Presence at event rankles rival

[ilbegone]

Presence at event rankles rival

October 11, 2009

The Press-Enterprise

The battle for the Democratic gubernatorial race took an Inland turn this month.

Attorney General Jerry Brown headlined a fundraiser for San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.

The problem? Ramos is a Republican, and Brown's office is helping the district attorney in a local corruption investigation.

Now, Brown, who launched an exploratory committee for a run for governor, is coming under fire from his potential Democratic opponent, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

After the fundraiser, Newsom campaign manager Nick Clemons sent a note to supporters asking them to sign a letter urging Brown "not to raise money for right-wing Republican politicians who will take California in the wrong direction."

Clemons' letter cites Ramos' support for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former President George W. Bush.

"At a time when the state Republican Party refused to help solve the crisis that pushed California to the brink of collapse and forced draconian cuts in higher education, health care and vital services, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor is headlining a fundraiser for one of California's Republican politicians?" Clemons wrote.

"Why would Jerry Brown do this?"

Steven Glazer, a Brown senior adviser, said the appearance at the fundraiser is not an issue.

"This is a nonpartisan office with no announced Democratic opponent," he said of the San Bernardino County DA. "Mr. Ramos has been an effective crime fighter. The attorney general's evaluation is based on public safety and not partisan politics."

Ramos is up for re-election next year.

[Rim05]

Shows the political intelligence of Jerry Brown.

[ilbegone]

Former "Governor Moonbeam" lives in another universe. He dismantled nearly everything his father built with the "small is beautiful" nonsense.

If either he or Newsome take the election, California is done.

If I have Newsome right, he believes that there is not a thing wrong with California that legalization of gay marriage can't fix, and I believe Brown can be found on the same planet as Barbara Boxer and Ralph Nader.

San Bernardino County has had a lot of problems with corruption, from the Sheriff's department to the Assessor's office to who knows what else. Shades of Tammany Hall?

I don't really know that much about about Ramos, but I believe the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office has a policy of clogging the courts with defendants with every police report filed, including obviously spurious 911 calls concerning petty, vindictive and essentially socially harmless personal squabbles.

Somewhat off the topic, Riverside County has that very same policy with DA Rod Pacheco's county office. However, Riverside county doesn't seem to have near the problem with political corruption.

[Kathy63]

Former "Governor Moonbeam" lives in another universe. He dismantled nearly everything his father built with the "small is beautiful" nonsense.

If either he or Newsome take the election, California is done.

If I have Newsome right, he believes that there is not a thing wrong with California that legalization of gay marriage can't fix,

Small correction. Nothing wrong with California that legalization of gay marriage, legalization of millions of criminal aliens and legalization of marijuana can't fix.

[LAPhil]

Well I say good on Jerry Brown for this one thing. I don't agree with him on anything else, but at least it shows he's not all bad.

[Kathy63]

Jerry Brown did it for me when he refused to defend the state during the Prop 8 fight.

He's an attorney. He's attorney general. He does not get to pick and choose what he will and won't do according to his personal opinion. His JOB is the defend the state and the state's laws.

[Ayatollahgondola]

He's got quite a bit to overcome with me too,

During his term as governor, he helped quash the cross town freeway here in Sac, and sold off the land that had already been purchased for it. Now we have gridlock on the artery it was meant to keep fluid. His forward thinking capabilities are there, but he chooses his monied interests over them
Also, remember that he said he was going to give his attention to the governorship, but as soon as he got elected, opened a candidacy for president

[ilbegone]

He's got quite a bit to overcome with me too,

During his term as governor, he helped quash the cross town freeway here in Sac, and sold off the land that had already been purchased for it. Now we have gridlock on the artery it was meant to keep fluid. His forward thinking capabilities are there, but he chooses his monied interests over them
Also, remember that he said he was going to give his attention to the governorship, but as soon as he got elected, opened a candidacy for president

I believe the "forward thinking" concerning the freeway had to do with forcing people out of cars and onto mass transit.

No reason to build a new freeway if everyone rides the bus, and frustration with traffic congestion might do the trick to get mass transit funded and used by the general public.

Naturally, most of the "elite" won't mingle with the unwashed masses: giving up personal transportation is for "the others".

[LAPhil]

He's attorney general. He does not get to pick and choose what he will and won't do according to his personal opinion. His JOB is the defend the state and the state's laws.
That's what he did in this case, which is why I commended him. Don't get me wrong, Jerry Brown is the last person I would like to see elected governor (with the possible exception of Gavin Newsom), and I can't think of one other thing I like about anything he's done. I was just surprised that he did this one good thing.