impeachment, or through a recall, the most uncommon of all of these is the recall election process. Only two Governors in the history of America have been recalled, with Gray Davis the only one to have been recalled in recent times. The fact that Governor Davis was recalled is an absolutely amazing tale, as he was essentially removed from office less than one year after being re-elected by popular vote in the State of California. Additionally, California is the most important State within our Union, to wit, if it was a separate country its GDP would be the eight largest in the world, greater than Russia or Italy, and not far behind countries such as Brazil or the United Kingdom, so an actual recall of a standing Governor, who had not been indicted for "high crimes and misdemeanors" is pretty much unfathomable. While there are myriad reasons that contributed to Davis' downfall, the most significant are as follows:
1. The Energy Crisis, specifically in regards to Enron and its manipulation of energy prices
2. The low voter turnout for Davis re-election of 2002 with just 36% of registered voters actually voting, whereas in order for a successful recall petition drive to be certified only 12% of registered voters need vote in the affirmative
3. Because of California term limits, Gray Davis, was not able to run as a candidate in the recall election to defend his position.
The story of how the recall petition was successful and the people and money behind it will not be recounted here, but suffice to say that the signatures needed to effect the recall was accomplished in the time mandated by law and subsequently the ballot for the new Governor of California was submitted as of October, 2003. The ballot was divided into two parts, to which the first part was the question as to whether the voter supported the actual recall or not, and if that vote was in the negative, Governor Davis would remain Governor; however, if that vote was in the positive, than the candidate with the largest plurality would become Governor of California, which ultimately became Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While the population often will feel frustration with their elected officials for various reasons, it is absolutely amazing, that after a gubernatorial election in 2002, that was won by Governor Davis, that he would be removed via a recall effort in 2003. The improbability of that event seems so staggering, the fact that it occurred, would presuppose that the threshold for recall efforts within California, must be far too low. This is indeed implied by the regularity of recall efforts as reported by npr.org which states that: "…insufficient signatures caused the failure of the three recalls launched against California Gov. Ronald Reagan between 1967 and 1972. The man who held the office before and after him, Gov. Jerry Brown, had eight recall petitions against him fail for the same reason." Even though, those previous recall efforts failed, the fact that they were even attempted is prima facie proof that the losers of elections recognize that there is a backdoor way to overcome democratic rule in the State of California.
The bottom line for Gray Davis and his recall, is that the rolling blackouts that occurred within California, along with the manipulation of California's energy market to drive up prices to the consumers of electricity within California, left a very bad taste in the mouths of Californians, to wit Governor Davis paid the ultimate price for his failure to properly rectify the situation. There is a fine line between civilization and chaos, and life without reliable means to energy and at pricing within historic norms, will create both opportunity for those lusting for it, as well as wrath directed against the designated scapegoat.