Gray Davis

Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. (born December 26, 1942) 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 (1975–1981), a California State Assemblyman (1983–1987), California State Controller (1987–1995) and the 44th Lieutenant Governor of California (1995–1999). Davis holds a B.A. in history from Stanford University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as a Captain in the Vietnam War.

During his time as Governor, Davis made education his top priority and California spent eight billion dollars more than was required under Proposition 98 during his first term. Under Davis, California standardized test scores increased for five straight years. Davis signed the nation's first state law requiring automakers to limit auto emissions. Davis supported laws to ban assault weapons and he is also credited with improving relations between California and Mexico. Davis began his tenure as Governor with strong approval ratings, but those ratings declined as voters blamed Davis for the California electricity crisis and the California budget crisis that followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Voters were also alienated by Davis' record-breaking fundraising efforts and negative campaigning.