Jerry Brown
Already a two-time governor, mayor, holder of multiple statewide offices and three-time presidential candidate, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and California Attorney General Jerry Brown is among the most accomplished and recognized figures in California politics.
The son of former Gov. Pat Brown, Jerry Brown graduated from the private St. Ignatius High School in 1955. After a brief stint at Santa Clara College, he entered the seminary, leaving four years later to pursue a degree in classics at UC-Berkeley. He later attended Yale Law School, graduating in 1964.
Brown was elected Secretary of State in 1970. Four years later, he was elected governor, and he was re-elected again in 1978. During his two terms as governor, Brown now touts among his defining accomplishments a series of tax cuts, building a state surplus, and establishing the country’s first agricultural labor relations law. He also implemented Proposition 13, the voter-approved measure that largely fixed property tax rates and dramatically altered the relationship between local and state government.
Brown ran for President in 1976 and 1980, and for Senate in 1982, but was defeated each time. During his years away from politics in the 1980s, he studied Buddhism in Japan and worked in India at Mother Teresa’s home for the dying.
He returned to California politics in 1989, when he was elected chairman of the California Democratic Party. He resigned in 1991 before beginning his third campaign for President on a populist platform that renounced large campaign contributions. Despite a strong showing, he again lost to then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.
Following his failed presidential bid, Brown moved to Oakland, where he established a commune and hosted a weekly radio show known in part for its controversial left-wing positions. He was elected Oakland mayor in 1998 and became Attorney General in 2006.
After living most of his life as a bachelor, Brown married former Gap general counsel Anne Gust in 2005. He lives in Oakland.
Jerry Brown's most recent statements
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"I'm going to try to pare down as much as I possibly can," said Brown, speaking to reporters in his Oakland campaign headquarters. "I will engage in a process that will be exhausting, and it will be exhaustive - and it will be inclusive," he added, saying he will talk to labor, business leaders and voters.
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Business, Spending, State workers, Policy or issue position, Promise
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010He said Californians passed Proposition 25, which ends the two-thirds legislative majority for passing a state budget, while also approving Proposition 26, which calls for a two-thirds vote to pass fees. "The taxpayers gave - and they also took away," he said. "On the one hand, people said, 'by majority give us a budget' and on the other, they said, 'don't pick my pocket.' "What we have to do is win the confidence and trust of the people of California," he said. That, he added, will require competing groups - Republicans, Democrats, labor unions and business - to "push toward a common interest."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Budget, Leadership style, Taxes, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"Politicians come and politicians go, and the people are looking for things to be better," he said. "And if you can't deliver, they get somebody else to try. "I've been up and I've been down," said Brown. "I'm going to do my darndest to stay up."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Leadership style, Quotable
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"The voters last night turned down a mere $18-a-year (car) tax by about 60 percent, so I would say that the electorate is in no mood to add to their burdens."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Taxes, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, warning that Californians sent a message in Tuesday's election that they are "in no mood to add to their burdens" with new taxes, said Wednesday he has begun laying the groundwork for cutting government costs and repairing the "broken process" of producing a state budget.
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Budget, Taxes, Assertion of fact
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010The former Oakland mayor also said he will continue living in the Oakland hills with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, although they will find a place to live in Sacramento that will be "modest." Still, he said, "I'm not selling (the Oakland) house until it maintains its original value, and that may take a lot of work on my part."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Personal life, Quotable
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010"I want to rethink the structure, I want to flatten the administration," he said, adding that he wants to explore "organizing state government to make it leaner, more responsive and more coherent."
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Government services, State legislature, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 4, 2010Brown said he has started reaching out to legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle, but had sobering words for Democrats who control both houses of the Legislature. "My message is: Get ready for hard surfaces and benches as you sit in the kind of austere environment of a very-carefully-put-together state government and budget," he said.
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Budget, Campaigns and politics, Leadership style, State legislature, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 1, 2010"We're going to vote Democratic tomorrow, all right, and of course when we get there, this is the thing about democracy, we also have to listen to the other side," Brown said to restrained applause.
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Campaigns and politics, Leadership style, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 1, 2010In a final jab at his opponent, he told supporters to see the details of his platform on his campaign website. "Whitman's plan is mostly pictures, but I have more respect for you," he said.
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 1, 2010“I think this is a good sign that the sun is out,” Brown said, looking out at clear blue skies. “Now as the clouds open, we return hopefully to Sacramento, get stuff done, get California back on the road and we can set the model. We got some problems, but we are a rich state.”
Source: San Diego Union-TribuneTags: Campaigns and politics, Prediction
Jerry Brown
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Nov. 1, 2010"Victory brings even more challenges -- in fact, the campaign is a piece of cake (compared) to fixing the budget," he said. "I didn't make this mess, but I sure want to fix it."
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Budget, Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 31, 2010Brown said the deep recession and California's persistent budget problems mean the next governor will face tough decisions immediately. He said he wants a "grand civic dialogue" that will include people from throughout the state and from all socio-economic backgrounds to talk about what they want California to be. Brown talked about unifying people rather than dividing them because he said every Californian has a stake in pulling the state out of its current tailspin.
Source: Associated PressTags: Budget, Leadership style, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 31, 2010"People came because California was the land of opportunity. It was a different kind of opportunity in 1852 than it is today, but there were challenges. They had courage, they were willing to take risks, they were going into the unknown," Brown said at the Broadway Heights restaurant, where the crowd filled two stories of the building and spilled onto the street corner. "That pioneering spirit is exactly what will get us through again."
Source: Associated PressTags: Campaigns and politics, Prediction
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 31, 2010"California has been a place that attracts people because they have a future," Brown said as he campaigns to return to the governor's office, which he held from 1975 to 1983. "You know, it attracted Meg Whitman 30 years ago. It is still attracting people. And why is it? Because here's a place, wherever you come from, you come to California and you're welcome."
Source: Associated PressTags: Campaigns and politics, Quotable
