Calif. to Vote on Anti Hispanic Proposition

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) August 1, 2004 - Recalling the governor isn't the only bombshell question California voters will face at the polls this fall.

Race is also on the ballot in the form of a proposition that would prevent the state from asking the race or national origin of anyone when collecting data about public education, contracting and employment.

Ironically, the ballot initiative Gov. Gray Davis has described as "a big step backwards'' could actually help him keep his job by enticing liberal voters to the polling booths on the day the recall is decided.

Like the recall itself, the proposition -- the latest offering by anti-affirmative action icon Ward Connerly -- has rekindled familiar frictions.

Connerly, who is black, is the University of California regent who was instrumental in getting the university to ban the use of race in the school's admissions policy.

He later succeeded in pushing Proposition 209, an initiative that banned the use of race and gender in public hiring, contracting and college admissions.

Connerly then looked to export his template to other states. While voters in Washington state followed California's lead, similar initiatives failed to qualify elsewhere. This summer, Connerly went to Michigan to launch a similar campaign after the Supreme Court allowed the limited use of race as a factor in college admissions there.

That track record has led opponents to demonize Connerly as a civil rights sellout. Critics of Proposition 54 say it would damage the government's ability to address disparities in race or ethnicity in health care and education.

When Proposition 54 qualified for the ballot, it was slated for the next statewide election, which was then the March 2004 presidential primary. That promised a disproportionate Democratic turnout -- a mix of liberals and minorities considered the proposition's natural opponents.

But when anti-Davis troops gathered enough signatures to force a recall on Oct. 7, suddenly Proposition 54 became the other standout issue on the ballot.

While the accelerated timetable could help the initiative's chances because opponents have less time to rally, a jolt of traditionally Democratic voters could benefit Davis.

"I think it will have a net effect for the anti-recall folks,'' said Barbara O'Connor, a communications professor at California State University-Sacramento. "It provides a moral imperative for those who don't want to recall the governor, but aren't inclined to vote.''

A nonpartisan Field Poll -- based on telephone interviews conducted July 1-13 of 719 Californians likely to vote in October -- suggested the linkage.

Voters who opposed the recall were also more likely to oppose Proposition 54. And while 50 percent of respondents would vote yes on Proposition 54 -- buoyed by support among 42 percent of Democrats -- just a quarter of respondents said they had heard anything about it. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Connerly said he's leery about being on the same ballot as the recall.

"It's too perilous to get caught up in something that is as unpredictable as this recall,'' said Connerly, who calls the initiative an opportunity to move toward a colorblind society. "They're going to be thrashing about to try to find a lifejacket to get to shore. And I just prefer that Proposition 54 would not be that vehicle.''

Democrats are already piling on board, toting plans to wrestle back the rhetorical advantage Connerly gained when he cast the measure as the "Racial Privacy Initiative.''

They say that what sounds like an innocuous change to state law -- banning data collection based on race in certain areas -- would actually wreck anti-discrimination efforts in law enforcement, public health, education and other areas.

The Coalition for an Informed California, an anti-Proposition 54 group, will air commercials that focus on the consequences for issues such as providing breast cancer screening for women of different races, said Larry Grisolano, campaign manager for Davis' anti-recall effort and a primary consultant for the "No on 54'' campaign.

On Thursday, representatives from Asian advocacy groups gathered in several California cities to launch a parallel effort against Proposition 54.

Political observers are watching to see how voters tackle the recall and proposition.

"The pro-recall forces could help pass the initiative and the anti-initiative forces could help defeat the recall,'' said John Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. "Nobody knows right now which current is stronger.''

In the end, the question might not be answered until March after all. The California Supreme Court is considering a petition that seeks to push Proposition 54 back to its original ballot date.