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Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman are vying to become the next governor of California. Four third-party candidates are also on the ballot.
The Press Democrat Editorial Board endorsed Jerry Brown on Oct. 24. A copy of the editorial is attached below. Did the PD Editorial Board make the right decision? Disagree with the choice? Post a comment to share your thoughts with other members of the community.
Want to know more about each candidate?
CLICK HERE to visit Jerry Brown’s website
CLICK HERE to visit Meg Whitman’s website
CLICK HERE to visit the SmartVoter page with information about all six candidates in the race
PD Editorial: For Jerry Brown
Attorney general shows he understands what California is up against
How did we get here? Probably no race is more disappointing, and more difficult to decide for moderate voters in this election, than the contest for governor.
At a time when California needs a leader who will address the state’s structural problems — both financial and physical — with a firm hand and forge working alliances in Sacramento where none exist, voters are presented with two candidates who appeal to the extremes.
On one side is Democrat Jerry Brown, 72, the lifelong politician and former governor who brings back memories of Governor “Moonbeam,” Rose Bird and the Proposition 13 taxpayer revolt.
On the other is Republican Meg Whitman, 54, chief executive of eBay from 1998-2008 who knows her way around Wall Street and Silicon Valley but has no experience with Sacramento or any other political arena.
And it shows. Whitman can be effective on the campaign trail when it comes to summarizing the problems that paralyze the state. And, yes, California could benefit from some new blood and new “outsider” perspectives. But Whitman’s voice and ideas are not what’s needed.
Armed with a massive $160 million-plus war chest — much of it her own money — she has campaigned on simple messages that don’t sell and don’t make sense. She has vowed to eliminate 40,000 state workers through layoffs and attrition and pledged to reduce state spending by $15 billion. It sounds appealing. The truth is California’s ratio of residents to state workers is already one of the lowest in the nation. Furthermore, it’s unclear how she would cut that many jobs without reducing the workforce of the Department of Corrections, which is already facing federal court mandates to relieve crowded prison conditions.
Meanwhile, she’s promised to cut capital gains taxes, blowing another $5 billion hole in the state budget, and invest $1 billion in higher education by trimming benefits to welfare recipients from five years to two years. She’s convinced this will force welfare recipients back to work — in the worst job market in generations.
Moreover, we’re troubled that this former CEO, who puts such emphasis on business acuity and personal responsibility, lacked the discipline to go register to vote during most of her adult life.
As noted above, Brown would not be our top choice. But we believe he has the right balance of experience, pragmatism and independence to make a difference in Sacramento. Brown made his share of mistakes during his service as governor from 1975 to 1983. But he was far more of a hands-on, fiscal conservative than he gets credit for — certainly by today’s standards. Moreover, it’s clear he has been tempered by the years and by his experience as mayor of Oakland, a city with many structural challenges and a no-frills budget.
In endorsing Brown, the Oakland Tribune refuted Whitman’s criticisms of Brown’s mayor track record, noting that he “exceeded most people’s expectations as mayor and brought positive change to a struggling city against very difficult odds.”
Brown has vowed to rebuild the state’s infrastructure, from roadways to railways, and is committed to making the state a leader in the development of business that promote alternative energies. Although he is heavily supported by public employee unions and labor groups, he is not controlled by those interests. He supports a two-tiered retirement system and other measures to bring public employee retirement benefits down to a sustainable level.
To Whitman, the solutions are all clear: Lay off thousands, blow up boxes, cut taxes, take away benefits, run the state more like a business. Her dogged reliance on these bromides shows she lacks the experience, demeanor and understanding to be governor.
For better or worse, Brown speaks his mind. And, unlike his opponent, he has had the good sense not to make promises that can’t be kept or that threaten to drive the state deeper into a financial hole.
Call it what you will. Perspective. Restraint. Maybe common sense — or a combination of all three. Whatever it is, we believe Brown has what it takes to bring some cohesion and focus to Sacramento politics and help the state move in a better direction.
The Press Democrat recommends Jerry Brown for governor.
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Should the Press Democrat or any other news agency be endorsing anybody? It just makes the news they give seem too biased. After all, it seems that the job of the news media should be to give the public information about events instead of giving their opinion of those events.
Maybe it’s just that progressives can’t really put down a good argument for their politics in writing?
Oh, and I can’t stand the tea party, am a registered dem who voted for Obama and likely will again, and voted against the progressive slate for SRCC.
There are a few reasonable dems out there left, you know. We haven’t all been dragged down the progressive cliff.
It drives the Sonoma County progressives absolutely NUTS when democrats don’t go along with them and vote for the most extreme-left candidate. They can’t stand moderation, compromise and actually accomplishing things by working with the other side.
It’s all about getting more of \your kind\ elected, and damn the actually governing.
Brass Tacks
I could say the exact same thing about the so-called “progressives” who post here – “Oppressives” is much more accurate, people who want Big Daddy government to create a nanny state. And the hate-speech and name-calling from the left-wingers absolutely drowns out the moderates and conservatives in most media.
What is this election about? Mark Halperin of Time magazine wrote in the October 11 issue: “With the exception of core Obama Administration loyalists, most politically engaged elites have reached the same conclusions: the White House is in over its head, isolated, insular, arrogant and clueless about how to get along with or persuade members of Congress, the media, the business community or working-class voters.”
That explains what people are voting against.
“Watch Sonoma bloggers do not represent the electorate of Sonoma County, thankfully”
This set of postings has given me a good snapshot of the Watch Sonoma participants relative to the actual electorate in Sonoma County. Reliable polling for Sonoma County has 80% of Democrats voting for Jerry Brown. The county is about 70% democratic registration, with very high voter turnout rates (up to 90% in the 2008 election).
A quick review of the responses to the endorsement shows about 64% of the respondents were negative to the Jerry Brown campaign. Yet the poll numbers for the county show that he will win 60-65% of the vote in Sonoma County, based on registration and current support. What that means is that conservatives are represented on the WSC site at about twice their numbers in the actual electorate.
I wish that i could get more of my progressive friends to log on to WSC, but many of them report that they are repelled by the nasty rhetoric and the undertone of hate from a lot of the right-wing posters. My liberal and progressive friends response is to simply stay away from the site, much as we have all abandoned the Forums, as they got more and more toxic.
I have advised Ted Appel on a number of occasions to use his moderator authority more broadly to screen the really nasty, hate-talk posts, but he has been unwilling to do more than edit out obscenities and death threats. Until the hate speech is screened, you will continue to see the site increasingly dominated by Tea Party zealots. Your call, PD.
Same old politics, same mismanaged government, same bunch of politicians,
same retreads, same mistakes, same unbalanced budget, same lobbies controlling everything, Californians making the same mistakes in elections, and now they listen to the New York times on what or who to endorse, follow the money, Californians deserve the mess they have created and continue to tolerate.
Jerry Brown represents the treadmill mentality that has prevailed in California for far too long. 40 straight years of missed state budget dealines, and thats even during the good (fat)years. California spend $146 BILLION dollars on education last year…$146 BILLION DOLLARS…$146 BILLION DOLLARS…And we come in at 47th out of 50 states…Revenue is obviously not the problem, it’s spending…
@ David Tierra
SFGATE LOL please, thats the fair and balanced EXAM,& CHRON. what happen to there subsription base
I do not think either Brown nor Whitman are the right persons for the job of Governor. We need to start voting for who has the best interest of California and our Nation at heart and stop letting Democrats and Republicans buy their way into office. I am voting for Nightingale who is endorsed by the American Independent Party. Its time we the people start looking beyond big party lines and vote for the right person, not the one who has the most money to run campaigns that buy the office.
Brown had his turn and helped destroy California with ALL power to public and teacher unions that keep their kind in office. Brown would not defend the decisions of the people for serveral issues and problems. Meg has put her money where her mouth is and is very concerned with the direction and lack of jobs in California. She has work experience and is not a professional politician that has been destroying our economy with green ideas. We need budget control and jobs! Get it? Meg must win!
Lets see. Union members have deductions taken out of their wages for politicans they may or may not support. “Living wages” whatever they are? Part time jobs?? The question many are asking is where are the jobs, full time or part time???
The North Bay Labor Council, SEIU and Jerry Brown, their puppet, can’t give an intelligent answer to the question of how they would create jobs. The answer they offer is more of the same.
Since they do not support a capitalist system, and only want power for themselves, they constantly complaint about the oil companies, insurance companies, and other large and small employers who actually do create jobs.
Brown is wrong for California. He and his unions have no plan, just plans to spend tax monies on their elections, wages and pensions.
Mike, A quick internet search will show you that there is less money coming from unions than there is from businesses that support Whitman($20M vs $30M). When you look at the number of people represnted by each side the difference is HUGE. Severeal CEO’s vs hundreds of thousands of employees. Dollars per person…Meg Whitman is getting way more. So what has she promised them…?
The question is do you want living wage jobs or do you want part-time jobs that are barely over minimum wage with no benefits.
Let’s see, one candidate hasn’t voted in years while the other has done the union’s bidding for years. Yes, Lisa, there are two sides to the story. Not a great choice either way, but still an easy one. One candidate gas been a substantial contributor to our current financial mess through his endorsement of grossly generous public employee benefit packages while the other has simply declined to vote. Lesser of two evils.
Mike(who consistently never posts his name when he attacks unions) has it wrong again. The most basic research shows that the Chamber of Commerce,oil companies and insurance and pharmacies who are funding Meg Whitman (and the GOP) give 2 or 3 times as much to their candidates as unions contribute.
And the North Bay Labor Council is not a union.
The public sector unions such as SEIU, North Bay Labor Council, teacher’s union and prison guards pump millions into Brown’s campaign.
These unions are like a giant ATM. They pass out millions to Brown, but they will require him to pay it back in the form of doing their bidding with interest.
If you think the California economy is bad now with 17% or more unemployment and people out of work for two years or more, Brown and the unions are for you.
Brown can’t articulate a program for the state economy or how he would resolve the $19.7 billion dollar deficit.
I can tell you one of first things he would do is raise your taxes and where will the tax money go? Into the public union coffers and public employee pensions.
Meg Whitman hasn’t voted for 28 years but all of a sudden spends 160 MILLION dollars to be Governor?! It’s obvious from her economic plan that her goal is to deregulate and give tax breaks to her billionaire friends at Goldman Sachs. We are all still paying for the last 15 years of Stupid Republican Ideas!! Vote For Jerry!
Jerry Brown said that prop 13 is a ripoff.He wants to change it.
Those of you who have Brown signs in your yard and take advantage of prop. 13 are in for a rude awakening if he is elected.
Mike: You’re going to criticize (incorrectly) how few sources of funding the Brown campaign has when Meg Whitman’s primary source of funding is her own pocket book….
…and her pocket book’s main source of funding was laying off employees and paying herself an outrageous bonus?
WE ARE BROKE! the current system does not work! And you want to elect more of the same? Its time for some common sense and by endorsing brown, it shows how little the PD has. Brown is beholding to the unions plain and simple. He will not be able to make the changes California requires.
This is why I don’t subscribe to the PD. It is written by people with a liberal agenda and little to no common sense.
I agreee that the choice between Whitman and Brown is pretty distasteful for moderate voters. I don’t understand, however, the PD’s rather shallow observation that while Brown is heavily supported by public employee and labor groupd, he is not controlled by them. That statement flies in the face of logic and past experience. Choose Brown if you like, but be honest about it. Make no mistake he is the union’s man.
Meg Whitman, Goldman Sach’s puppet?
Could billionaire former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s longtime relationship with Goldman Sachs — as investor, former board director and recipient of inside stock deals and political donations — pose conflicts of interest if she’s elected California’s next governor?
The San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com and California Watch, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting, joined forces for an in-depth look at the impacts of Whitman’s lucrative dealings with the major investment banking firm — and the possible impacts on her future, the campaign and the state.
Check out the complete story by California Watch reporter Lance Williams
Read more:
http://californiawatch.org/money-and-politics/whitmans-fortune-entwined-goldman-sachs
@David T
One can find recent studies that say the opposite, but I remain skeptical any study involving so many occupations can be very accurate.
The article you reference, though, has an eye catcher of a statement: ” . . public employees also receive “considerably” less supplemental pay and vacation time . . ”
I can believe it about “bonus money,” but I’ve not seen a single company, large or small, that offers as many paid holidays or vacation days as public employment. Nor does the article mention the value of job security. It matters. It’s why many people choose public employment and it adds significant compensation value.
Nor does the article discuss the low employee turnover found in public employment. Job turnover measures whether employees are attracted elsewhere by better offers of pay and benefits. And when the applicant-to-job ratio in public employment falls, then I start believing we have reach pay parity.
Recently, a school teacher in New Jersey was heard complaining to Chris Christie, the Governor, that she was underpaid when one considered her education and experience!
Christie simply told her that she should seek another job that would pay her what she felt she was worth, but he wasnt!
Can anyone imagine Jerry Brown, the PD, or any of the democrats in our state govt telling any public union member in the state the same thing?
Perhaps our city leader will have the body parts to tell the city unions the same thing when they discuss the already overbloated salaries in govt!
@Frank…
Nice statement but recent studies say otherwise. Don’t regurgitate other people’s talking points. There is work that needs to be done with pensions, etc. but know the facts. We can’t solve problems if we don’t know the truth.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/19/MNUJ1FUAOH.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
The truth is California’s ratio of residents to state workers is already one of the lowest in the nation.
The ratio is right, if you count just people in California, but what they forget to tell you is that the state workers are the highest paid in the nation, plus have the best benefits per private vs public, and since wre third in the welfare rate in the nation, that means more tax payers per single public employee
vote for Meg
Shocker…
I cannot believe that even a diehard Democrat would/will vote for Jerry Brown again. What stupidity!
He shouldn’t even be allowed to run, he’s termed out!
It is hard to believe there are still people out there who honestly believe Jerry Brown would make a good governor. His support is SEIU and the other public sector unions. What have they done for you lately? Jerry is going to increase your taxes first thing if he is annointed.
This country has a long history of rejecting politicans who stay beyond their time. At 72 Jerry has stayed well beyond his time.
Jerry isn’t receiving large donations from across California from voters and taxpayers. He is mainly a single source recipient of money from his favorite public unions with a vested interest in seeing things continue as they are.
California can’t pay the bills now, what would Jerry do about that? Use more credit and drive the state economy deeper into debt and joblessness.
Meg Whtiman November 2.
Brown will support education for our kids unlike the current governor. I strongly support Gov Brown. the business model as we have found doesn’t work for government. Brown has the know how to get things done.