Gray Davis Quotations

I don't know why they're doing it. I have to assume that their motives are positive, not negative. But they don't understand the severity of the problem in this state.

We'll have a public power authority, which will also have the ability to build power or finance power. And more importantly, we'll have more power than our economy provides. All of that will give us leverage we don't have today.

They're the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and they will not do that. They will not pull the trigger.

There are so many scenarios here. We tried to prepare for the worst summer in 40 years and build assumptions based on that. We're preparing for the worst, but we're hoping for the best. And I've told people the end is in sight.

I'm doing my part, building plants at a record rate, having historic conservation levels. The only people not doing their part is the federal government that is siding with the energy companies against the interests of the people of California.

Here is my general approach to the energy companies. You have already charged the utilities a 50 percent credit penalty for the power they were buying from you. You're charging us a penalty. You're not going to get two bites of the apple here.

Meanwhile, people have to join us and fight back against the federal government that has dropped the ball, that is in bed with these energy companies, that wants them to make more money than they've made before.

So it was flawed in that it didn't require California to have a first claim on the power plants. It deregulated part of the market, but not all of the market.

Duke came to us. They volunteered to come to us and made a number of suggestions to some people on my staff. I don't know how I would characterize them, but there have been some discussions going back and forth between Duke and members of my staff.

We started focusing on this in earnest late summer and early fall. I can build more power plants. In the 12 years before us, not a single plant of major consequence was built.

Well, there's no question that the law passed in 1996 was flawed. It deregulated the wholesale market, meaning the price that the utilities had to pay energy companies for power, but not the retail market.

As the governor of this state, I obviously see the issue quite differently.

I don't know if I would do this if I had to start over again.

There is only one governor, and his name is Gray Davis.

We're not going to take this sitting down. We are fighting back.

I know that Duke made a number of demands, including that the attorney general drop its investigation. We have no intention of asking the attorney general to do that.

Now, in the space of a year, we've spent 450 percent more for power than we did the year before, and bought essentially the same amount of power. This year, that number's likely to go up. That can't go on forever and have us continue to be the economic engine for America.

There's no question that California, in the last three or four years, has been privileged to add disproportionately to the economic growth of America, and to contribute to its technological productivity.

We believe you will not have to pay more than the current rate structure proposes - which is, for 50 percent of the public, nothing; for another 25 percent, only a 10 percent increase; and for the remaining 25 percent, a 34 percent increase.

Well, we're trying to patch and fix and put a cast on a broken system here. You can call it what you want, but we'll continue to purchase power in a private market.

Why? Because we're very well down this process as it is - flawed as it is - and we're counting on getting more power plants on line by the end of 2003 so we have a surplus of power.

We have National Guard there. We have Highway Patrol there. We're working with the Coast Guard -- they have increased their presence, ... So we believe it is perfectly safe.

Should we recall a sitting governor who's committed no crime, who's not mentally incompetent and has done some very positive things over the last several years, for this other fellow about whom some doubts have been raised by some reputable papers?

singles out companies that are conducting transactions electronically and attempts to impose tax-collection obligations on them to which, according to California courts, they are not subject.

Mr. Schwarzenegger should be ashamed of himself, ... He supported 187, and he has said that one of his first acts as governor, which he will not get a chance to do, would be to repeal the legislation I just signed granting drivers licenses to hard-working immigrants that pay taxes in our society. So that is not the way to recognize the contribution immigrants are making to our society.

My friends, this was a massive effort ranging over 180 miles in six counties, probably the worst fires in California history,

On the big enchilada, the thing that really matters above all others, I'm disappointed that we still have a fundamental disagreement,

If we get enough 'no' votes on the first question, then whatever Arnold Schwarzenegger does on the second question is of no significance,

I have gotten the message, ... I understand a lot of people signed the recall. We are trying very hard every day to solve people's problems.

I have determined that this situation is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state,

I don't have any specific advice for the congressman. What he should or shouldn't do are matters best left to him and his constituents,

I don't care. My trademark is I say what I think, for better or for worse.

I am going to fight this recall and the right-wing forces behind it. You can take that to the bank.

I believe the solution to the energy challenge is threefold: stabilize prices, increase conservation and increase generation,

I believe you wait until the money is there before you give it back.

I have an obligation to share with the people of this state information that may well be credible to affect their lives, ... More importantly, I want them to know that we have gone the extra mile to protect them.

I expect these bids on long-term energy contracts should stabilize the market and drive the price of electricity down. This is a key step in our efforts to keep the lights on in California at a reasonable price.

If it could happen, Davis would look forward to such an opportunity. It's just very difficult to listen to inaccurate facts that went unchallenged.

If that initiative were to pass, investment would be withheld, and it would take years and years longer before we had a surplus of power.

he has precisely the right experience to be president.

Whatever is done has to be done in a fair and objective manner,

There is no easy solution, ... But, if I have to use the power of eminent domain to prevent generators from driving consumers into the dark and utilities into bankruptcy, then that's what I'll do.

The people did decide that it's time for someone else to serve and I accept their judgment.

We can buy it in the five to the five and a half cent range, ... That will stabilize the energy market, allow utilities to have some breathing room to pay off their creditors, and we will do all of this without raising rates to California customers.

have a plan in place and we believe it's working.

He should have spent a year as a substance governor, dealing with what people care about,'' he said.

We made progress, particularly on issues of long-term contracting, to bring down the rates and ensure reliable power.

Just the other day, we had to pay $1,900 for a megawatt hour, which a year ago would have cost us $30, ... And the reason this company named Reliant out of Texas gave us for charging us that much money was, they said, the state's credit isn't any good.

Last Friday, 50 million Americans lost power for 29 hours. In California, not a single light has gone out in the last two years,

I think we can strengthen our relationship with Mexico which, by the way, was the state's largest trading partner in the fourth quarter of 1998,

I think Arnold's off to a good start,

My most important priority is to restore our schools to greatness.

We need an opportunity for the markets to stabilize so that consumers in our states don't have to bear the disproportional burden of rising natural gas prices or undue profiteering,

The answer to improving public schools is staying on the path that we are on.

who gave their lives so we could live this day and every day in freedom.

We believe there is a credible threat that there will be an effort made between November 2nd and November 7th to destroy one of those bridges.

utilities are going to have to write off some of their debt. We are not going to compensate them for mistakes of judgment they made; they were big proponents of deregulation back in 1996.

We need help from Washington today to reduce the extraordinary prices for power we are paying, ... I'm taking care of the rest of it. ... But price, under the law we passed in 1996, is exclusively a matter for the federal government to resolve and they've dropped the ball big time.

We are entitled as a matter of law to some form of price relief,

Tonight the voters decided it was time for someone else to serve.

This year, he's on the right track, and he's trying to chart a course for California proposing investments that will control traffic, reduce pollution and build more schools. That's good, basic stuff.

We will never forget the people who stood up to Mother Nature's fury. They are standing up to the worst of Mother Nature.

Boring is back! Boring might even be beautiful!

The whole purpose of this is a bridge to a long-term solution,

These are serious questions, which, if true, raise doubts about his ability to govern this state. You need to think about whether this is a risk California should take,

I've said many times to reporters that I have an obligation to serve a four-year term, and I'm committed to do so.

The state will be in the power business for a long time to come,

the most qualified person on question number two.

a credit-worthy purchaser. All of us that met today are joined at the hip, and if we are going to move forward, we will move forward together.

Some polls have had us 20 points behind,

As governor, I am enormously grateful to every firefighter who put themselves in harm's way to protect us and protect our structures.

This is an unspeakably barbarous act. These investigators were working hard, doing their jobs, protecting California consumers. I am sure that law enforcement will do everything in its power to bring those responsible to justice.

This is a terrible situation. They are the worst fires in California in 10 years,

This decision was wrongheaded and it should not be allowed to stand, ... With troops overseas, this is the wrong decision at the worst possible time.

They're very well thought of in California ... and I think they can bring independent validation to some of the good work that we've done.

Americans are not looking for a rock star to be president. They want a serious man of substance.

The young boys were taken from us in an act of unspeakable evil,

This is yet another example of a senseless barbaric act of violence against innocent children and defenseless adults,

It's no secret we'd love to have him back, and it's safe to say we're trying to make that happen,

Despite an offer of nearly half a billion dollars, the company was unwilling to accept reasonable limits proposed by the federal and state governments on its ability to log ancient redwoods.

Dan, when are you going to get with the program? Join Pete Wilson and I and support a permanent ban on new, offshore drilling?

The odds of something happening are very remote.

They want to get rid of me to get rid of the progress, ... terminate the 'Terminator'.

It's not a bailout, ... It accomplishes two purposes: It provides the funding to revitalize the utilities, but it lets ratepayers know they will gain as the utilities gain.

The choice next Tuesday is crystal clear: You can retain me as governor and allow me to finish the term you elected me to serve last November, or you can elect Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor,

I'm taking care of the rest of it, ... We are building more plants and we are conserving, but prices under the law we passed in 1996 are exclusively a matter for the federal government to resolve -- and they've dropped the ball big time.

If the news events over the last couple days have raised any doubts in your mind about the wisdom of electing Arnold Schwarzenegger, I say to you, 'Come home, vote no on the recall.'

In some parts of California, people are going without power, ... I would love to keep the lights on. But it's important that we all pull together to reduce the strain on the grid.

I have talked to Bush. I have dealt with him in the past ... we were fellow governors, ... I believe he will approach this in a practical problem-solving fashion.

Clearly, this was a mechanical problem, very unlikely to be having anything to do with any plot against anyone, ... We regret the loss of life and the injuries that have occurred there.

California drove the economic boom of the last eight years, and it could drive it down just as easily,

George Bush, whatever his skills and accomplishments, will not carry California. You can take to that to the bank,

I am working as hard as I can to make this state better,

I am mandating that by March 15th every retail establishment in this state substantially reduce their outdoor lighting,

The great thing about California is, in every natural disaster we all work together ... we're all pulling in the same direction, trying to get people through the day,

a huge miscalculation. They did not anticipate the recovery that California experienced and the particular needs of the tech-based economy here in California. Secondly, there was no effort to build more (power) plants to meet that demand.

One thing that has become clear over the last several days is that we no longer have 135 choices to make, .. It's really one choice likely to emerge from question number two, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that leaves the voters with a clear choice. They can retain Gray Davis as governor, or they can elect Arnold Schwarzenegger and his crew from Pete Wilson to run the governor's office.

We're going to march on Washington with a host of Republicans, Democrats, business leaders, legislators.

My vision is to make the most diverse state on earth, and we have people from every planet on the earth in this state. We have the sons and daughters of every, of people from every planet, of every country on earth.

I have not been briefed.