By Leonardo Castaneda, Staff columnist
Democrats must have been pretty desperate to dig up Jerry Brown from California’s political graveyard. Now, he’s back and determined to reclaim the Golden State throne as governor. He comes armed to the teeth with new slogans and fresh ideas, but voters, ask yourselves whether this child of the political machine has a sufficient attention span to implement them.
Brown has been in California politics long enough to have helped draft gold rush regulations. He served as governor from 1975 to 1983, during which time he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination twice, the first time just a year after taking oath in California.
After failing in the 1992 presidential race, he adjusted and downgraded his ambitions, deciding to run for mayor of Oakland. He began by trying to fix schools. When it proved harder than expected, in the words of a school board member, he “lost interest.”
He lost interest because after all his years in the cogs of the political system, he has developed the selfishness and attention span of a 5-year-old. Constantly jumping between his job and upcoming elections, Brown doesn’t settle down long enough to get anything done.
That’s not to say his ideas are half–baked. They’re fresh and could potentially pull the state out of its economic slump. He plans to spur job creation in green technology, increasing energy production through renewable resources. Meanwhile, he plans to increase efficiency and construct short and long-term jobs by investing in energy through efficient retrofitting of the state’s aging infrastructure. Not only would this decrease unemployment rates, but it would also reduce our energy consumption and jump-start the sustainable energy industry. Brown wants to reinvest in California’s higher education, particularly in community colleges, reducing financial pressure on the CSU / UC systems. His multifaceted plan for public education consists of a mix of magnet, charter and traditional schools with a more creative curriculum. More efficient and comprehensive student testing, along with investments to train and keep outstanding young teachers, could wake up California schools from their tenure–induced comas.
This originality and pragmatism can be seen in all of his proposals. Brown even proposes traditionally right wing ideas — such as tax cuts for businesses and reductions of bureaucracy — that are sure to encourage bipartisanship.
This sensible approach to government is just what Sacramento needs, and Brown claims his history with politics puts him in the best position to deliver. He may have plenty of experience, but a vast majority of it has been amassed while unsuccessfully campaigning. Brown’s record shows a lack of follow through, a personal quality of his that has doomed far too many of his proposals. Throughout his career, he’s relied on a cult of personality for election, and now he’s banking on voter nostalgia and dissatisfaction for a Democratic comeback.
This election presents an opportunity for Californians to look past the two dominant parties. The current political oligarchy has given Democrats and Republicans a stranglehold on the American government, allowing them to handpick ineffective candidates and sell them to us with the banner of democracy. Take a look into third party candidates that can apply new energy and creativity for real progress. In an election where the primaries simply reinforced the status quo, the third party vote could be the wake–up call the Democratic Party needs.
— Leonardo Castaneda is a business administration freshman.
— The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.
