Jerry Brown to declare his candidacy for governor Tuesday

[cory777]

Source: LA Times

March 1, 2010 | 4:21 pm

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown will formally announce Tuesday that he is running for governor, a job he last held nearly three decades ago, according to a source close to his campaign.

Brown, 71, an Oakland Democrat who does not face any serious primary election opposition, is expected to make his announcement online. He served two terms as California's governor starting in the 1970s but is eligible to hold the office again because today's term limits were not in effect when he first occupied the Capitol.

Brown, an enigmatic political figure whose father, Pat Brown, also served two terms as governor, is seeking to regain the state's top job near the end of a long political career. He has won elections to the posts of secretary of state and Oakland mayor, besides his current job; waged three failed presidential runs and lost a bid for Senate. Brown has also served as the state Democratic Party chairman.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/03/jerry-brown-to-declare-his-candidacy-for-governor-tuesday.html

[Auggie]

1. Finally

[O is 44]

3. I know, I am getting sick of Whitman running without

opposition. Her ads are driving me nuts; did you see the latest ad of her supposed former e-bay employees telling us how good she was? ugh! I wish Mr. Brown was a bit younger though, did not realize he was that old.

[Auggie]

5. I always thought Brown "played" young...

like Dick Clark. He'll win. But I'm still sending money to the campaign.

Yeah, I've seen that ad. And many other bad ones as well.

[sharesunited]

2. He is going to need to get his austerity game on. Can he bring it?

[Grassy Knoll]

4. Woo Hoo, Bring back Ronstadt !!!

[pitchforksandtorches]

6. YES! I luvs me some good old Gov. Moonbeam!!!!

[onehandle]

7. Good. Prepare to work your ass off, Jerry. nt

[Vidar]

8. Bless you, Jerry.

[scottsoperson]

9. arnie refused to raise taxes...

that doesn't appear to be working too well for him or california.

[defendandprotect]

10. Still love Jerry Brown and we need him back on the job . . .

[Liberty Belle]

11. Jerry's a shrewd politician. He's letting Republicans eat their own in the primary

and then he will step in and look like the grownup in this race.

We really need Jerry - someone who's smart and experienced at actually running state government back when our state was solvent and prosperous. It can be that way again - in the right hands, or should I say "left" hands -- a Governor who won't veto every reasonable budget that the Legislature passes, who doesn't just greenwash but is genuinely committed to building a green economy for California, and so forth.

Go, Jerry, go!

[CountAllVotes]

12. Brown to announce California governor run Tuesday

Source: Reuters

OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - California Attorney General Jerry Brown will try to reclaim the state's governorship, formally announcing his candidacy on Tuesday, a source close to the campaign said.

Brown, who served two terms as governor starting in 1975, is virtually guaranteed to get the Democratic nomination in the race to lead the most populous U.S. state, with no major contenders for the nomination. Candidates must formally announce their plans by March 12.

Brown, 71, a liberal once nicknamed "Governor Moonbeam" would face off against Republican Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay Inc., or state Insurance Commissioner and former Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Poizner. The winner will replace former actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Whoever wins the November election will have a tough job, as the state battles with double-digit unemployment that is expected to last years, a prolonged budget crisis, and tries to address major problems such as an inadequate water system.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6213P720100302?type=politicsNews

---

Will be glad to see this fine Democrat back in the office he once held. He'll kick some asses from here to hell and back no doubt!

YOU GO JERRY BROWN! :D

:dem:

[montanto]

13. Count me in.

[goclark]

23. Yes! I'm in with you ~ no more Aaarnold

Please win.

I will work night and day for your election.

[musiclawyer]

14. about freaking time

Meg W is running ads round the clock in all media here in CA, and CA has plenty of stupid people who vote for the person who had the most face time on tv. Brown better have learned some lessons in hand to hand combat against the GOP. He'll need to be on his game even though he's kinda old frankly.

[Zomby Woof]

15. Good!

Pig Shitman must be defeated at all costs.

[arbusto_baboso]

16. I'm on his side. As long as he lays off that "flat tax" nonsense.

For a progressive candidate, that's a mighty regressive idea.

[progressoid]

17. Is he still talking about that?

Maybe he can get Forbes to endorse him.

[arbusto_baboso]

20. He was when running for Prez. Don't know about now.

[David Zephyr]

18. As a former Brown delegate in 1992 to the Democratic National Convention, I cheer this news!

This old soldier will be honored to once again give my money, my time and my passion on behalf of this great public servant.

California needs Jerry again more than ever before.

The man who was once our youngest Governor in history will be our olderst Governor.

We need Jerry back.

I am on a cloud today!

Go Jerry!

[shanti]

19. i remember

stumping for him in 1976 for his first gubernatorial run. it was my first election :)

[calimary]

25. We do need him back.

Higher profile, where he can have a real impact.

That would really be lovely! I have to admit seeing so many of those meg whitman commercials, at this early stage in the campaign, makes me kinda nervous. She's carpet-bombing our state! Both lovely, benign, congenial, positive commercials about herself and comical, slightly snarky, negative commercials about some (I assume) republi-CON challenger. She's already on it - playing both offense and defense. She obviously has lots of money behind her if she's spending on this big an ad campaign this early, which is troublesome. Why would you blow it all at the top, unless that wasn't all, at all! Must be substantially more beyond her own, or a strong probability of it, especially if you're perceived as potential winner. More money flows in because success - or the perception of success - begets more success. All that media repetition is bound to do some damage and gain her ground. She's already out there, softening up the field, even while the commercials that make her look so attractive also make her sound like the Princess of Platitudes.

It makes me plenty nervous.

[Book Lover]

21. I suppose. Still a sad day when the democratic machine in this great state

has to rummage around in the Used bin to find someone they think'll be an effective chief executive. And then we get to support he who has been chosen for us to line up behind. Go CA!

[CountAllVotes]

22. used?

I think the man has a lot of something called experience!

He's after the health insurance companies right now in his capacity as the Attorney General for the State.

He did a lot to clean-up Oakland the two terms he served as mayor (NOT an easy job btw!).

And he also did a lot as the Governor of California in his prior terms.

He comes from a family of true blue Democrats that are from California. Do you remember Edmund G. Brown, Sr.? I do!

We are damn lucky to have him and his very sharp mind still around and we the people are lucky that he WANTS to be the Governor again!

:dem: :kick:

[David Zephyr]

24. +1

Jerry has always been about the future. There's nothing "used" about him at all. He's so far ahead of the curve and he's quintessential California.

[Book Lover]

26. While I must cede your point about experience, I stand behind my opinion

My friends who live in Oakland don't have many kind words for him (nor the current mayor, of course), for what that's worth.

I moved to California in 1993, so no, I have no direct experience of what the state was like when he was governor the first time. Nor do I know what his father's time in office was like. What I do know is that I am tired of seeing the same names in the politics section of the newspapers as I read in the history books, and I want to know where the fresh blood is. Jerry is 71. When will the state democratic party start developing the new generation? And do *not* point Gavin Newsome at me - he's a terrible, terrible politician.

[Retrograde]

27. I agree - where is the new generation of CA Democratic leaders?

I was here when Jerry was governor; he wasn't bad. But in a state with 35 million people it's hard to believe he's the only declared Democratic candidate so far. Considering that the state legislature is predominant Democratic, surely there's someone who can step up: where are they all hiding? At least when Willie Brown was speaker you heard about him.

[David Zephyr]

29. Here's the deal.

I served as a voting member of the Los Angeles Democratic Party Central Committee for years, was a delegate to our state conventions for years and to two national conventions. So I'm qualified to tell you this, no one had to "rummage" to find a candidate for Governor. Jerry is so beloved within the party that if he wanted it, it was his.

I have friends and family who also live in Oakland and they adore him there. He was elected and re-elected after all.

Jerry was an outstanding Governor. Our coastline does not look like those in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas because of Jerry. Americorp is a carbon copy of The California Conservation Corp that Jerry started. As a gay man, I am eternally grateful that he, as a single man knowing the jokes would follow, decriminalized being a homosexual in California..a watershed event for GLBT Americans. It was Jerry's first act as Governor.

He appointed the first African-American and first Latino to the California Supreme Court. He received the state bleeding in the red from Ronald Reagan and left it fat and in the black eight years later. There's so much there there, that there is strong rationale for the love he has from one end of the state to the other. He will be our Governor and he will be the youngest 71 year old in America.

Most of all, our state truly needs him at this time. We are in a bigger mess than most realize.

And yes, we do need new blood. One of the key reasons I supported Barack over Hillary was that I felt we needed younger people in government. Right now, I wish that Obama had had more executive experience as the GOP made a football of him his first year.

[Book Lover]

30. Thank you so much for this insight

I must be frank: I am disappointed that the nomination was handed over to someone, beloved or not, without any serious consideration of anyone else. Democracy, anyone? Maybe this is a charge against party and family politics more than anything else, but there we have it.

Thank you also for your historical perspective. As one of the millions and millions of transplants to California, it's a perspectvie I am lacking.

[David Zephyr]

31. Cool.

Book Lover, if you've been here since 1993, you are hardly a "transplant" anymore. Ronald Reagan is considered quintessential California by most Americans and he, as you know, was a "transplant" himself. I came to California to live as a teen and had spent many summers out here with family as a boy. So the "accident of birth" has little to do with whether or not you are a Californian or not.

Norman Mailer once wrote something along the lines that a woman who bleaches her hair blond is blonder than the natural because she wants to be blond. And then, in his crude way, he continued the metaphor further which I won't post. But you get the point. As Mrs. Doubtfire's last words in that amazing film rang out "home is where the heart is".

I like your name, Book Lover. See my profile here for nine years. Books saved me.

Back to Jerry: There were a number of Democrats who were, for whatever reasons, uneasy with a Brown run and others that wanted "new" blood to challenge Meg. The Mayor of Los Angeles and San Francisco, as you know, both weighed it. Some went to Bill Lockyer, who has more money that Brown does in his campaign treasury, and begged him to run against Jerry. Here's Bill Lockyer's wise words to them as was reported in the Los Angeles Times as to why he wouldn't enter the Gubernatorial race: First, he has a 6 year old son and he said being Governor shortens your life, and then he finished with this: "The other reason is very practical, I don't see how anyone, including me, gets by Jerry Brown in a primary."

I wish you had lived here when Jerry was Governor and watched him take on the oil giants and putting people over privilege and power.

[golfguru]

28. That's what I was thinking...is Jerry Brown the best they could find?

man oh man....CA is full of talented people!