From The Sacramento News & Review
August 21, 2003:

Though all the press is going to much richer, louder and more dysfunctional candidates, Paul Mariano's campaign for governor may be the most honest and conceptually interesting. Mariano is, in essence, shilling for Gray Davis, a man with whom he's had no contact. More accurately, he's shilling for the will of the people who voted Davis into office.

A trial attorney who graduated from California State University, Sacramento, and spent the last 25 years with the Contra Costa County public defender's office, Mariano says he's not looking to move back to Sacramento, even if elected. Instead, he says, he would 'decline residence in the governor's mansion, refuse any salary and allow the continuation of the rightfully elected government' by appointing Davis as chief of staff in charge of day-to-day governance. In a race marked by oblique motivations and weirdly shifting alliances, there's something reassuring in Mariano's campaign for the democratic process. At least we know where he stands.

More Press for Paul Mariano

"[Mariano] says he's running just to point out that the recall process is a dangerous crapshoot for voters. Mariano says his first act as governor would be to appoint Davis as his chief of staff. 'He won the governor's post in a full, free and fair election,' Mariano says. 'And it would be wrong to replace him in some insane process that allows the 'Terminator' or a stripper or a comedian-or me-to win the highest office in the sixth largest economy of the world.'"
USA Today
August 15, 2003

"'I'm not a fan or a supporter of Davis,' [Mariano] says, 'but I am a supporter of due process. He is the elected official, and it is insane to remove him from office in this manner.' The issue of public process lies at the heart of Mariano's campaign: as a 26-year employee of the Contra Costa Public Defender's Office, he says that he has dedicated a lifetime to protecting people's rights to an organized public process."
Martinez News-Gazette
August 12, 2003

"Mariano, a Democrat, said he opposes the recall. If elected, his first act, he said, would be to name Davis his chief of staff and make Davis 'the de facto governor.'"
San Diego Union-Tribune
August 8, 2003

"Contra Costa County Public Defender Paul Mariano is against the recall - that's why he's running. Mariano, a Democrat, has a scheme for restoring his party to power if Davis loses the recall. 'By voting for me, you would be voting for Gray Davis because my first act as governor would be to appoint Davis chief of staff, Mariano said. 'I'm assuming he will vote for me, too. Who else is he going to vote for?'"
Brian Skoloff, Associated Press
August 10, 2003

"One candidate to keep an eye on is Paul Mariano….Mariano could be [Davis'] last hope to run the state."
"Mariano Gov's Best Bet?" (editorial)
Martinez News-Gazette
August 12, 2003

"Candidate Paul Mariano is a Davis supporter who has offered to hire the governor as his chief of staff, if he loses the recall."
Men's News Daily
August 12, 2003

"Paul Mariano believes he's figured out a way to keep Gov. Gray Davis in charge even if he's recalled. Vote Mariano for governor….Mariano said the problem is with the recall ballot: First, voters will decide yes or no on whether they want to recall Davis. Then they'll pick a successor. But Davis is not allowed to run. So even if the yes-no majority vote is tight, Davis doesn't have a chance to compete in the second section, the winner of which will be determined by plurality. Mariano's effort is serious….[H]e's disturbed because he said the recall, if successful, could just spawn more recalls financed by rich people who want to be governor."
The Recorder
August 11, 2003

"Paul Mariano, assistant public defender in Contra Costa County, has pledged to derail the recall election, at least in spirit. Mariano, a Democrat, says that if elected, he would appoint Davis as his chief of staff and allow Davis to run the state on a day-by-day basis."
The Sacramento Bee
August 18, 2003

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