Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr.is an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of California from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, only months into his second term, in 2003 Davis was recalled and removed from office, the second state governor successfully recalled in U.S. history. Prior to serving as governor, Davis was chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown, a California State Assemblyman, California State Controllerand the 44th Lieutenant Governor of California. Davis holds a...
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth26 December 1942
CityBronx, NY
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We're not going to take this sitting down. We are fighting back.
I don't know if I would do this if I had to start over again.
As the governor of this state, I obviously see the issue quite differently.
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.
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.
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.
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.