Son of Brown

Son of Brown

Now that Jerry Brown has cleaned up Oakland enough to make yuppies feel comfortable about living in live/work spaces downtown, the onetime talk show host wants to be California’s Attorney General. The run is a test of how Brown’s new law-and-order image will go over for those who remember him as the governor who opposed the death penalty and dated Linda Ronstadt. It’s also another office once held by his father Pat. Before being elected governor in the ’50s, Pat Brown was Attorney General. All this father-son intrigue is the perfect backdrop for the very readable California Rising: The Life and Times of Pat Brown (UC Press, 2005), an exploration of the Brown political dynasty by Berkeley journalist and former political reporter Ethan Rarick. I rang up the author to see what he thinks Jerry’s chances are, riding once again on his father’s coattails.

Paul Kilduff: In your book you mention that Pat Brown would always roll down his window when stuck in traffic to talk to strangers.

Ethan Rarick: That’s true. He was the ultimate retail politician. He never quit shaking hands, saying hello to people, talking to people. He was relentless.

PK: Is Jerry Brown the antithesis of his father?

ER: Personally he is much less outgoing. Politically he is far less a believer in the power of government. Everybody thinks of Jerry as this cultural liberal because he was the young governor who dated Linda Ronstadt and lived in an apartment. But Jerry’s always had a streak of fiscal conservatism in him. He used to say, when he was governor, small is beautiful–referring to government.

PK: How would you describe Jerry as mayor of Oakland?

ER: He’s become much more conventional as mayor of Oakland. He’s cozied up to real estate developers; he’s encouraged the police to crack down on crime. Jerry has a very complicated personality. You get the 1992 counterculture insurgent presidential campaign followed by the conventional law-and-order, pro-business mayoralty in Oakland. That’s a reflection of Jerry’s willingness to move around the political spectrum more than most politicians do.

PK: What’s his appeal? He seems very standoffish, a celebrity who wants to be left alone.

ER: I think his appeal when he ran for mayor of Oakland was that he was a former governor and had a big name. At the same time he’s an incredibly smart guy–knows a lot about public policy. It’s going to be interesting to see how his appeal plays statewide when he runs for attorney general next year. I’m sure he will be attacked as the death-penalty opponent, the guy who appointed Rose Bird, the relic from the 1970s–Governor Moonbeam. On the other hand, he will defend himself as the law-and- order, tough-guy mayor of Oakland; the Rudy Giuliani of the West Coast; the guy who brought in a lot of real estate development, helped the city of Oakland get back on its feet. I don’t know which of those arguments is going to carry the day across the state.

PK: What has he really done for Oakland?

ER: I don’t think he’s been the perfect mayor but I think he’s done some things. Some of the real estate projects have probably been good for the city. I don’t know if he could have brought back a vital downtown shopping district–I’m not sure any mayor could do that. Stores go where there are people with lots of money to spend. I think he’s less popular now than when he was first elected. You do hear a lot of grumbling in Oakland about his time as mayor but then you heard of lot of grumbling about Elihu Harris and the previous mayors, too, so it’s a city that is tough to run.

PK: Pat Brown led the way to paving over the state with freeways and created a master plan for higher education. Later his son makes a big deal about halting one little freeway from Cupertino to Gilroy. Was Pat a product of his time, or was it his personality?

ER: It was both. He definitely believed in government’s role in solving problems. Today you hardly ever hear that. The modern conservative movement has demonized government for the last 40 years and so nobody would come along and say, as Pat used to say, “I’m a big government man.” He came along when society was ready to use govern- ment to address those problems. He articulated those kinds of ideas very well. People always ask me how do we find another Pat Brown because they remember this as the golden age of the state. In a way that’s the wrong question because given the political climate I don’t think that Pat Brown would be elected governor today. The question, to me, really is: How do we revive a sense of public invest- ment, public activism, a sense that government has a positive role to play and can do some things well?

PK: Do you think California could stomach another political family dynasty like that of the Browns?

ER: I think the West is a tough place for dynasties. The Brown dynasty certainly has weakened. Obviously Jerry succeeded in becoming governor but then Kathleen did not. Nobody else in the family has gotten into politics, so the Brown dynasty probably will shrivel up whenever Jerry’s career ends.

PK: Did he cooperate with you on this book?

ER: Yeah. I talked to him. He gave me access to his papers at USC. The family was cooperative. They didn’t have any control over the book nor did they seek to, but they were helpful.

PK: It seems like Jerry Brown lives for keeping people on their toes.

ER: He does love to keep people on their toes. He loves to argue. He loves to be provocative. And he’s capable of doing that. He’s a smart guy so he can definitely spice up a conversation.

Suggestions? E-mail Paul Kilduff at pkilduff@sbcglobal.net.

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