Jerry Brown spent Labor Day weekend on the campaign
trail, unveiling his first campaign ad in Los Angeles and speaking at a union picnic in Sacramento.
"Brown accused the campaign of the GOP's gubernatorial
nominee, Meg
Whitman, of "trying to create fear and loathing on
the campaign trail."
"It's not a time to scapegoat illegal immigrants or
scapegoat public employees," he said.
Brown said that Sacramento "is a little screwed-up," but vowed to
focus on solving the state's budget problems. "We're
going to bring in
groups -- business, labor -- and we're going to talk about it. It's like
a big collective bargaining" session.
Brown also focused on his long political record as
an asset, and said he would speak candidly if he is
elected governor. "I'm going to level with you. I'm
going to tell you the truth," he
said. "California is not a logo to be rebranded by
Meg Whitman."
You can watch Brown's new ad here.
Monday afternoon, Brown was joined by Sen. Barbara Boxer at a Labor Day event in Alameda.
Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta report, "Officials kicked
off the program by handing "golden hatchets" to actors
dressed up as Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina,
who is challenging three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, and former EBay
chief Whitman, who is running against Atty. Gen. Jerry
Brown.
"If we do our job
right we are going
to drive Meg Whitman so far out of politics that she
will have spent
all of her money — and after the election don't be surprised if we see
her in an apron asking people if they want fries with
their burger,"
said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los
Angeles County Federation of Labor. "Today is the beginning
of the
fight, the beginning of the resistance to Meg Whitman's
unprecedented
attempt to buy the governorship of California."
"The gathering at the conference center of the Cathedral
of Our Lady of
the Angels, and later events in Sacramento and Oakland,
highlighted the
critical role labor will play in the governor's race.
Unions have served
as a powerful counterweight to Whitman's wealth, spending
at least $14
million over the summer to keep Democratic nominee
Brown competitive
against his billionaire rival, who has put $104 million of her own money
into her effort."
Michael Mishak looks at what Meg Whitman's money is buying her on the campaign trail.
"Those donations have allowed her to target her campaign
mailings to the
smallest subsets of voters and sort out which television
shows are
popular among independent voters. (It turns out they are big fans of
"Bones," the crime show rife with romantic tension,
on which Whitman has
aired ads.)
"Dozens of outside consultants and a
paid staff the size of some presidential campaigns
run an operation that
seems to be the living embodiment of Whitman's book
title: "The Power
of Many." After record amounts spent on television
advertising, mail and
ground organization, there has even been enough money
left over to
sponsor a youth soccer team."
Soccer? Does this madness know no bounds?
Will California be a political firewall for Democrats in what is expected to be a Republican year across
the country?
"Across the country, Democrats are morose and Republicans
jubilant about their prospects, with the intransigent
economy feeding a voter revolt against the party that
controls the White House
and Congress. Prognosticators are competing to issue
dire predictions
of sweeping Democratic losses in legislatures, governor's
offices,
congressional delegations and Senate seats.
"Yet California, at least for now, is different. The
two top races, for governor and U.S. Senate,
are acknowledged by all sides to be too close to call,
a victory of
sorts for both parties. Few expect much adjustment
in the legislative or
congressional lineups. Part of the reason is structural: District lines
drawn to protect incumbents have isolated the lawmaking
houses from
both Democratic and Republican tides for a decade.
Part is geographical:
Even powerful storms lose their strength as they blow
from Washington
to the West Coast."
We thought weather moved west to east, but we digress...
Cathleen Decker reports the state's weak economy has
turned voters more conservative.
"A detailed portrait of the state's likely November
electorate, drawn
last week by pollster Mark Baldassare at the Public
Policy Institute of
California, showed heightened economic concerns and
increased
ideological polarization in the last several years.
Both factors, this
year, would favor Republicans. But the review also
demonstrated that the demographic changes that have
benefited Democrats in California continue unabated.
"Over the short term — say the nine weeks until election day — Republican
views are ascendant, though that appears to be more
a reaction to
economic woes than a permanent realignment of the state's
political DNA."
Carla Rivera reports new legislation will require California children entering kindergarten turn 5 by Sept. 1 rather than Dec. 2.
From our Where Are They Now Files, the Orange County
District Attorney fired former Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, the deputy once hand-picked to be his successor.
"Todd Spitzer, a former assemblyman and Orange County
supervisor, was at
one point Rackauckas' hand-picked successor and has worked at the
prosecutor's office since last year, moving between
assignments
apparently to get on-the-job experience.
"Spitzer has made no secret of his
desire to become district attorney and was prepared
to run against
Rackauckas, but he backed off when the district attorney
said he would
bring him aboard and probably support his candidacy
in 2014.
"What changed was the firing of Todd," said Rackauckas'
chief of staff,
Susan Kang Schroeder. "He was hoping to hand off the
office to someone
he trusted, and now circumstances have changed."
"Spitzer says he was fired for political reasons,
most likely to make room for Schroeder to run for district
attorney herself."
Speaking of ambitious prosecutors, Steve Cooley's political donations have raised questions
about the targets of his investigations.
"Cooley's top anti-corruption deputy says there is no
connection between campaign money and the district
attorney's
investigation or prosecution of public officials.
"But the donation
highlights a tricky choice for an elected prosecutor
like Cooley. Where
does he draw the line on taking money from people
who could figure in
an investigation?
"The question has also arisen in Bell Gardens. Cooley's
campaign accepted $13,000
from City Manager Steve Simonian, a longtime friend and former aide,
during and immediately after an inquiry involving two
of Simonian's
bosses on the City Council.
Cooley's campaign spokesman, Kevin
Spillane, said the prosecutor's ethical line is clearly
drawn: Political
fundraising has no influence on the work of the district
attorney's
office. Suggesting otherwise is "ridiculous and it's
insulting," he
said. Cooley doesn't track all the donations his campaigns
have raised,
he said.
And finally, "San Francisco police have arrested a
man who scaled the exterior of a
58-story downtown skyscraper and unfurled an American
flag at the top.
"Police tell KCBS Radio that the man is veteran
skyscraper climber Dan Goodwin. The 54-year-old Lake Tahoe resident's
other climbing credits include Chicago's Sears Tower.
Goodwin used suction cups but no ropes to scale
Millennium Tower, a 645-foot residential building overlooking San
Francisco Bay. Police say he ignored orders to stop
climbing."
Suction cups? Couldn't the dud just shoot webs out
of his wrist?
