Brown has Golden State thinking big even in tough times
During the 30-plus years Barbara O’Connor has known California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), she says the man once derided as “Gov. Moonbeam” has developed a well-deserved reputation as someone never inclined to back down from a big challenge.
“Jerry Brown has always believed in solving large problems,” says O’Connor, emeritus director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University Sacramento. “And he’s willing to bet the farm to get things done.”
He may be doing that now. At a time when most states are still pinching pennies at every turn, Brown is backing a pair of controversial and wildly expensive public works projects: a $68 billion high-speed rail system and a new $23 billion plan to revamp the way the state delivers water from water-sufficient northern California to the parched southern part of the state. They are high-risk, high reward measures that will come to fruition — if they ever do — long after Brown has left the political stage. (click to continue reading)
