Davis Backers Announce Anti-Recall Effort
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In the first public sign that Gov. Gray Davis (search)' allies view the effort to recall the governor as a serious threat, a group of labor and religious leaders said Tuesday they are launching a campaign to oppose it.
A longtime senior Davis adviser, Steve Smith, will be taking a leave of absence from his administration job to assist with the campaign, said Carroll Wills, communications director for the California Professional Firefighters (search), which is a leader of the new effort.
The involvement of Smith, a top adviser during Davis' gubernatorial campaigns, suggests that Davis, a Democrat, is taking the recall seriously after months of playing it down.
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Smith, who is secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (search), was on vacation Tuesday and did not immediately respond to a request for comment left with Wills.
The new effort, "Taxpayers Against the Recall," will formally launch Wednesday outside a Sacramento fire station.
In addition to Dan Terry, president of the California Professional Firefighters, other co-chairs of the new group are: Rev. Cecil B. Murray of the First AME Church in Los Angeles; Mary Bergen of the California Federation of Teachers; Fred Keeley, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League; and Miguel Contreras, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.