Opinion: Brown trumps Newsom for California governor

By Dominick Delgadillo
STAFF WRITER

As the 2010 California gubernatorial race looms on the horizon, Mayor Gavin Newsom has thrown his name in the pot of possible candidates. If residents of the City by the Bay think voting for him is the obvious decision, they may have neglected to notice his competition: Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has added his name for consideration, which means that Newsom now has a worthy opponent.

Newsom has been mayor of San Francisco for the past six years. During that time he has brought about initiatives to dramatically change the city’s governing principles. As a strong advocate of same-sex marriage, he was not shy about voicing his opposition to Proposition 8, which unfortunately passed in November 2008, making marriage an institution only legal between a man and a woman.

His recent involvement with the San Francisco Unified School District has been met with a warm welcome. Newsom’s Rainy Day Fund contributed approximately $19.2 million to San Francisco’s school board, which helped to offset more than 250 possible layoffs in 2008. This year, he informed SFUSD the fund would only be providing $11.5 million, which will offset 133 to 160 layoffs in public schools. He has also been pushing for more after-school programs and preschools in every neighborhood in the city.

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., known affectionately as Jerry, has been an unsung hero of our state. While his occupation attracts less media coverage, he has been worthy of public praise.

Since graduating from Harvard Law School 49 years ago, Brown has rid our state of many criminals. As attorney general and former governor of California, he passed laws to guarantee jail time for violent, fraudulent and sexual offenders. His determination to fight crime led him to the supreme court, fighting President Nixon’s attorney in a tax fraud case.

Given that he is running for governor for a second term, residents of California should know he was, and is, a strong advocate of the California Fair Political Practices Act, which mandates specific allocation and sources of campaign funds.

Newsom doesn’t know when to say no. True, he fought to get urban gardens planted in various low income communities, however, he also let MUNI tank by allowing Chief Nathaniel Ford to keep his position. Ford makes over $300,000 a year and still can’t seem to find the budget to keep buses in proper working order, allow for decent health insurance for his employees or properly allocate funds. The $700 million Ford spent on the failed Third Street light rail illustrates his shortcomings.

Considering all the possibilities for this office, including the number of mostly irrelevant alternative candidates, Jerry Brown is the clear choice for governor.

His compass for goodness and ability to properly govern himself, his employees and an entire state leave me with no choice but to declare him the hopeful winner of the 2010 gubernatorial race.

I’m spreading the word to vote Jerry Brown for governor.