Recall candidate would make Davis chief of staff

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San Francisco Chronicle

The most unusual campaign pitch in the most unusual election in California's history belongs to Paul Mariano, who is running for governor as a replacement candidate in the recall election. A vote for Paul Mariano, he says, is a vote for Gray Davis.

If Davis is recalled and he is elected governor, Mariano says, he will immediately appoint Davis as chief of staff. "As my chief of staff," Mariano said, "he would be the governor."

In effect, if Mariano is elected, he would not serve. He says he wouldn't take a salary.

The chances of a Mariano administration seem a bit dim, but the candidate, a career criminal defense attorney who supervises client services at the Contra Costa County public defender's office, is dead serious. Mariano is appalled at the recall, which he calls "unfair and undemocratic." ---

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1. No matter how dim

the realm of possibility exist.