Chuck McFadden - Trailblazer: A Biography of Jerry Brown

Trailblazer

Trailblazer

A Biography of Jerry Brown

Chuck McFadden

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

BerkeleyLos AngelesLondon

University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.

University of California Press

Berkeley and Los Angeles, California

University of California Press, Ltd.

London, England

2013 by The Regents of the University of California

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McFadden, Chuck, 1937.

Trailblazer : A biography of Jerry Brown / Chuck McFadden.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 9780-520275638 (cloth : alk. paper)

eISBN 978-0-520-95501-1

1. Brown, Jerry, 19382. CaliforniaPolitics and government19513. GovernorsCalifornia Biography.I. Title.

F866.2.B732 M 442013

979.4'05092dc23

[B]2012033542

Manufactured in the United States of America

22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fiber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z 39.481992 ( R 1997) ( Permanence of Paper ).

for Barbara

It was a splendid populationfor all the slow, sleepy, sluggish-brained sloths stayed at homeyou never find that sort of people among pioneersyou cannot build pioneers out of that sort of material. It was that population that gave to California a name for getting up astounding enterprises and rushing them through with a magnificent dash and daring and a recklessness of cost or consequences, which she bears unto this dayand when she projects a new surprise the grave world smiles as usual and says, Well, that is California all over.

Mark Twain, Roughing It

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There is a truism about authorship: No book is the work of a single person. This biography is no exception. Without the help of many people, Trailblazer would not have come into being. They have my everlasting gratitude.

My remarkable wife, Barbara, gave invaluable encouragement and research help, and her editing abilities made the task easier and faster. She has a sharp eye for the occasionally clunky phrase and misplaced paragraph. Above all, she managed to put up with months of grumbling and muttering from the author.

Naomi Schneider, my editor at the University of California Press, set a high bar and made sure that I measured up. She guided an unknowing author through a series of hurdles with patience and good humor. She is responsible for the overall concept of the bookquirky state, quirky governorand how the two have coexisted over the years. Her colleague Stacy Eisenstark handled the illustrations and vastly helped ease the way through the requirements of an academic press. Chris Lura, Lorraine Weston, and Rachel Berchten of the University of California Press have my gratitude as well, and so does copy editor Robin Whitaker.

There were so many others: Doug Willis, my comrade-in-arms for years at The Associated Press, provided so much insight and stories that he should probably be listed as a coauthor. Ron Miller, another old friend, was the source of much good cheer and encouragement over the months.

Dan Walters, who has observed Sacramento politics for more than forty years, shared his enthusiasm for California and generously provided a perspective on its problems, potential solutions, and Jerry Browns approach to it all. He even provided the rare early photograph of Jerry Brown, his father, Pat, and Earl Warren posing with the Colusa rancher who hosted them on their duck-hunting expedition.

Steve Glazer, who managed Browns historic 2010 win over Meg Whitman, provided insight into Browns remarkable victory and how he might go about meeting the challenges of his new/old role as Californias governor. Whitmans people have mystified political observers by refusing to speak of the election to reporters, pundits, political scientists, me, or, apparently, anyone else.

Oakland city councilman Ignacio de la Fuente, who ran against Brown for mayor and later became a Brown friend and colleague, provided a lively account of Browns years as mayor, including previously unrevealed stories of their walks together through the citys toughest neighborhoods and a rollover accident on a Mexican highway that almost ended their careers and lives. Chip Johnson, the longtime East Bay columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, shed light on Browns unique personality and his years as mayor of Oakland, especially the last two years of the Brown administration, when the mayor began to look again at a possible run for statewide office.

Barbara OConnor, professor emerita at California State University, Sacramento, was equally generous with her thoughts on the governors approach to his new challenges, and brought to my attention the potential that Silicon Valley has for state leadership and for political/cultural leadership in addition to technology.

Doug Faigin, who served as Browns press secretary during his early years in Sacramento, was extremely helpful in describing how his friend and former boss has changed over the years from the onetime enfant terrible of California politics to elder statesman.

Kevin Starr, Jerry Roberts, Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Jim Brulte, Dan Schnur, Mark Hedlund, Larry Venus, George Skelton, and Peter Schrag, terrific and knowledgeable people all, contributed their time and vast expertise to the story of Jerry Brown over the years. Darrell Steinberg, the busy president pro tem of the California Senate, took time from his schedule to talk about Browns relationship with the state Legislature and his ability to engage instantly in deep study of an issue. I am also grateful to Robert Dutton, the Republican minority leader in the state Senate, for his thoughts on the tax increase negotiations with Governor Brown. David McCuan, a thoughtful political scientist at Sonoma State University, provided invaluable help with the history of political techniques in California, especially in the rise of Whitaker & Baxter, the firm that brought stainless steel politicking to the Golden State long before it arrived nationwide. Jerry Meral, one of Californias leading water experts, contributed to my understanding of the states water challenges and possible solutions.

Thanks go also to Bill Boyarsky, author, editor, and astute political reporter, and Dale Maharidge, Pulitzer Prizewinning author, each of whom reviewed the manuscript and provided a number of suggestions that resulted in its great improvement. A third reviewer, who rescued me from what otherwise would have been two embarrassing mistakes, chose to remain anonymous. He or she has my gratitude.

I have been fortunate enough to know five photographersWalt Zeboski, Eric Risberg, Sal Veder, and Rich Pedroncelli of The Associated Press and Dick Schmidt of the Sacramento Bee who were not only leaders of the pack in covering breaking news but were also poets with cameras. Sal is a Pulitzer Prize winner; all of them should be. Dick made a series of terrific pictures from his private archive available. The wonderful Mary Lou Mangold engineered the connection that made the use of Dicks photos possible.