JERRY’S BACK: BROWN ENTERS GOVERNOR’S RACE

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March 3, 2010 (Sacramento) – Former governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown announced yesterday that he is running for the state’s highest office. “We need someone with insider’s knowledge, but an outsider’s mind, a leader who can pull people together—Republicans and Democrats, oil companies and environmentalists, unions and businesses. We need to work together as California first, and at this stage in my life, I’m prepared to focus on nothing else but fixing this state I love.”

Brown served as Governor from 1975 to 1983. During his term, California reduced taxes and built up the largest surplus in state history. In addition, Brown said in a video announcing his candidacy, “When I was governor, California added 1.9 million new jobs in eight years.” As Governor, Brown had a strong record on environmental protection and standing up for rights of workers, women and minorities. He appointed more women, Asians, Latinos and African-Americans to high posts than any other chief executive.

But Brown was also a pragmatist, willing to buck the will of fellow Democrats at times. For example, he supported Proposition 13, the sweeping tax-cutting initiative. In his announcement speech yesterday, he pledged that amid these recessionary times, “there will be no new taxes unless you the people vote for them.”

His record also including measures aimed at strengthening education by establishing clear graduation standards for high school students and increasing math and science requirements for California State University and the University of California. He enacted tough anti-crime measures including the “Use a Gun, Go to Prison” law and mandatory sentences for rape, child molestation, violent crimes against the elderly and sale of heroin or PCP. He drew criticism from some for his appointment of Supreme Court justice Rose Bird, who later struck down the “use a gun” law. In his race for Attorney General in 2006,

Brown was endorsed by the California Police chiefs as well as 50 rank-and-file police organizations for his track record on keeping streets safe and supporting law enforcement. As Attorney General, he aggressively pursued companies engaged in mortgage fraud, obtaining an $8.6 billion settlement against Countrywide. He has subpoenaed health insurers over claims denials and rate hikes. Most recently, he forged a deal requiring Toyota to provide free rides for owners whose vehicles are being repaired under recall notices. In 1970, he was elected to serve as California Secretary of State and helped pass the state’s Fair Political Practices Act for campaign finance disclosures.

He was elected Governor in 1974 and reelected in 1978 by over a million votes. Brown also ran for president and has served as Mayor of Oakland. A native of San Francisco, he became a Jesuit but later left the seminary and enrolled at U.C. Berkeley, later obtaining a law degree from Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk on the Supreme Court, worked for a Los Angeles law firm, and was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. Brown joins Republican candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner in the race.


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