By Linda Taaffe

California’s next governor could come from Mountain View if an online poll conducted last week is any indication of who voters will elect in October’s recall election. Gubernatorial candidate and Mountain View resident Georgy Russell took the lead with nearly 27 percent in the Recall Sanity poll conducted online Thursday. Green Party candidate Peter Camejo ranked second in the poll with 18 percent of the votes, and Arnold Schwarzenegger came in third with 10 percent of the votes.

The 26-year-old Democrat is one of 135 California residents who threw their names into the governor’s race after voters collected enough signatures to recall Gov. Gray Davis last month.

“People want a new voice. This poll shows that voters are taking our campaign seriously. We’re a grass-roots campaign filled with regular people who want a change for the better in California,” Russell said.

Russell last Friday was considering an offer from the Green Party to form an alliance with Camejo and independent Arianna Huffington.

Since putting her name on the ballot, Russell has attracted progressive voters nationwide with her campaign motto, “beauty, brains and leadership.”

She supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, clean energy, clean elections, a universal health system and a stricter stance on domestic violence. She opposes the death penalty.

“I’m running to bring people together,” Russell said. “My campaign for governor is based on more than selling stylish thongs over the Internet. It’s based on fairness and respect for all citizens. As governor, I will work hard to make gay marriage a reality … in California.”

Russell, a Berkeley native, is a computer programmer who works for a leading software company. She was raised in Oakland and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.

This is the first recall election in California’s history. Of the 134 candidates, 50 are Democrats, 41 Republicans, 32 independents, four Green Party members, three Libertarians and two Natural Law Party members, one is an American Independent and one is a Peace and Freedom party member.