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| Denham recall campaign fails in a landslide |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Friday, 06 June 2008 | |
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Voters made clear their disdain for a recall of state Sen. Jeff Denham, with only 24 percent of voters supporting the District 12 senator’s ouster Tuesday.  Denham “We didn’t take anything for granted,” he said by phone Wednesday, adding that he was humbled by the support he received. A total of 15,677 voters supported the recall compared to 49,571 who opposed it. Only about 22.4 percent of Stanislaus County voters favored the recall, while it got as much as 38 percent of voter support in Monterey County and as low as 16 percent in Merced County. A total of 24,453 of 79,212 voters opted for Monterey County Supervisor Simón Salinas to be Denham’s replacement if he was recalled. Salinas was the only candidate on the ballot for the position. Denham said the results demonstrate that the 12th District would not let Perata “push them around.” “A silver lining of this failed recall effort is that it is a wake-up call to the old style politicians and their worn-out ways,” Denham said during a prepared statement after Tuesday’s victory. Perata announced May 7 he wanted to call off the recall in hopes of avoiding another state budget standoff like the one that occurred last year. Denham campaign representatives said at the time they thought the real reason is they did not think the recall would be successful. Supporters and opponents of the recall spent millions of dollars getting the word out through campaign signs, radio and television commercials and billboards. Despite Perata’s dismissal of the recall, Modesto Democratic Party activist Gary Robbins continued the quest to oust Denham. Robbins, the first person to sign the recall ballot, said his contentions with Denham remained and that Denham had failed constituents by not fulfilling his promise to serve as a moderate Republican. As examples, he said Denham had voted against minimum wage increases and a school bond. However, Robbins would not comment this week on his feelings about Tuesday’s election results. Looking ahead, it’s no secret that Denham plans to make a run for lieutenant governor in 2010. However, he indicated this week there is plenty of work to be done in the meantime. His priorities include the state budget deficit, water storage and the loosening of regulations on business. Denham described the budget as a top priority and said he hopes both Republicans and Democrats can work out a functional plan. “I don’t think either party has a monopoly on good ideas,” he said. He said he also plans to work to continue eliminating government waste by selling off state properties, including the Los Angeles Coliseum. In other elections matters, California residents voted down one eminent domain-related proposition Tuesday while approving another. Proposition 98, which would have prevented property seizures through eminent domain for private uses and eliminated most rent control programs, failed with only 39 percent approval. Proposition 99, which eliminated eminent domain for owner-occupied residences, unless it is needed to meet public health and safety needs, passed with 62.5 percent of the vote. To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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