Transcript of Primary Night Speech

ned — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:57:19 +0000

Jerry Brown

7 June 2010

Thank you. We’re here on a very auspicious occasion, and I’m here as the democratic candidate for governor. I didn’t check, but I think we made it. But I’m also here as a Californian that’s disgusted with the awful mess in Sacramento and the politicians and the Wall Street bankers who got us there.

Rather than give the typical election night speech, I would like to talk from my heart about the serious problems that we’re really facing.

Honestly, the last thing on my mind – at this stage of my life – was running for governor of California. I reflected a long time on whether this was the right path.

But I looked at the partisan gridlock in Sacramento, and the truth is, I believe I can fix it. Not overnight. It took too long to get here, but I believe that if we pull together, we can fix things and fix it we will. I have no doubt that with your help, that’s what we’re going to accomplish. I know how Sacramento works – and more importantly I know how it should work.

I have the preparation, the know-how – and the independence – to challenge the status quo and get our legislators to work together as Californians first, not just members of the Democratic or Republican Parties. I did that as governor, I did it as mayor and, God willing, I will do it again.

It’s not enough for someone rich and restless to look in the mirror one morning and decide: “Hey, it’s time to be governor of California.” We tried that. And it didn’t work. Puffery, platitudes and promises won’t balance our budget, they won’t fix our schools, and won’t create jobs.

To get anything done, we need a profound change in the way our government operates. Whether in the campaign or in state government, it is time for an agenda of humility: living within our means and a decent measure of self-discipline. It is time for the politicians to grow up and face the fact that we’re in crisis. The world has changed since our financial system hit the wall and almost collapsed. The only way forward now must be built on honesty, frugality, and innovation.

Here’s what I mean by honesty I’m going to level with you. No more smoke and mirrors on the budget. No more sugarcoating on the difficult choices we have to make.

By frugality, I mean simply living within our means. If we have only $85, we can’t spend $100. It’s just that simple. I know how to live within limits. I got rid of the governor’s limousine, his private jet, and instead of the new mansion, I rented an apartment across from the state capitol and paid for it myself.

Taxes were cut, not increased, but cut, and I also vetoed state employee raises I thought excessive. Not once, but twice.

The truth is that I don’t like to spend money. Not my own and not the taxpayers’. We have just seen the two Republican candidates for governor stage a billionaire’s demolition derby. They both say they want to run the state like a business but they set a national record for waste and excessive spending.

California was built by dreamers, doers, and pioneers who led the world in innovation. I myself tried to promote a state communications satellite to cut down on employee travel and earned the nickname “Governor Moonbeam.” I also pushed for renewable energy in the form of windmills in the desert and was derided by cartoonists as a modern day Don Quixote. But a few years later, California had over 90% of the world’s wind generated electricity.

In this campaign, you will hear a lot about what I did and didn’t do. And, yes, I made my share of mistakes. But listen, anyone worth his salt, willing to confront the conventional wisdom and take bold action will always incur hostility and derision.

California can be governed. Of that, I have no doubt. We can attract the creative minds and the doers who will produce the jobs in renewable energy, medical advances, new materials, better designs for living and learning; we can accomplish that.

It is one thing to talk about what you will do once in government. It is quite another to actually accomplish it. I did this job before. On my watch, we reduced taxes by 4-billion dollars. Our schools were among the best in America. We had the country’s strongest environmental protections. We pioneered development of alternative energy. And California created 1.9 million jobs. That’s something we need today. So don’t believe the next 50 million dollars of advertisements, go back to the facts.

When I was mayor of Oakland, I cut through red tape and bureaucratic inertia, and by the way, if you ever want to know about bureaucratic inertia, become a mayor of a big city, because you’re going to find a lot of it. But by doing that we brought thousands of new apartments and condominiums to parts of the city that—for decades—had been abandoned by private investment. Empty lots were replaced by restaurants, stores, and art galleries and 10,000 new residents moved into the heart of Oakland.

As we take every step we can to create the jobs we need, we must never forget that our public schools—often criticized and usually underfunded – are the foundation of our prosperity and that our great university is an engine of ideas and the new jobs of the future.

So we embark tonight on a very difficult but historic mission. We want to take back our state. We want to recapture the dream and the optimism, and the sense of can-do that drew people to California for hundreds of years from all over the world. They still come today with some doubt, but not without the hope and the determination to do what they can.

I love California and, at this point in my life, I would like nothing more than helping fix the state that has given so much to my family. It would be an honor to serve you again as your governor.

The Indomitable Spirit

ned — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:27:24 +0000

Jerry Brown

24 November 2009

As Anne and I get ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow, many fond memories of past family gatherings come to mind. It is on these occasions that my father would often share stories of his family, particularly his grandfather who came across the plains and over the Sierras to Sacramento in 1852. In those days, the challenges were enormous and of a type we can barely imagine.

Today we face entirely different challenges. Whether they are bigger or smaller, I can't say. But I do know that California is still a state of imagination and boundless possibility. Our pioneering spirit is very much alive and will enable us to handle any of our problems, however daunting they may now appear.

As you take time to enjoy Thanksgiving with your own family and reflect on the year that is drawing to a close, you can take renewed encouragement from the courage and achievements that have made California such a unique and wonderful place.

My best wishes to you and your family.

With respect,

Jerry Brown

Statements

Transcript of Primary Night Speech

The Indomitable Spirit