American Muslim group says No on Recall

LOS ANGELES - The American Muslim Political Coordinating Committee (AMPCC) has made the following endorsements in the upcoming California elections: 

Vote NO on the recall of Governor Davis
No candidate endorsed

Vote YES on Proposition 53
This measure would increase the amount of General Fund revenue committed to pay-as-you-go capital outlay projects for both state and local governments.

Vote NO on Proposition 54
Classification by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin. Initiative Constitutional amendment.
Various law enforcement and human relations commissions in California have indicated that if passed the initiative would prohibit collection and analysis of annual hate crime data, making it impossible to track hate groups and focus resources on areas of interracial and intergroup tensions.

The MPAC board has provided the following explanation for its opposition to the recall:

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is urging California Muslims to vote against the recall of Governor Gray Davis in the state's October 7th special election. There are a number of reasons we are making this recommendation:

1) On balance, the recall effort has divided the state and has created a free-for-all, circus-like atmosphere in which political personalities are receiving more attention than the serious issues facing California. The process as a whole seems to be unhealthy and fraught with political payback once it is over.

2) Governor Davis was re-elected at a time when the state's budget woes were well known to the electorate and a central topic in the opposition Republican campaign efforts. Even with these problems being at the forefront, the Republican candidate was defeated and Davis legitimately won the 2002 elections. But now for a few to expend millions of dollars to focus public sentiment on the same issue (and effectively purchase a grass-roots effort in the process) sets a dangerous precedent where a losing candidate/party can initiate recall efforts if they have the money to do so.

3) While acknowledging Governor Davis should have been much more prudent in handling the state's budget (in good times and in bad times), MPAC feels Davis' missteps do not warrant a recall. Furthermore, although Davis is the state's leader, the problems facing California are a product of decisions made by the legislative arm as a whole, not just Governor Davis.

We oppose the recall not out of partisan support or opposition to any individual, but rather because it is a dangerous and unjustified use of the recall provision. Recall should be used against an officeholder who has seriously abused his/her position or engaged in misconduct. Gray Davis was elected by the entire state electorate for a four year term. He is entitled to fulfill that term. It is a profound misuse of representative democracy to force a recall election based on the changing popularity of a politician who has not even completed half of his elected term.