Gov. Davis came to San Jose Monday to damn his state budget plan with faint praise.

The best he could say about the $95.8 billion 2003-04 budget he proposed last week is that no one else has offered a better one.

``David Cox, where is your plan?'' he asked, challenging the leader of the Assembly Republicans to present a detailed plan. ``I played my cards and now they have to play their cards.''

The best news for San Jose is that the governor says he's prepared to deal on redevelopment. The fate of what he acknowledged as the most successful redevelopment effort in the state is open to negotiation.

But, in a meeting with the Mercury News editorial board, Davis was adamant that the only way out of California's budget hell is long-term structural reform of the budget process. He's right. One important reform would be to get rid of the two-thirds majority requirement for passing a budget. There are other reforms the Legislature could pass, such as a spending cap.

When it comes to the specifics of his budget, Davis is clearly not wedded to any of them. Class-size reduction? He supports it, but would be willing to see it revised if the Legislature would agree. The same is true for redevelopment. His budget would take $250 million from redevelopment agencies this year and more the next year, which would likely kill San Jose's effort to build housing and improve the downtown and outlying neighborhoods. When asked to defend that proposal, the governor would say only that the money is needed to balance the budget. If someone can come up with another way to get that $250 million, he'd entertain it.

``The larger challenge as a state is to convince ourselves and the outside world that we can govern successfully and progressively,'' he said.

Translation: We need a budget by June 30 so the state can borrow enough money to erase this year's deficit. And he'll do what it takes to reach an agreement.

The governor is right in demanding a quick response from the Legislature. What is less satisfying is his own response to questions about excessive state spending in 1999 and the spring of 2000 as it became clear the bubble was bursting. He lays it at Alan Greenspan's feet for faulty projections. Sorry, it was clear as early as February that Silicon Valley, in particular, had hit the wall.

But that's history. Here is today's challenge to Legislative leaders, redevelopment champions, anyone who has a beef with the governor's budget proposal: Show us what you've got. Make an offer. It's not enough to complain about cuts or new taxes; you must have a realistic alternative proposal for making the budget balance. Then it will be up to the governor to exert the leadership necessary to cut a deal.

So, David Cox, where is your plan? Jim Brulte, Senate minority leader, where is your plan? Democratic leaders Herb Wesson and John Burton, where is your plan?

The clock is ticking toward the June 30 budget deadline. Let's see if our Legislative leaders can do the job they were elected to do.