Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 26, 2006 8:12:05 GMT -5
On the other end of the phone, Jerry Brown was complaining that there's not "one scintilla of evidence" that he was soft on crime when he served as California's governor almost a quarter-century ago.
The Oakland mayor and now Democratic candidate for attorney general was reacting to a recent column in which I pointed out that California cops used to hate Brown for being too liberal on crime issues.
Not true, said, Brown, calling such talk "uninformed propaganda from the far right." He said he signed many significant crime bills as governor.
Maybe so, but I don't recall him trumpeting himself as a law-and-order, lock-'em-up politician during his administration, which ran from 1975 to 1983. The terms "Jerry Brown" and "tough on crime" just don't seem to go together. But Brown now says his critics had it all wrong.
Now that he's running for the job of chief law enforcement officer for California, Brown's stance on crime when he was governor again becomes relevant. That's why Brown's political endorsements from police groups are important. They enhance his law enforcement credentials at a time when his Republican opponent, state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno, is attacking
him on crime.
After Brown received the endorsement of the Fresno Police Officers Association the day after the June primary, I suggested in a column that the FPOA support was more about Brown being a strong union backer than it was about him being a crime fighter.
Fair or not, the lasting impression most Californians have about Brown's criminal justice legacy is appointing death penalty opponent Rose Bird as chief justice of the California Supreme Court. But Brown said that appointment is a small part of a vast record on criminal justice issues.
"I sponsored the 'use a gun, go to prison' law and the prison commitment increased 100 % during my tenure," Brown said in the telephone interview.
He also said the state Department of Corrections was much more effective under his administration that it is now. The recidivism rate for prisoners was under 15 % when he was governor, he said, and now it's more than 60 %.
Brown also said mandatory prison sentences for many crimes, including rape, child molestation and heroin sales also were enacted while he was governor. If critics would actually examine his record, he said, they would find that he had a strong record on crime issues.
The Fresno Police Officers Association endorsement of Brown got a lot of attention because Brown claimed it in the hometown of his GOP opponent. It was sort of a, "Take that, Poochigian. You can't even get the cops in Fresno to support you."
That was a good day for the Brown campaign, even though there's no doubt that it was a union endorsement.
I raised that point with Brown the other day, and he countered with another law enforcement endorsement: the California Police Chiefs Association. Pay attention to that one, he said.
"That's management, not a union," Brown said.
Poochigian has repeatedly said that Brown shouldn't be elected attorney general because he is out of step with Californians. But Brown countered that Poochigian, a conservative Republican, is the one who is not in the mainstream in a Democratic state.
He said Poochigian scores low on environmental and consumer issues, which are important to Californians.
"The issues will emerge in this campaign and the voters will look at experience," Brown said. "The attorney general also has a wide variety of responsibilities, including protecting the environment, consumer affairs, helping law enforcement with technology. In all those areas, I can present a very strong case."
Because Brown is so legendary in California, his name identification is very high. One poll said 8 out of 10 Californians know him. But that's a 2-edged sword, and the Poochigian campaign will be reminding voters about the negative times during Brown's long public career.
The Fresno Republican calls Brown's approach to public policy
"unpredictable and erratic."
Poochigian's biggest negative is that he isn't well known outside the San Joaquin Valley. But he is expected to do well in the state's conservative heartland, and he hopes that he can expand his support from there.
But Brown said that he will surprise critics who say he won't do well in the region. "I have a lot of friends in the Valley. I understand there are more Republicans in the Valley, but I'm not giving up any part of the state. I will get a lot of support from Democrats in the Valley."
It's clear that at age 68, Brown isn't going to let this campaign be
driven by a reputation made long ago. But we'll have to see over the next 3-plus months what voters think of the latest Jerry Brown.
(source: The Fresno Bee)
The Oakland mayor and now Democratic candidate for attorney general was reacting to a recent column in which I pointed out that California cops used to hate Brown for being too liberal on crime issues.
Not true, said, Brown, calling such talk "uninformed propaganda from the far right." He said he signed many significant crime bills as governor.
Maybe so, but I don't recall him trumpeting himself as a law-and-order, lock-'em-up politician during his administration, which ran from 1975 to 1983. The terms "Jerry Brown" and "tough on crime" just don't seem to go together. But Brown now says his critics had it all wrong.
Now that he's running for the job of chief law enforcement officer for California, Brown's stance on crime when he was governor again becomes relevant. That's why Brown's political endorsements from police groups are important. They enhance his law enforcement credentials at a time when his Republican opponent, state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno, is attacking
him on crime.
After Brown received the endorsement of the Fresno Police Officers Association the day after the June primary, I suggested in a column that the FPOA support was more about Brown being a strong union backer than it was about him being a crime fighter.
Fair or not, the lasting impression most Californians have about Brown's criminal justice legacy is appointing death penalty opponent Rose Bird as chief justice of the California Supreme Court. But Brown said that appointment is a small part of a vast record on criminal justice issues.
"I sponsored the 'use a gun, go to prison' law and the prison commitment increased 100 % during my tenure," Brown said in the telephone interview.
He also said the state Department of Corrections was much more effective under his administration that it is now. The recidivism rate for prisoners was under 15 % when he was governor, he said, and now it's more than 60 %.
Brown also said mandatory prison sentences for many crimes, including rape, child molestation and heroin sales also were enacted while he was governor. If critics would actually examine his record, he said, they would find that he had a strong record on crime issues.
The Fresno Police Officers Association endorsement of Brown got a lot of attention because Brown claimed it in the hometown of his GOP opponent. It was sort of a, "Take that, Poochigian. You can't even get the cops in Fresno to support you."
That was a good day for the Brown campaign, even though there's no doubt that it was a union endorsement.
I raised that point with Brown the other day, and he countered with another law enforcement endorsement: the California Police Chiefs Association. Pay attention to that one, he said.
"That's management, not a union," Brown said.
Poochigian has repeatedly said that Brown shouldn't be elected attorney general because he is out of step with Californians. But Brown countered that Poochigian, a conservative Republican, is the one who is not in the mainstream in a Democratic state.
He said Poochigian scores low on environmental and consumer issues, which are important to Californians.
"The issues will emerge in this campaign and the voters will look at experience," Brown said. "The attorney general also has a wide variety of responsibilities, including protecting the environment, consumer affairs, helping law enforcement with technology. In all those areas, I can present a very strong case."
Because Brown is so legendary in California, his name identification is very high. One poll said 8 out of 10 Californians know him. But that's a 2-edged sword, and the Poochigian campaign will be reminding voters about the negative times during Brown's long public career.
The Fresno Republican calls Brown's approach to public policy
"unpredictable and erratic."
Poochigian's biggest negative is that he isn't well known outside the San Joaquin Valley. But he is expected to do well in the state's conservative heartland, and he hopes that he can expand his support from there.
But Brown said that he will surprise critics who say he won't do well in the region. "I have a lot of friends in the Valley. I understand there are more Republicans in the Valley, but I'm not giving up any part of the state. I will get a lot of support from Democrats in the Valley."
It's clear that at age 68, Brown isn't going to let this campaign be
driven by a reputation made long ago. But we'll have to see over the next 3-plus months what voters think of the latest Jerry Brown.
(source: The Fresno Bee)