Jerry Brown

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jerry Brown
Brown in 2006
34th and 39th Governor of California
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 7, 2019
LieutenantAbel Maldonado
Gavin Newsom
Preceded byArnold Schwarzenegger
Succeeded byGavin Newsom
In office
January 6, 1975 – January 3, 1983
LieutenantMervyn Dymally
Mike Curb
Preceded byRonald Reagan
Succeeded byGeorge Deukmejian
31st Attorney General of California
In office
January 9, 2007 – January 3, 2011
GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded byBill Lockyer
Succeeded byKamala Harris
47th Mayor of Oakland
In office
January 4, 1999 – January 8, 2007
Preceded byElihu Harris
Succeeded byRon Dellums
6th Chairman of the California Democratic Party
In office
February 11, 1989 – March 3, 1991
Preceded byPeter D. Kelly III
Succeeded byPhil Angelides
24th Secretary of State of California
In office
January 4, 1971 – January 6, 1975
GovernorRonald Reagan
Preceded byH. P. Sullivan (Acting)
Succeeded byMarch Fong Eu
Personal details
Born
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.

(1938-04-07) April 7, 1938 (age 85)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Anne Gust (m. 2005)
ParentsPat Brown
Bernice Layne Brown
RelativesKathleen Brown (sister)
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Yale University
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American politician. He was the 39th Governor of California from 2011 to 2019. He was also the 34th Governor of California from 1975 to 1983.[1] In 2010, he was elected Governor of California. On November 4, 2014, he was re-elected governor.[2] Brown is a member of the Democratic Party. He has also been California's Secretary of State, Attorney General of California, and was the mayor of Oakland for eight years.[3] He ran for President of the United States in the Democratic primaries in 1976, 1980 and in 1992.

Early life[change | change source]

Brown was born in San Francisco, California. His father was Pat Brown who also served as Governor of California until losing re-election to Ronald Reagan. His mother was Bernice Layne Brown. He was raised in San Francisco. Brown studied at Yale University and at the University of California, Berkeley.

Early career[change | change source]

Brown began his political career as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees from 1969 to 1971. He later served as Secretary of State of California from 1971 to 1975.

Governor of California[change | change source]

Elected Governor in 1974 at age 36, Brown was the youngest California governor in 111 years.

Brown declined to run for a third term in 1982, instead running for the United States Senate in 1982. However, he was defeated by Republican Mayor Pete Wilson (who himself would later become governor), and many considered his political career to be over. After travelling abroad, Brown returned to California and served as Chairman of the California Democratic Party (1989–1991), resigning to run for the Senate again in 1992.

Running against Meg Whitman in 2010, Brown became the 39th Governor in 2011; on October 7, 2013, he became the longest-serving governor in California history, surpassing Earl Warren. He was reelected in 2014 with sixty percent of the vote. As a consequence of the 28-year gap between his second and third terms, Brown has been both the sixth-youngest California governor (the youngest since 1863) and the oldest California governor in history.

On November 23, 2017, Brown pardoned 70 year old Craig Richard Coley after DNA tests showed he was not involved in the murders of his ex girlfriend and her son in 1978.

Alleged 2016 Presidential bid[change | change source]

Brown had been thought likely to run for the Democratic nomination for President in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He had expressed some interest in doing so, particularly if Hillary Clinton did not run.[4][5][6] However, in an interview in 2014, Brown ruled out running. He did not rule out running for another term as Mayor of Oakland, saying that "I wouldn't mind being mayor of Oakland. But I don't know, when I'm 80 and a half, whether I'll have the same appetite. I'm very excited doing this job. [Still], I don't want to foreclose my options for four years from now."

In an interview by CNN during the second Republican Primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Brown hinted at a possible presidential bid in 2016.[7] He stated that "I'll jump in when the time is appropriate".[8]

Personal life[change | change source]

Brown and his wife Anne Gust in 2013

Brown married his girlfriend of fifteen years, Anne Gust, in 2005.[9]

In April 2011 Brown had surgery to remove a basal-cell carcinoma from the right side of his nose.[10] In December 2012, media outlets reported that Brown was being treated for early stage (the precise stage and grade was not stated) localized prostate cancer with a very good health.[11]

The official gubernatorial portrait of Jerry Brown, painted for his first term as Governor of California, was painted by Don Bachardy. It was shown to the public for the first time in 1984. The painting is controversial because it is not like all of the other portraits.[12]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Jerry Brown takes oath again as Calif. governor". USATODAY.COM.
  2. "General Election - November 4, 2014". KCBS. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  3. Elinson, Zusha (2 September 2010). "As Oakland Mayor, Jerry Brown Remade Himself and Downtown". The New York Times.
  4. Philip Rucker (May 28, 2014) "Gov. Jerry Brown says 2016 Democratic nomination is Hillary Clinton’s ‘if she wants’", The Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  5. Terence Cullen (July 21, 2014) "List of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2016 expands: report", Daily News. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  6. Jason Linkins (July 13, 2014) "The Brutalist Guide To 2016's Democratic Contenders (Not Named Hillary Clinton)", The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  7. Pollak, Joe (September 17, 2015) "Jerry Brown Hints at 2016 Run", Breitbart. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  8. Warren, Michael (September 17, 2015) "Jerry Brown Considering Run For President?", Weekly Standard. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  9. Garchik, Leah (June 19, 2005). "Oakland's royal wedding: Nearly 600 attend Jerry Brown's nuptials". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  10. "PolitiCal". Los Angeles Times. April 30, 2011.
  11. "Calif. governor being treated for early stage prostate cancer". News.msn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  12. William Kloss; Diane K. Skvarla; Jane R. McGoldrick (2002). United States Senate Catalogue of Fine Art. Government Printing Office. p. xxviii. N6505 .U479 2002. Retrieved April 9, 2013.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to Jerry Brown at Wikimedia Commons Quotations related to Jerry Brown at Wikiquote