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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Oct. 21, 2010Brown campaign manager Steve Glazer told reporters Wednesday that the Democrat has enough money for the race's final days. "We expect to be able to match the Whitman campaign in both TV and radio," Glazer said. "We saved about $12 million for the final 13 days."
Source: San Jose Mercury NewsTags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 20, 2010“We expect to be able to match the [Meg] Whitman campaign in terms of both TV and radio advertising,” said Steve Glazer, Brown’s campaign manager. “We saved about $12 million for the final 14 days. We believe we’ll be more than competitive.”
Source: PolitiCal (Los Angeles Times)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact, Prediction
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 20, 2010Meanwhile, Clifford, the campaign spokesman, said the communications numbers don’t capture the entire picture. “Over the last four years, Jerry Brown cut $231 million from the budget of the DOJ — its clear he’s managing the people’s money carefully,” Clifford said in an email. “To put it in perspective, if your numbers are correct, the DOJ spends .006 percent of its budget on communications. I’d guess that the Governor’s office is much higher. And Frankly, when the Whitman campaign argues that she has to spend $180 million on this race because of Jerry’s near-universal name-ID, it is (ridiculous) to then turn around and argue that he’s using state resources to boost his name ID.”
Source: The Orange County RegisterTags: Campaigns and politics, Spending, Assertion of fact
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 20, 2010Glazer highlighted recent polls that showed Brown gaining an edge over Whitman and said claims that Whitman would win support from Latinos and women were proving untrue. “The race is following along historical voting patterns in California,” he said. “We have a solid lead but are taking nothing for granted.”
Source: PolitiCal (Los Angeles Times)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 20, 2010Whatever the case, Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford and Attorney General spokeswoman Christine Gasparac both defended the expenditures as reasonable and conservative. Gasparac noted that in Bill Lockyer’s final full year as attorney general, 2005-06 he had 7.2 press positions and spent $719,000. And in the transition year, 2006-07, when Lockyer was AG for half the time and Brown was AG for the other half, there were 5.8 filled positions and spending was at $650,336. “By looking just at the first full fiscal year when positions were still unfilled, it’s not a fair place to start to compare the numbers,” Gasparac wrote in an email. She goes on to write that “Early in his term, AG Brown’s press office was understaffed and then brought to the current staffing level, which is now at a level deemed to be sufficient for the needs of the office. It’s important to remember that our press office handles all media relations for the entire department (approx. 5000 employees), which includes law enforcement and the Bureaus of Firearms, Gambling Control, Narcotic Enforcement and Investigations and Intelligence, and the work of the department’s 1100 attorneys, as well as the Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. We get dozens of media inquiries every day on everything from case status to sex offender management, charity registration, gun permits, consumer issues and all types of investigations. The majority of the inquiries have nothing to do with AG Brown. “The two people who were hired in April were replacing press officers who had left the office–one had resigned in November, the other left in December.” She added that “I can affirm that any interview or appearance scheduled through this office was initiated in his official capacity as attorney general. If the topic changed (afterward), that’s beyond our control.”
Source: The Orange County RegisterTags: Campaigns and politics, Spending, Assertion of fact
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 19, 2010"Meg Whitman said it herself, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for different results,'" said Brown for Governor Campaign Manager Steven Glazer. "Yet, the Long Island native has had no qualms about recycling the same platitudes, repackaging the same campaign events and rehiring the same high priced consultants as the state's current Governor."
Source: Jerry Brown campaignTags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 18, 2010"Meg Whitman likes to tell Californians that she doesn't owe anyone anything, but she owes Governor Schwarzenegger more than she wants to admit. Outsider who will blow up the boxes? We've heard that before. Running the state more like a business? Check. Bus tour? A familiar tune. Why does so much of the Whitman campaign feel like a rerun? Because it is. Arnold Schwarzenegger entered California politics with a cadre of the most expensive Republican consultants he could find, and they fed him a divisive agenda that Californians rejected. He had the good sense to send them packing. They have now de-camped to Whitman's headquarters where they are recycling their empty slogans and shrill accusations. Incredibly, Meg Whitman has already spent more than $14 million on Schwarzenegger's old crew. Schwarzenegger's top strategist Mike Murphy? On the Whitman bus for $90,000 a month. The Governor's former political director, Jeff Randle, is on Whitman's payroll for more than half a million dollars. Schwarzenegger veterans Rob Stutzman, Mitch Zak, John McLaughlin, Stuart Polk, and more than 30 other consultants jumped from Schwarzenegger to Meg Whitman. She even uses the same public speaking coach. Governor Schwarzenegger and Meg Whitman both say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. On that, we all agree."
Source: Jerry Brown campaignTags: Campaigns and politics, Leadership style, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 18, 2010"This is a pretty simple deal," said Brown, who was surrounded by Asian American lawmakers who endorsed him. "She can talk all she wants, but the truth is she wants to enrich herself and her contributors and the very wealthiest people in our society."
Source: Associated PressTags: Taxes, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 18, 2010At the San Jose rally, Brown attacked Whitman in an allusion to her poor voting record as well as her lack of government experience. "If you went to any business in America and said, 'Here's my resume. It's blank,' they wouldn't hire you for even the littlest position," Brown said.
Source: Los Angeles TimesTags: Campaigns and politics, Candidate attack, Quotable
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 18, 2010And he mocked the billionaire former EBay head for her refusal to say how much she would benefit from the elimination of the tax. "Maybe somebody stole her tax returns like somebody stole her mail," he said, a reference to the controversy over Whitman's former employment of an illegal immigrant housekeeper.
Source: Los Angeles TimesTags: Taxes, Candidate attack, Quotable
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 18, 2010Spokesman Sterling Clifford said (Jerry Brown and his wife) have personally, or through their family foundation, contributed $600,000 since 2005 to the Oakland Military Institute and Oakland School for the Arts, the pair of charter schools that Brown helped launch as mayor.
Source: San Francisco ChronicleTags: Personal life, Assertion of fact
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 17, 2010On Bill Clinton: "He took a lot of crap from a lot people....Yeah, I gave him a little of it myself. But remember, this is the guy who really persevered in the face of the most outrageous Republican opposition."
Source: Politics Blog (San Francisco Chronicle)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Quotable
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 15, 2010Brown, on stage, noted that he didn't major in math, but Greek and Latin -- but still, he said he knew enough to call his Republican competitor's plan "smoke and mirrors.'' And Brown, noting his differences with Whitman on immigration issues, called for every student who's qualified, "whether they're documented or not," to be able to attend California state universities, saying that would be "one of the first bills I sign'' as governor once he deals with the state budget.
Source: Politics Blog (San Francisco Chronicle)Tags: Education, Immigration, Candidate attack, Policy or issue position
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 15, 2010Brown lauded Clinton as someone who has "put people first" in endeavors around the world since he left the presidency. He appeared in a mischievious mood. "We need (Gavin) real badly,'' said Brown. "I don't want that other guy breathing down my back...(Gavin) is smart, and by the way, I know he's pretty...but when I was his age, I had more hair than he did,'' he said to laughs.
Source: Politics Blog (San Francisco Chronicle)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Quotable
Jerry Brown
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Oct. 14, 2010"At a time when school districts are laying-off teachers and cutting art programs, the last thing we need is a bigger hole in the state budget," said Brown. "This is a tax cut that will mostly benefit the very wealthiest people in our state, namely millionaires and billionaires like Meg Whitman. She should be straight with the people and tell us how much she stands to gain from her tax cut plan and how much our schools, teachers and students stand to lose."
Source: Jerry Brown campaignTags: Personal life, Taxes, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack
