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Jerry Brown

 
Jerry Brown

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Jerry Brown



 
 
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is the current Attorney General
California Attorney General

The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice....
 and a former governor
Governor of California

The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced....
 of the State of California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. Brown has had a lengthy political career spanning terms on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees (1969-1971), as California Secretary of State
California Secretary of State

The Secretary of State of California is the chief elections officer of that U.S. state. The Secretary of State is also responsible for the California State Archives, as well as chartering corporations....
 (1971-1975), as Governor of California
Governor of California

The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced....
 (1975-1983), as chair of the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party

The California Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California. It is presently chaired by former State Senator Arthur Torres....
 (1989-1991), the Mayor of Oakland
Oakland, California

Oakland , founded in 1852, is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Alameda County, California. Oakland is approximately 8 miles east of San Francisco and the cities are separated by San Francisco Bay....
 (1998-2006), and the Attorney General of California
California Attorney General

The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice....
 (2007-present). He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nominations for president
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 in 1976, 1980, and 1992, and was an unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the United States Senate
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 in 1982.






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Quotations


Theres nothing wrong with being an anarchist.

– Jerry Brown (Jerry Brown, speaking to the International Transpersonal Association Conference. Santa Clara, CA. We the People Archives. June 10, 1995.

Thats why we have to look at the death penalty as part of a larger pattern that is inhuman.

– Jerry Brown (“Jerry Brown and Mike Farrell on the Death Penalty.” We the People Radio Archives. Oct-Nov 1997.)

Weve got to back up here and say its not okay. Its not okay even to kill guilty people.

– Jerry Brown (“Jerry Brown and Mike Farrell on the Death Penalty.” We the People Radio Archives. Oct-Nov 1997.)

Banning capital punishment takes us to a higher state of consciousness.

– Jerry Brown (“Jerry Brown and Mike Farrell on the Death Penalty.” We the People Radio Archives. . Oct-Nov 1997. )

…not to mention the CIA which should be, I think, dissolved, its of no use – a great source of mischief – I dont see any point to the FBI….

– Jerry Brown (“Gore Vidal We the People Radio Interview with Jerry Brown.” We the People Radio Archives. July 8, 1996.)

Were being ripped off and screwed by a bunch of liars, thieves, crooks, and criminals, and theyre not the folks below. Dont look in the streets; look in the corporate suites!

– Jerry Brown (“Jerry Brown Speaks Out On Welfare Reform.” We the People Radio Archives. February/March 1995.)





Encyclopedia


Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is the current Attorney General
California Attorney General

The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice....
 and a former governor
Governor of California

The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced....
 of the State of California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. Brown has had a lengthy political career spanning terms on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees (1969-1971), as California Secretary of State
California Secretary of State

The Secretary of State of California is the chief elections officer of that U.S. state. The Secretary of State is also responsible for the California State Archives, as well as chartering corporations....
 (1971-1975), as Governor of California
Governor of California

The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced....
 (1975-1983), as chair of the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party

The California Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California. It is presently chaired by former State Senator Arthur Torres....
 (1989-1991), the Mayor of Oakland
Oakland, California

Oakland , founded in 1852, is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Alameda County, California. Oakland is approximately 8 miles east of San Francisco and the cities are separated by San Francisco Bay....
 (1998-2006), and the Attorney General of California
California Attorney General

The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" The Attorney General carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice....
 (2007-present). He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nominations for president
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 in 1976, 1980, and 1992, and was an unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the United States Senate
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 in 1982. Since Brown's terms in office are not covered by the term limits that came into effect in 1990, he is not barred from running for Governor again
California gubernatorial election, 2010

The 2010 California Governor of California election will be held on 2 November 2010, with the primary election on 8 June, and will include the races for the Governor of California, Lieutenant Governor of California, Secretary of State of California, California Attorney General, California State Controller, California State Treasurer, Californ...
; he has indicated he plans to run for governor again in 2010.

Early life and education

Brown was born in San Francisco
San Francisco, California

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 799,183....
, the only son of former San Francisco lawyer, District attorney and later Democratic governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.
Pat Brown

Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967....
 He graduated from St. Ignatius High School
St. Ignatius College Preparatory

St. Ignatius College Preparatory, is a University-preparatory school in the Society of Jesus tradition serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1855....
 and studied at Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is a private, co-educational Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, California. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose members founded the school in 1851....
. In 1958, he entered Sacred Heart Novitiate, a Jesuit
Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Roman Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits, Soldiers of Jesus Christ, and Foot soldiers of the Pope, because the founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a knight before becoming a Holy Orders....
 seminary
Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is a specialized and often live-in higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, usually in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy....
, intending to become a Catholic
Roman Catholicism in the United States

Roman Catholic Church in the United States has grown dramatically over the country's history, from being a tiny minority faith during the time of the Thirteen Colonies to being the country's largest minority profession of faith today....
 priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
. However, Brown left the seminary and entered the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley is a public university research university located in Berkeley, California, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines....
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin language Artium Baccalaureus, is an Undergraduate education bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
 in Classics in 1961. Brown went on to Yale Law School
Yale Law School

Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1843, the school offers the Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, Doctor of Laws#United States, and Master of Studies in Law degrees in law....
 and graduated with a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a first professional degree graduate degree and professional doctorate in law degree. The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree and the legal studies counterpart to the M.D....
 in 1964.

After law school, Brown worked as a law clerk
Law clerk

A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in Legal research issues before the court and in writing Legal opinion....
 for Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California

The Supreme Court of California is the state supreme court of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and regularly holds sessions at its branch offices in Los Angeles, California and Sacramento, California....
 Justice Mathew Tobriner
Mathew Tobriner

Mathew Oscar Tobriner was an Associate Justice on the California Supreme Court from July 1962?January 1982. An appointee of Democratic Governor Pat Brown, he had worked as a Labor relations lawyer until 1959, when Brown appointed him to the California Courts of Appeal....
, and studied in Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 and Latin America
Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
.

Legal career and entrance into politics

Brown returned to California but initially failed the state bar
Bar (law)

Bar in law contexts can have multiple meanings, but most originate from the bar in a courtroom. Quite simply, the bar is a wikt:railing or wikt:barrier that separates the front part of a courtroom - which includes a judge's bench and tables where attorneys or barristers conduct matters before the court - from the back part of the courtroom...
 exam. After passing the exam, Brown settled in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
 and joined the law firm
Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service provided by a law firm is to advise consumers about their legal rights and Obligation, and to represent their clients in civil case or Criminal law, business transactions and other matters in which legal assistance is sought....
 of Tuttle & Taylor. In the late 1960s, he entered politics by organizing migrant worker
Migrant worker

The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world; the United Nations' definition is very broad, essentially including anyone working outside of their home country....
s and anti-Vietnam War
Opposition to the Vietnam War

Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War is significant because it was the first time a war was shownand accessed through the media to the public in the United States....
 groups. In 1969, he ran for the newly created Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, which oversaw community college
Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries....
s in the city, and placed first in a field of 124.

In 1970, Brown was elected California Secretary of State
Secretary of State (U.S. state government)

Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions....
. Brown used the position, which was historically limited in power, to bring lawsuits against corporations such as Standard Oil of California
Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation is the world's fourth largest non-government energy corporation. Headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries, it is engaged in every aspect of the Petroleum and gas industry, including exploration and Petroleum#Extraction; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals m...
, International Telephone and Telegraph, Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil

Gulf Oil was a major global petroleum Corporation from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies....
, and Mobil
ExxonMobil

The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an United States petroleum and natural gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D....
 for violation of campaign-finance laws
Campaign finance in the United States

Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of Elections in the United States at the Federal government of the United States, State government, and Local government in the United States....
 and argued in person before the California Supreme Court.

Brown also enforced laws requiring members of the California State Legislature
California State Legislature

The California State Legislature is the State legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members....
 to disclose sources of campaign funds and investigated allegedly falsely-notarized documents that had allowed Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the only president to resign the office....
 to claim a large tax deduction
Tax deduction

A tax deduction or a tax-deductible expense affects a taxpayer's income tax. A tax deduction represents an expense incurred by a taxpayer....
. Brown also played an important role in the drafting and passage of the California Fair Political Practices Act. These highly-publicized actions resulted in statewide acclaim, and led to his election as governor in the next statewide election.

Governorship

In 1974, Brown was elected governor of California, succeeding the Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
 Governor Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
, who was retiring from office after serving two terms, and who, himself, had become governor after defeating Brown's father, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.
Pat Brown

Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967....
, in the 1966 election. Jerry Brown took office in 1975.

Strongly opposed to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
, Brown had a broad base of support from California's young liberals. Upon election, he refused many of the privileges and trappings of the office, forgoing the grand California Governor's Mansion (which was sold under Brown in 1983) and instead renting a modest apartment at the corner of 14th and N Streets, adjacent to Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento. Instead of riding as a passenger in chauffeured limousine
Limousine

A limousine is a luxury car sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coach builder....
s as previous governors had done, Brown was driven to work in a compact sedan, a Plymouth Satellite
Plymouth Satellite

The Plymouth Satellite was an automobile introduced in 1965 as the top model in Plymouth mid-size Belvedere line. The Satellite remained the top of the line model until the 1967 model year, where it became the mid-cost model with the GTX taking its place as the top model....
 from the state vehicle pool.

During his two-term, eight-year governorship, Brown had a strong interest in environmental issues. Brown appointed J. Baldwin
J. Baldwin

James Tennant Baldwin is an American industrial designer and writer. Baldwin was a student of Buckminster Fuller; Baldwin's work has been inspired by Fuller's principles and has popularized and interpreted Fuller's ideas and achievements....
 to work in the newly-created California Office of Appropriate Technology, Sim Van der Ryn
Sim Van der Ryn

Sim Van der Ryn is acknowledged as a leader in "sustainable architecture." He is also a researcher and educator. Van der Ryn's driving professional interest has been applying principles of physical and social ecology to architecture and environmental design....
 as State Architect, and Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand

Stewart Brand is an author, editing, and creator of The Whole Earth Catalog and CoEvolution Quarterly.Brand is best known for the Whole Earth Catalog ....
 as Special Advisor. He appointed John Bryson
John Bryson

John E. Bryson is the former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison....
, later the CEO of Southern California Electric Company and a founding member of the Natural Resources Defense Council, chairman of the California State Water Board in 1976. Brown reorganized the California Arts Council, boosting its funding by 1300 percent and appointing artists such as environmentalist and poet Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder

Gary Snyder is an American poet , essayist, lecturer, and environmentalism . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His work, in his various roles, reflects an immersion in both Buddhism spirituality and nature....
.

In 1975, Brown obtained the repeal of the "depletion allowance," a tax break for the state's oil industry, despite the efforts of the lobbyist Joe Shell
Joe Shell

Joseph Claude Shell, Sr. was an United States oil producer and lobbyist who represented District 58 in the California State Assembly from 1953-1963....
, a former intraparty rival to Richard M. Nixon. Brown aimed his fire at "big oil" in an era of popular environmental activism on the West Coast. The decisive vote against the allowance was cast in the California State Senate
California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Sacramento, California....
 by the usually pro-business Republican Senator Robert S. Stevens
Robert S. Stevens

Robert Smith Stevens was a United States House of Representatives from New York.Born in Attica, Wyoming County, New York, StevensPrepared for college under a tutor....
. Shell claimed that Stevens had promised him that he would support keeping the allowance: "He had shaken my hand and told me he was with me." recalled Shell. Brown later rewarded Stevens with a judicial appointment, but Stevens was driven from the bench for making salacious telephone calls. In 1977 Brown proposed and later passed a landmark tax incentive for home-owners installing solar panels.

Brown appointed the first black (Wiley Manuel
Wiley Manuel

Wiley W. Manuel was an associate justice on the Supreme Court of California from 1977 – 1981 and the first African American to serve on the high court....
), female (Rose Bird
Rose Bird

Rose Elizabeth Bird served for 10 years as the 25th Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court until removed from that office by the voters....
), and Latino (Cruz Reynoso
Cruz Reynoso

Cruz Reynoso was the first Chicano person to serve on the California Supreme Court. He served as an associate justice from 1982 to 1987. Along with two other liberal members of the Court, Chief Justice Rose Bird and Associate Justice Joseph Grodin, he was ousted by voters in 1986 under California's unusual judicial-retention election system....
) judges to the California Supreme Court.

Like his father, Brown strongly opposed the death penalty and, as Governor, vetoed death penalty, but legislature overrode the veto in 1977. He also appointed judges who opposed capital punishment. In 1960 he lobbied his father, then Governor, to spare the life of Caryl Chessman
Caryl Chessman

Caryl Whittier Chessman was a convicted robbery and rape who gained fame as a Death Row inmate in California. Chessman's case attracted world-wide attention, and as a result he became a cause c?l?bre for the movement to ban capital punishment....
 and reportedly won a 60-day stay for him. Currently, as Attorney General, he is obligated to represent the state in fighting death penalty appeals and stated that he will follow the law, regardless of his personal beliefs.

Brown was succeeded as governor by George Deukmejian
George Deukmejian

Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. is an United States politician from California who served as the Republican Party thirty-fifth Governor of California and as California Attorney General ....
, whose image was one of conservatism and understatement, in contrast to Brown's.

1976 presidential campaign

While serving as governor, Brown twice ran for the Democratic nomination for president. The first time, in 1976, Brown entered the race in March after the primary season had begun, and over a year after some candidates had started campaigning. Citing his record of having curbed his state's spending and balanced its budget while expanding services in the area of welfare, employment, and consumer and environmental protection, Brown proclaimed his belief that there would soon be a voter backlash against expansive and costly government policies. "This is an era of limits, and we had all better get used to it," he declared. Brown was viewed as more socially liberal than most candidates.

Brown's name began appearing on primary ballots in May and he won a big victory in Maryland
Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
, followed by Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
, and his home state of California. Brown missed the deadline in Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
, but he ran as a write in candidate and finished a strong third behind Carter and Senator Frank Church
Frank Church

Frank Forrester Church III was a United States Senate from Idaho, serving four terms from 1957 to 1981. Church was a member of the Idaho Democratic Party....
 of Idaho
Idaho

The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....
, another late candidate. Brown is often credited with winning the New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
 and Rhode Island
Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
 primaries, but in reality, uncommitted slates of delegates that Brown advocated in those states finished first. With support from Lousiana Governor Edwin Edwards at that state's delegate selection convention, Brown took most of that states delegates, the only southern state to not support Southernors Carter or Alabama Governor George Wallace. Despite this success, he was unable to stall Carter's momentum, and his rival was nominated on the first ballot at the 1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention

The 1976 National Convention of the USA Democratic Party met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The Political convention nominated Jimmy Carter of Georgia for President and Walter Mondale of Minnesota for Vice-President....
. Brown finished third with roughly 300 delegate votes, narrowly behind Congressman Morris Udall and well behind Carter. Brown's name was placed in nomination by United Farm Workers President, Caesar Chavez.

1980 presidential campaign

In 1980, Brown challenged Carter for renomination. His candidacy had been anticipated by the press ever since he won reelection in 1978 over the Republican Evelle Younger by the biggest margin in California history, 1.3 million votes, but he had trouble gaining traction in both fundraising and polling. This was widely believed to be the result of the more prominent candidacy of liberal
Liberalism

Liberalism is a broad class of political philosophy that considers individualism liberty and equality to be the most important political goals....
 icon Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy is the Senior Senator United States Senate from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party . In office since November 1962, Kennedy is the list of current United States Senators by seniority member of the Senate, after President pro tempore of the United States Senate Robert Byrd of West Virginia....
 of Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
.

Brown's 1980 platform, which he declared to be the natural result of combining Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster ?Bucky? Fuller was an American architect, author, designer, futurist, inventor, and visionary. He was the second president of Mensa International....
's visions of the future and E.F. Schumacher
E. F. Schumacher

Ernst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher was an internationally influential economic thinker with a professional background as a statistician and economist in United Kingdom....
's theory of "Buddhist economics
Buddhist economics

Buddhist economics is a set of Economics partly inspired by Buddhist beliefs that individuals ought to do good work in order to ensure proper Human development ....
", was much expanded from 1976. Gone was his "era of limits" slogan, replaced by a promise to, in his words, "Protect the Earth, serve the people, and explore the universe." Three main planks of his platform were a call for a constitutional convention
Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution....
 to ratify the Balanced Budget Amendment
Balanced Budget Amendment

The Balanced Budget Amendment is any one of various proposed constitutional amendments to the United States Constitution which would require a balance in the projected revenues and expenditures of the Federal government of the United States....
, a promise to increase funds for the space program, and, in the wake of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident

The Three Mile Island accident of 1979 was a partial core nuclear meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania....
, opposition to nuclear power
Nuclear power

Nuclear power is any nuclear technology designed to extract usable energy from atomic nucleus via controlled nuclear reactions. The only method in use today is through nuclear fission, though other methods might one day include nuclear fusion and radioactive decay ....
.

On the subject of the 1979 energy crisis
1979 energy crisis

The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979, allowing Ayatollah Khomeini to gain control....
, Brown decried the "Faust
Faust

Faust or Faustus is the protagonist of a classic German folklore who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works, such as those by Christopher Marlowe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Charles Gounod, Gu...
ian bargain" that he claimed Carter had entered into with the oil industry, and declared that he would greatly increase federal funding of research into solar power
Solar power

Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient history using a range of ever-evolving technologies....
. He endorsed the idea of mandatory non-military national service
National service

National service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs . National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years in such programs....
 for the nation's youth, and suggested that the Defense Department cut back on support troops while beefing-up the number of combat troops. He described the health care
Health care

File:Ear surgery on a patient.jpgFile:Monoclonal antibodies3.jpgHealth care, or healthcare, refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the Medicine, pharmaceutical, Dentistry, clinical laboratory sciences , nursing, and allied health professions....
 industry as a "high priesthood" engaged in a "medical arms race
Arms race

The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for real or apparent military supremacy. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation....
" and called for a market-oriented system of universal health care
Universal health care

Universal health care is health care coverage that is extended to all eligible residents of a governmental region and often covers medicine, dentistry, and mental health professional....
.

As his campaign began to attract more and more members of what some more conservative commentators described as "the fringe", including activists like Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is an United States actress, writer, political activism, former fashion model and Physical fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou and, with interruptions, has appeared in films ever since....
, Tom Hayden
Tom Hayden

Thomas Emmet Hayden is an United States social and political activism and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s....
, and Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an American civil rights activism and Baptist Minister of religion. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997....
, Brown's polling numbers began to suffer. He received only 10% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary

The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years, as part of the process of choosing the United States Democratic Party and United States Republican Party nominees for the United States presidential election to be held the subsequent November....
 and he was soon forced to announce that his decision to remain in the race would hinge on a good showing in the Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
 primary. Although he had polled well there throughout the primary season, a disastrous and bizarre attempt at filming a live, special effects-filled, thirty-minute commercial (produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford "Frank" Coppola is a five-time Academy Award-winning United States film director, Film producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, publisher and Hotel manager....
) led to the melt-down of his candidacy. He received just 12% of the vote in the primary. He withdrew from the race the next day, having spent $2 million, won no primaries, and received exactly one delegate to the convention.

Defeat and return

In 1982, Brown chose not to seek a third term as Governor. Instead, he ran for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 for the seat held by Republican S.I. Hayakawa. That year, his alleged mishandling of a medfly infestation
Ceratitis capitata

Ceratitis capitata, the Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly for short, is a species of fruit fly capable of wreaking extensive damage to a wide range of fruit crops....
 of the state's fruit farms sent his approval ratings into a nosedive, and he was defeated by Republican San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson

Peter Barton Wilson is an United States politician from California. Wilson served as the Republican Party thirty-sixth Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and five years as a California State Assembl...
 by a margin of 52% to 45%. Republican George Deukmejian
George Deukmejian

Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. is an United States politician from California who served as the Republican Party thirty-fifth Governor of California and as California Attorney General ....
, a Brown critic, narrowly won the governorship in 1982, succeeding Brown, and was reelected overwhelmingly in 1986. After his Senate defeat in 1982, many considered Brown's political career to be over. During the 1980s, Brown traveled to Japan to study Buddhism, studying with Christian/Zen practitioner Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle
Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle

Aiun-ken Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle was one of the foremost teachers to embrace both Roman Catholic Christianity and Zen Buddhism. Enomiya-Lassalle was born in Germany and was ordained as a Jesuit priest....
 under Yamada Koun-roshi
Yamada Koun

Yamada Koun Zenshin , or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko....
. He also visited Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa , born Agnes? Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was an Albanian people Roman Catholic Church nun with Indian citizenship who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata , India in 1950....
 in Calcutta, India
Kolkata

, Indian renaming controversy , is the Capital of the Indian States and territories of India of West Bengal. It is located in East India on the east bank of the River Hooghly....
, where he ministered to the sick in one of her hospices.

Upon his return from abroad in 1988, he announced that he would stand as a candidate to become chairman of the California Democratic Party
California Democratic Party

The California Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of California. It is presently chaired by former State Senator Arthur Torres....
. Brown won the position in 1989 against the less experienced Steve Westly
Steve Westly

Steven Paul Westly is an United States businessman and politician. He was the California State Controller of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic Party primary for Governor of California in the California gubernatorial election, 2006....
. Westly criticized Brown as the candidate of monied interests. Westly later went on to be enormously successful with eBay
EBay

eBay Inc. is an United States Internet company that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide....
, served as California's State Controller from 2002-2006, and in 2006 ran in the Democratic primary for Governor, but lost to Phil Angelides
Phil Angelides

Philip Nicholas "Phil" Angelides , is a California politician who was California State Treasurer and the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee for Governor of California in the California gubernatorial election, 2006....
.

Brown experienced an abbreviated tenure that could best be described as controversial. He greatly expanded the party's donor base and enlarged its coffers, with a focus on grassroots
Grassroots

A grassroots movement is one driven by the constituent of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures....
 organizing and get out the vote
Get out the vote

"Get out the vote" are terms used to describe two categories of political activity, both aimed at increasing the Voter turnout in one or more elections....
 drives, but was criticized for not spending enough money on TV ads, which was felt to have contributed to Democratic losses in several close races in 1990. In early 1991, Brown abruptly resigned his post and announced that he would run for the Senate seat held by the retiring Alan Cranston
Alan Cranston

Alan MacGregor Cranston was an United States journalist and Democratic Party United States Senate from California....
. Although Brown consistently led in the polls for both the nomination and the general election, he quickly abandoned the campaign, deciding instead to run for the presidency for a third time.

1992 presidential campaign

When he announced his intention to run for president against President George H.W. Bush
George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Bush held a variety of political positions prior to his presidency, including Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan and Director of Central Intelligence under Gerald R....
, many in the media and his own party dismissed his campaign as an ego-trip with little chance of gaining significant support. Ignoring them, Brown embarked on an ultra-grassroots
Grassroots democracy

Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing politics processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization....
 campaign to, in his words, "take back America from the confederacy of corruption
Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption....
, career
Career

Career is a term defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual's "course or progress through life ". It usually is considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
ism, and campaign consulting
Consultant

A consultant is a professional who provides advice in a particular area of expertise such as management, accountancy, the environmental consulting, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, medicine, finance, economics, Public administration, communication, engineering, Audio engineering, graphic design, or waste managemen...
 in Washington". To the surprise of many, Brown was able to tap a populist
Populism

Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the elites." Populism may involve either a philosophy urging social and political system changes and/or a rhetorical style deployed by members of political or social movements competing for advantage within the existing party system....
 streak in the Democratic Party.

In his stump speech
Stump speech (politics)

File:George Caleb Bingham - Stump Speaking.jpgA political stump speech is a standard speech used by a politician running for office. The term derives from the custom in 19th century America for political candidates campaigning from town to town to stand upon a sawed off tree stump to deliver a standard speech....
, first used while officially announcing his candidacy on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population city in the United States. It is the fifth-largest metropolitan area and fourth-largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th-most...
, Brown told listeners that he would only be accepting campaign contributions
Campaign finance

Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for political campaigns. As campaigns have many expenditures, ranging from the cost of travel for the candidate and others to the purchasing of air time for Campaign advertising, candidates often devote substantial time and effort raising money to finance campaigns....
 from individuals and that he would accept no contribution over 100 dollars. Continuing with his populist reform
Reform movement

A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society rather than rapid or fundamental changes....
 theme, he assailed what he dubbed "the bipartisan
Bipartisanship

In a two-party system, bipartisan refers to any Bill , Act of Congress, Resolution , or any other action of a political body in which both of the major political parties are in agreement....
 Incumbent Party in Washington" and called for term limit
Term limit

A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of Term of office a person may serve in a particular elected office. Term limits are found usually in Presidential system and semi-presidential systems as a method to curb the potential for dictatorships, where a leader effectively becomes "president for life"....
s for members of Congress. Citing various recent scandals on Capitol Hill, particularly the recent House banking scandal
House banking scandal

The House banking scandal broke in early 1992 in the United States when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts, but were not being penalized by the House Bank ....
 and the large congressional pay-raises from 1990, he promised to put an end to Congress being a "Stop-and-Shop
Convenience store

A convenience store is a small store or shop that sells candy, ice-cream, soft drinks, lottery tickets, newspapers and magazines, along with a small selection of food and grocery supplies....
 for the monied special interests".

As he campaigned in various primary states, Brown would eventually expand his platform beyond a policy of strict campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform

Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
. Although he would focus on a variety of issues throughout the campaign, most especially his endorsement of living wage
Living wage

Living wage is a term used to describe the minimum hourly wage necessary for a person to achieve some specific standard of living. In developed countries such as the United Kingdom or Switzerland, this standard generally means that a person working forty hours a week, with no additional income, should be able to afford a specified quality or...
 laws and his opposition to free trade
Free trade

Free trade is a type of trade policy that allows traders to act and transact without coercive interference from government. Thus, the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade, with goods and services produced according to the law of comparative advantage....
 agreements such as North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement is a trilateral trade bloc in North America created by the governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico....
 (NAFTA), he mostly concentrated on his tax policy, which had been created specifically for him by Arthur Laffer
Arthur Laffer

Arthur Betz Laffer , is a supply-side economics economist who became influential during the Ronald Reagan administration as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board ....
, the famous supporter of supply-side economics
Supply-side economics

Supply-side economics is a school of macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for people to produce goods and services, such as adjusting income tax and capital gains tax rates, and by allowing greater flexibility by reducing regulation....
 who created the Laffer curve
Laffer curve

In economics, the Laffer curve is used to illustrate the idea that increases in the rate of taxation do not necessarily increase tax revenue. ....
. This plan, which called for the replacement of the progressive income tax
Progressive tax

A progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. "Progressive" describes a distribution effect on income or Consumption , referring to the way the rate progresses from low to high, where the average tax rate is less than the marginal tax rate....
 with a flat tax
Flat tax

A flat tax is a tax system with a constant tax rate. Usually the term flat tax would refer to household income being taxed at one marginal rate, in contrast with progressive taxes that may vary according to such parameters as income or usage levels....
 and a value added tax
Value added tax

Value added tax , or goods and services tax , is a consumption tax levied on value added. In contrast to sales tax, VAT is neutral with respect to the number of passages that there are between the producer and the final consumer; where sales tax is levied on total value at each stage, the result is a cascade ....
, both at a fixed 13% rate, was decried by his opponents as regressive. Nevertheless, it was endorsed by The New York Times
The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
, The New Republic
The New Republic

The New Republic is an United States magazine of politics and the arts. It is published semimonthly and has a circulation of approximately 60,000....
, and Forbes
Forbes

Forbes is an United States publishing and mass media company. Its flagship publication, Forbes magazine, is published bi-weekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune , which is also published bi-weekly, and Business Week....
, and its raising of taxes on corporation
Corporation

A corporation is a legal entity separate from the persons that form it. It is a legal entity owned by individual stockholders. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate ....
s and elimination of various loopholes, which tended to favor the very wealthy, proved to be popular with voters. This was, perhaps, not surprising, as various opinion poll
Opinion poll

An opinion poll is a statistical survey of public opinion from a particular sampling . Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals....
s taken at the time found that as many as three-quarters of all Americans believed the current tax code to be unfairly biased toward the wealthy.

Quickly realizing that his campaign's limited budget meant that he could not afford to engage in conventional advertising, Brown began to use a mixture of alternative media
Alternative media

Alternative media are media which are alternatives to the business or government-owned mass media. Proponents of alternative media argue that the mainstream media are biased....
 and unusual fundraising
Fundraising

Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering money or other gifts in kind, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies....
 techniques which was derided at the time as "silly", but would later be dubbed "revolutionary". Unable to pay for actual commercials, Brown used frequent cable television
Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required....
 and talk radio
Talk radio

Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests....
 interviews as a form of free media to get his message to the voters. In order to raise funds, he purchased a toll-free telephone number
Toll-free telephone number

A toll-free, Freecall, Freephone, or 800 number is a special telephone number, in that the called party is charged the cost of the calls by the telephone carrier, instead of the calling party....
, which adorned all of his campaign paraphernalia. During the campaign, Brown's constant repetition of this number (at rallies, during interviews, and in the middle of debate
Debate

Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examine the consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examine what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is technique of persuasion....
s), combined with the ultra-moralistic
Moralism

Moralism is the firm belief that humans are instilled with innate moral characteristics, a quality unchangeable, only ignorable. Naturally, Moralism denies a moral structure which religion presents, creating a distinct separation between the two....
 language he used, led some to describe him as a "political televangelist
Televangelism

Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christianity faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine....
".

Despite poor showings in the Iowa caucus
Iowa caucus

The Iowa caucuses are an election in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa meet in precinct caucuses in all of Iowa's 1784 precincts and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions....
 (1.6%) and the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire Democratic primary, 1992

The 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary was won by Paul Tsongas, but is known for the insurgent campaign of Bill Clinton, who managed a surprising second place finish....
 (8.0%), Brown soon managed to win narrow victories in Maine
Maine

The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
, Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
, Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
, Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
, and Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
, but he continued to be considered an also-ran for much of the campaign. It was not until shortly after Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday

In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a U.S. presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold United States presidential primary to select delegates to United States presidential nominating convention at which each Political party President of the United States candi...
, when the field had been narrowed to Brown, former Senator Paul Tsongas
Paul Tsongas

Paul Efthemios Tsongas was a United States Senate from Massachusetts and a one-time candidate for the United States Democratic Party presidential nomination....
 of Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
, and frontrunning Governor Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
 of Arkansas
Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
, that Brown began to emerge as a major contender in the eyes of the press.

On March 17, Brown forced Tsongas from the race when he received a strong third-place showing in the Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 primary and then defeated the senator for second place in the Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
 primary by a wide margin. Exactly one week later, he cemented his position as a major threat to Clinton when he eked out a narrow win in the bitterly-fought Connecticut
Connecticut

Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
 primary.

As the press now focused on the primaries in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
 and Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
, which were both to be held on the same day, Brown, who had taken the lead in polls in both states, made a serious gaffe: he announced to an audience of various leaders of New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
's Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish community that, if nominated, he would consider the Reverend Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an American civil rights activism and Baptist Minister of religion. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997....
 as a vice-presidential candidate. Jackson, who had made a pair of anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews.This prejudice or hostility is usually characterized by a combination of Religion, Race , cultural and ethnic group biases....
 comments about Jews in general and New York City's Jews in particular while running for president in 1984, was still a widely hated figure in that community and Brown's polling numbers suffered. On April 7, he lost narrowly to Bill Clinton in Wisconsin (37-34), and dramatically in New York (41-26).

Although Brown continued to campaign in a number of states, he won no further primaries. Despite this, he still had a sizable number of delegates, and a big win in his home state of California would deprive Clinton of sufficient support to win the nomination, possibly bringing about a brokered convention
Brokered convention

A brokered convention refers to a situation in United States politics in which there are not enough delegates 'won' during the United States presidential primary elections for a single candidate to have a pre-existing majority, during the official vote for a political party's presidential-candidate ....
. After nearly a month of intense campaigning and multiple debates between the two candidates, Clinton managed to defeat Brown in this final primary by a margin of 48% to 41%. Although he did not win the nomination, Brown was able to boast of one accomplishment: At the following month's Democratic National Convention
1992 Democratic National Convention

The 1992 National Convention of the USA Democratic Party nominated Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas for President of the United States and Senator Al Gore of Tennessee for Vice President of the United States; Clinton announced Gore as his running-mate on July 9, 1992....
, he received the votes of 596 delegates on the first ballot, more than any other candidate but Clinton. He spoke at the convention and to the nation without endorsing Clinton by seconding his own nomination.

Jerry Brown was the first political figure to criticize Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
 over the Whitewater controversy, during the 1992 Democratic Presidential primary season.

Radio show host

Beginning in 1995, Brown hosted a daily call-in talk show on the local Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio

Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a network of over 100 affiliated stations and five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations in the United States that is known for its liberal and Progressivism in the United States#Contemporary progressivism political orientation....
 station, KPFA
KPFA

KPFA is a listener-funded Progressivism in the United States talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area....
-FM, in Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland, California and Emeryville, California....
. Both the radio program and Brown's political action organization, based in Oakland
Oakland, California

Oakland , founded in 1852, is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Alameda County, California. Oakland is approximately 8 miles east of San Francisco and the cities are separated by San Francisco Bay....
, were called We the People. His programs, usually featuring invited guests, generally explored alternative views on a wide range of social and political issues, from education and health care to spirituality and the death penalty. He strongly critiqued both the Democratic and Republican parties, often referring to himself as a "recovering politician" (a phrase intended as an analogy to the term "recovering alcoholic
Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who share a desire to stop drinking alcoholic beverage. AA suggests members completely abstain from alcohol, regularly attend meetings with other members, and follow its program to help each other with their common purpose; to help members "stay sober and help other alcoholics...
").

Oakland Mayoral Campaign

In early 1998, Brown announced that he was leaving the Democratic Party and changed his party registration to "Decline to State
Decline To State

Decline to State is an affiliation designation on the California voter registration form that allows voters to register to vote without choosing a political party affiliation....
". He terminated his radio show that same year in order to run for the nonpartisan office of Mayor of Oakland. All municipal and county offices in California are by law nonpartisan, but candidates can be registered with any party they wish.

Prior to taking office, Brown also campaigned to get the approval of the electorate to convert Oakland's weak mayor political structure, which structured the mayor as chairman of the city council and official greeter, to a strong mayor structure, where the mayor would act as chief executive over the nonpolitical city manager
City manager

A city manager is an official appointed as the Administration Management of a city, in a Council-manager government form of city government. Called the chief administrative officer in some municipalities....
 and thus the various city departments, and breaking tie votes on the Oakland City Council.

Mayor of Oakland

Within a few weeks of Brown's January, 1999 inauguration, one of his first acts as Mayor of Oakland was to invite the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
 to stage war games titled Urban Warrior
Urban Warrior

Operation Urban Warrior is a United States Marine Corps program created as an exercise meant to plan and test Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain , and Urban warfare in general....
 in the defunct Oakland Army Base
Oakland Army Base

The Oakland Army Base, also known as the Oakland Army Terminal, was a former United States Army base in the San Francisco Bay Area of California....
 and on the closed grounds of the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital after the National Park Service
National Park Service

The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
 rejected the Marines' request to use Crissy Field
Crissy Field

Crissy Field is a park in San Francisco. Crissy Field was originally an airfield, part of the United States' Presidio of San Francisco Army Base....
 in San Francisco. Hundreds of Oakland citizens and anti-military activists rallied against the exercise.

Other efforts included acquiring millions of dollars in state and federal funding to open two charter schools, one of which was a charter military school.

Much to the dismay and anger of his liberal supporters, Brown's politics as Mayor of Oakland were more centrist. He explained this ideological shift as dealing with the realities of being a big-city mayor with real problems. After having left the Democratic Party because he felt that it no longer stood up for progressive ideals, Brown re-registered as a Democrat shortly thereafter. In 2000, Brown endorsed Al Gore
Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an United States environmentalism activist who served as the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President of the United States Bill Clinton....
 for President shortly before the California primary.

10K redevelopment doctrine
Brown continued his predecessor Elihu Harris
Elihu Harris

Elihu Mason Harris is a former United States of America Democratic Party politician and college administrator. He served as mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to until 1999....
's public policy of supporting downtown housing development in the area defined as the Central Business District in Oakland's 1998 General Plan. Since Brown worked toward the stated goal of bringing an additional 10,000 residents to Downtown Oakland, his plan was known as "10K." It has resulted in redevelopment projects in the Jack London District, where Brown purchased and later sold an industrial warehouse which he used as a personal residence, and in the Lakeside Apartments District
Lakeside Apartments District, Oakland, California

The Lakeside Apartments District neighborhood, also known as 'The Gold Coast,' and simply as 'The Lakeside,' is one of Oakland, California historic residential neighborhoods between its Downtown Oakland district and Lake Merritt....
 near Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt

Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon that lies just east of downtown Oakland, California. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. A popular 3.5 mile walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter....
, where two infill projects were proposed and approved, one of which is in its 5th year of construction. The 10k plan has touched the historic Old Oakland
Old Oakland

Old Oakland, formally known as the Old Oakland Historic District, is a historic district in downtown Oakland, California. The area is located on the northwest side of Broadway, between the Oakland City Center complex and the Jack London Square district, and across Broadway from Chinatown, Oakland, California....
 district, the Chinatown
Chinatown, Oakland, California

The Chinatown neighborhood in Oakland, California is a pan-Asian neighborhood which reflects Oakland's diverse Asian American community. It is frequently referred to as "Oakland Chinatown" in order to distinguish it from nearby Chinatown, San Francisco, California....
 district, the Uptown
Uptown Oakland

Uptown is a neighborhood in Downtown Oakland Oakland, California, located just north of the center of downtown. Its boundaries are ill-defined, but most definitions include the area around Grand Avenue at the north, Castro Street on the west, Frank Ogawa Plaza on the south, and...
 district, and Downtown
Downtown Oakland

Downtown Oakland is the core area of Oakland, California's central business district....
.

Opposition to reinstatement of the Vehicle License Fee
In 2003, Brown and fellow Democratic Mayor Jim Hahn
James Hahn

James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn is an United States politician from the Democratic Party , best known for having served a single term as the Mayor of Los Angeles....
 of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
 praised Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and Politics of the United States, currently serving as the List of Governors of California Governor of California of the state of California....
 for his decisive actions regarding the suppression of the reinstatement of portions of the vehicle registration fee, labeled by opponents as the "car tax," and some restoration of state funding for city governments, implying that Gray Davis
Gray Davis

Joseph Graham ?Gray? Davis, Jr. is an United States politician who served as California's 37th Governor of California from 1999 to 2003. Davis is a Democratic Party who was often known as a moderate....
, who had been Governor Brown's Chief of Staff in the 1970s, had acted poorly in this regard.

Attorney General


Election

In early 2004, Brown expressed his interest to be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of California in the 2006 election. On May 18, 2004, he formally filed the necessary papers to begin his campaign for the nomination, including a sworn declaration with the statement "I meet the statutory and constitutional qualifications for this office (including, but not limited to, citizenship, residency, and party affiliation, if required)".

Brown had an active Democratic primary opponent, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
Rocky Delgadillo

Rockard John "Rocky" Delgadillo is the current Los Angeles City Attorney of Los Angeles, California....
. Delgadillo put most of his money into TV ads attacking Brown and spent $4.1 million on the primary campaign. Brown defeated Delgadillo, 63% to 37%. In the general election, Brown defeated Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
 State Senator
State Senator

A state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 50 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's unicameral Nebraska Legislature....
 Charles Poochigian
Charles Poochigian

Charles S. "Chuck" Poochigian is a former California State Senator.He campaigned unsuccessfully in 2006 for California Attorney General, losing to former Governor Jerry Brown in the November general election....
 56.3% to 38.2%, which was the largest margin of victory in any statewide California race except the US Senate in which Dianne Feinstein's opponent did not mount a strong challenge.

In the final weeks leading up to Election Day, Brown's eligibility to run for Attorney General was challenged in what Brown called a "political stunt by a Republican office seeker" (Contra Costa County Republican Central Committee chairman and state GOP vice-chair candidate Tom Del Beccaro). Republican plaintiffs claimed Brown did not meet California's eligibility requirements for the office of Attorney General: according to California Government Code §12503, "No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney General unless he shall have been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the state for a period of at least five years immediately preceding his election or appointment to such office." Legal analysts called the lawsuit frivolous because Brown was admitted to practice law in the State of California on June 14, 1965, and had been so admitted to practice ever since. Although ineligible to practice law because of his voluntary inactive status in the State Bar of California
State Bar of California

The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline....
 from January 1, 1997 to May 1, 2003, he was nevertheless still admitted to practice. Because of this difference the case was eventually thrown out.

Norman Hsu affair

Attorney General Brown's office played a role in events surrounding prominent Democratic Party fundraiser Norman Hsu
Norman Hsu

Norman Yung Yuen Hsu , born October 1951, is a convicted pyramid scheme promoter who associated himself with the apparel industry. His business activities were intertwined with his role as a major fundraiser for the Democratic Party , and he gained notoriety after suspicious patterns of Bundling campaign contributions were reported in 2007....
 in 2007. Hsu had voluntarily returned to California in response to a 1992 warrant for failing to appear for sentencing in a fraud conviction. Brown's office negotiated a 50% reduction in bail with Hsu's attorneys, but the court did not accept the agreement and imposed the full $2 million bail specified in the arrest warrant. Additionally, Brown's office did not challenge releasing Hsu on bail without turning in his passport. After being released on bail, Hsu fled the state with his passport. Hsu was quickly apprehended by federal authorities in Colorado.

Brown received a $3,000 political contribution from an associate of Norman Hsu in 2005, and a lawsuit filed against Hsu by an Orange County investment company alleged that Brown praised Hsu at a 2006 Democratic Party event. Brown's spokesman stated that Brown may have stopped briefly at the event but did not praise Hsu "or in any way vouch for him."

Future political plans

Amid speculation that he may run for a third term as Governor in 2010, following the expiration of Schwarzenegger's current term, Brown has indicated he is open to the prospect.

Electoral history


Personal life

A bachelor as governor and mayor, Brown achieved some prominence in gossip columns for dating high-profile women, the most notable of whom was the singer Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt

Maria Linda Ronstadt , known as Linda Ronstadt, is an United States popular music Singing and entertainer whose vocal styles in a variety of genres have resonated with the general public over the course of her four-decade career....
.

Brown also had a long friendship with Lorenzo Jacques Barzaghi, his aide-de-camp, whom he met in the early 1970s and put on his payroll. According to author Roger Rapaport, writing in California Dreaming 1982, "this combination clerk, chauffeur, fashion consultant, decorator and trusted friend had no discernible powers. Yet late at night, after everyone had gone home to their families and TV consoles, it was Jacques who lingered in the Secretary (of state's) office." Barzaghi lived with Brown in the warehouse in Jack London Square
Jack London Square

Jack London Square is a popular tourist attraction on the waterfront of Oakland, California. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, an Amtrak Oakland-Jack London Square , a Blue & Gold Fleet, the historic Heinold?s First and Last Chance Saloon, the cabin Jack Lond...
, and was brought into Oakland city government upon Brown's election as mayor in 1998, where Barzaghi first acted as the mayor's armed bodyguard. Brown later awarded Barzaghi with high paying city jobs, including "Arts Director." Brown dismissed Barzaghi in July 2004.

In March 2005, Brown announced his engagement to his partner since 1990, Anne Gust, former chief counsel for Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)

The Gap, Inc. is an United States clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F....
. They were married on June 18 in a ceremony officiated by Senator Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein

Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the Seniority in the United States Senate United States Senate from California and a member of the Democratic Party ....
 in the Rotunda Building in downtown Oakland. They had a second, religious ceremony later in the day in the Roman Catholic church
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
 in San Francisco where Brown's parents had been married. Brown and Gust live near downtown Oakland, at the former Sears Roebuck Building, with their black Labrador, Dharma.

Political criticism of Brown

As Governor, Brown proposed the establishment of a state space academy and the purchasing of a satellite
Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an Physical body which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
 that would be launched into orbit to provide emergency communications for the state—a proposal similar to one that would indeed eventually be adopted by the state. In 1978, Mike Royko
Mike Royko

Michael "Mike" Royko was a newspaper columnist in Chicago, Illinois, who won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Over his thirty year career, he wrote over 7,500 daily columns for three newspapers, the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Tribune....
, at the time a Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago Sun-Times is an United States daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois....
 columnist, nicknamed Brown "Governor Moonbeam" because of the latter idea. The nickname quickly became associated with his quirky politics, which were considered eccentric by some in California and the rest of the nation. In 1992, almost 15 years later, Royko would disavow the nickname, proclaiming Brown to be "just as serious" as any other politician.

The song "California Über Alles
California Über Alles

"California ?ber Alles" was the first single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was released in June 1979 on Optional Music with "The Man with the Dogs" as the b-side....
" by the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedys were an United States punk band from the List of musicians in the first wave of punk music of American punk rock, formed in San Francisco, California in 1978....
 is sung from the perspective of Jerry Brown during his tenure as Governor. The song has Brown painting a picture of a hippie-fascist state, satirizing what they considered his mandating of liberal ideas in a fascist manner but the band's lead singer and lyricist Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra

Eric Reed Boucher , more widely known by the stage name Jell-O Biafra, is an United Statesn musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party ....
 has since said Jerry Brown was okay.

In 2006, the murder rate in Oakland in the first two months was triple the same period in 2005, leading some critics to suggest that Brown had failed to make the city safer. Violent crime decreased by a third during his tenure, however, and he attempted to enact several anti-crime programs, including a night curfew for convicted felons which was not implemented. His campaigns to fix the schools, fill downtown with residents, create an "arts" city and curb crime have had mixed success.

Bibliography

  • Bollins, John C. and Robert G. Williams. Jerry Brown: In a Plain Brown Wrapper (Pacific Palisades, California: Palisades Publishers, 1978). ISBN 0-913530-12-3
  • Rapaport, Roger. California Dreaming: The Political Odyssey of Pat & Jerry Brown (Nolo Press Berkeley CA 1982) ISBN 0-917316-48-7
  • Brown, Jerry. Dialogues (Berkeley, California: Berkeley Hills Books, 1998). ISBN 0-9653774-9-0
  • Lorenz, J. D. Jerry Brown: The Man on the White Horse (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1978). ISBN 0-395-25767-0
  • McDonald, Heather. , City Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4, Autumn 1999.
  • Pack, Robert. Jerry Brown, The Philosopher-Prince (New York: Stein and Day, 1978). ISBN 0-8128-2437-7
  • Schell, Orville. Brown (New York: Random House, 1978). ISBN 0-394-41043-2


External links

  • By John Balzar, Los Angeles Times
  • By Tim Reiterman, Los Angeles Times
  • By George F. Will, "The Washington Post"'
  • (30-min. interview, free)