Jerry Brown goes to a bar! (And also works to get his budget approved)

David Siders appears to be the celbrity reporter assigned to post trivial gossip about the doings of California Gov. Jerry Brown. As in this: Jerry Brown returns to the Torch Club Sacbee Capitol Alert 02/09/2011. Jerry went to an old bar he likes! And he drank a bourbon with his wife!

Steven Harmon finds more substantive things to say in Brown is determined to change the tone of the Capitol Contra Costa Times 02/13/2011. Although he focuses a lot on symbolism, he does a decent job of putting it in the context of Brown's governing style. He actually gives a decent description of why things like Jerry flying to Los Angeles on Southwest without an entourage is both incomprehensible to most reporters but understandable for voters:

Asked to explain how he can travel with no security detail or crowd of aides -- unheard of during Arnold Schwarzenegger's term -- Brown gave a glimpse of his guiding political principles.

"If you have too much of an entourage and a bubble, it begins to corrupt and contaminate your mind, so you think you're a big shot ... and slowly but surely, you get more distance from the people you're supposed to be serving. And that tends to disable you from representing them." [my emphasis]

This is one tidbit of how Jerry is doing business that I haven't heard before:

When they drop by his office, legislators and other visitors are offered a hard wooden bench at a picnic table that Brown says he likes his visitors to sit at.

"I want people when they come in my office to know they're on a hard surface," Brown told city officials last month. He later told reporters, "After awhile you want to leave, depending on the strength of your posterior."

The clock is ticking on Jerry's budget proposals:

Brown has about a month left to get his budget approved so he can place on the June ballot an extension of temporary taxes on purchases, income and vehicles that would raise about $14 billion annually. He's also proposed $12.5 billion in cuts as part of his plan to solve the state's $26.6 billion deficit.

Brown's whirlwind personal lobbying campaign intensified last week with separate meetings with all four legislative caucuses and an address to hundreds of business leaders in Los Angeles.

Conventional practice for California governors is to do a personal tour of the state after announcing budget proposals in order to explain them to the press and the public. Jerry has largely focused so far on staying in Sacramento and meeting with legislators.

Which makes sense, given his plan to put revenue measures on the ballot. Once the legislature approves those to be on the ballot, I would expect him to campaign actively for the ballot measures. Unlike Schwarzenegger's barely-going-through-the-motions campaign in 2009 for ballot measures on which his budget proposals depended.

Harmon ends with this summary of Jerry's governing style:

"What most people appreciate about Brown is that he's trying to have an adult conversation with 38 million people, said Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto.

"It shows regard and respect for the public," Simitian said. "I think he's very respectful of the voters. He's trusting that the voters will make smart choices if given the right information."

Brown, who had his own troubles working with legislators during his first terms as governor, hinted to reporters that the hubris of leaders has rarely paid off.

"I think there was a governor once who said it was his job to give the orders and the job for everyone else to follow," Brown said, referring to a famous quote of former Gov. Gray Davis. "Well, I want to avoid that. So, I'm trying to act in a spirit of collaboration."

Tags: california politics, jerry brown