Cruz Bustamante: More Than Just A "Mini Me"

This week's countdown to the California recall election focuses on the lone Democrat in the race, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.

As the recall election nears, the focus has come down to a handfull of candidates most likely to succeed Governor Gray Davis in the event he is recalled. One of those candidates is the sole major Democratic candidate, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.

Like Davis, Bustamante was elected by California voters last November. Republicans have been eager to portray the Lieutenant Governor as the equivalent of Gray Davis in an effort to tie Bustamante to the unpopular governor. Some conservatives even refer to Bustamante as "mini me" to Davis' "Dr. Evil," a reference to the characters in the Austin Powers films.

For his part, Bustamante has attempted to walk a fine line by opposing the recall yet urging voters to vote for him to replace Davis.

While Bustamante and Davis are both Democrats, they have not always seen eye to eye with each other. Bustamante's campaign manager, Jose Rijos, has been quick to point out that his candidate's positions are not that different that from those of Governor Davis.

"Sure, he doesn't see eye to eye with Davis," said Rijos, "but that's just because Cruz is a good six inches shorter than the governor. It's very difficult for Cruz to look him in the eye, but they pretty much agree on a lot of things."

Bustamante has also been criticized for his association with the radical group, MECHA or the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan. Some conservatives have gone so far as to wonder whether Bustamante's interests lie with Californians or with Mexicans, given his membership in the group.

Rijos responds to questions about MECHA by noting that the Lieutenant Governor joined the group years ago after hearing that actor William Shatner had obtained a toupee from the group and that he believed the group was primarily a hair club for Mexican men. Rijos adds that Bustamante has remained a member of the group but generally only attends their Cinco de Mayo parties, which he says are "out of this world good."

There has been some speculation about who the Lieutenant Governor would appoint to fill the job he currently holds if he is elected Governor. Some speculation has Bustamante appointing the man he is replacing, Gray Davis, to serve as Lieutenant Governor, then resigning so that Davis could again become Governor and appoint Bustamante as Lieutenant Governor. It's confusing, but so are politics in Sacramento these days leading up to the historic recall election.

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