California Attorney General Jerry Brown to run for governor again
By Neil Paik
March 3, 2010 9:57 p.m.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced he will be a candidate for governor in this year’s state election.
The 71-year-old Brown, who previously served as governor for two terms between 1975 and 1983, declared his candidacy by posting a video on his campaign Web site Tuesday morning.
Brown has raised the most money of any Democratic candidate. After the primary election in June, he will likely face either former eBay CEO Meg Whitman or state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in the general election.
“What we need is not a scripted plan cooked up by consultants or mere ambition to be governor,” Brown said in reference to his Republican opponents on the official announcement video. “We need someone with insider’s knowledge but an outsider’s mind. … We need to work together as Californians first.”
Although Brown promotes his experience as a factor that adds to his credibility, some critics see his extensive involvement in government as a drawback.
“If you don’t like the state the way it is today, it’s people like Jerry Brown who made it this way ““ people who are part of the political machine,” said Andrew Kreitz, former chairman of the Bruin Republicans.
Kreitz, a fourth-year business economics student, said he thinks Republican Meg Whitman is a much better candidate for the position with her business background.
“She’s an outsider, she’s a businesswoman, she’s a leader,” he said. “Ultimately, she’s an executive, and what we need is a chief executive.”
Supporters of Brown, such as Bruin Democrats President Carrie McFadden, see his experience as an advantage that can speed up necessary reforms.
“I know that Jerry Brown has the qualifications to hold this office,” McFadden said. “He is a champion of the Democratic party and Democratic values.”
Brown was first elected governor in 1974 and then was re-elected by a landslide vote in 1978. Current California law limits governors to a maximum of two terms in office, but Brown is an exception to the rule because he served his first two terms well before the law was passed in 1990.
While serving his first two terms as governor, Brown was responsible for increasing the math and science requirements for California State University and University of California schools. If elected this year, he will face the challenge of maintaining such standards while managing the cost of education at these public universities.
“The UC system has been one of the most valued education systems in the country, and I’d hate to see that destroyed because of the budget,” McFadden said. “I’d like to see Cal Grants become a permanent part of the budget rather than something that needs to be renegotiated every year and more money from the general fund earmarked for education.”
In 1980, Brown unsuccessfully challenged Jimmy Carter’s re-nomination for president of the United States. After suffering losses at the New Hampshire and Wisconsin primaries, he withdrew from the race.
In 1992, Brown chose to run for president once again, this time leading a more successful campaign. He garnered more votes from Democratic delegates than any candidate other than Bill Clinton, who went on to win the party’s nomination.
From 1999 to 2007, Brown served as mayor of Oakland before becoming California attorney general three years ago.
In his announcement, Brown said California’s credit rating was the worst in the country and that the focus of his candidacy would be to fix the state’s budget crisis.
The Democratic primary election will be held June 8, with the general election following in November.
