Jerry Brown Quotes (8 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

Jerry Brown Quotes

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. is an American politician and lawyer who has been the 39th Governor of California since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, Brown previously served as the 34th governor from 1975 to 1983, and is the longest-serving governor in California history. Prior to and following his first governorship, Brown served in numerous state, local, and party positions. During and following his first governorship, Brown thrice ran as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

As the only son of Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Sr., the 32nd Governor of California , Jerry Brown began his political career as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees , before serving as Secretary of State of California . Elected governor in 1974 at age 36, Brown was the youngest California Governor in 111 years .

Brown ran for his party's nomination in the 1976 presidential election, finishing second in the popular vote, and a distant third in the convention vote, which was won by then-Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter, who was then elected President of the United States that year. Brown was re-elected governor in 1978, and ran against fellow Democrat and incumbent President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 primaries. While challengers to incumbent presidents seldom gain traction, the challenge by Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts did, leaving Brown without any significant support.

Brown declined to run for a third term in 1982, and chose instead to run for the United States Senate in 1982. However, Brown was defeated by Republican Pete Wilson, and many considered his political career to be over. After traveling abroad, Brown returned to California and served as Chairman of the California Democratic Party , choosing to resign to run for the Senate again in 1992. Changing his mind, Brown ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1992, once again finishing second in the popular vote, carrying six states and coming second in the convention, though substantially behind Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas.

After six years out of politics, Brown returned to public life, serving as Mayor of Oakland , and then Attorney General of California .

Brown decided to run for another term as governor in 2010, and was able to do so due to a grandfather clause in a term-limit law passed in 1990 for California state office. The law limited a governor to two terms; however, the four living governors when the law was passed remained eligible. Brown defeated Meg Whitman in 2010 to become the 39th California Governor in 2011; on October 7, 2013, he became the longest-serving governor in California history, surpassing Earl Warren. Brown was re-elected 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, and the oldest California Governor in history.

✵ 7. April 1938

Jerry Brown: 8 quotes 0 likes

Famous Jerry Brown Quotes

“I'd shrink government in a minute, if I could shrink GM, Bank of America, and all these immoral corporations that operate by an undemocratic code, with no soul and no conscience.”

Jerry Brown

From an unspecified KPFA-FM radio show program.
[Peter, Waldman, Back to Earth: Jerry Brown, the Voice of New-Age Populism, Gets Down to Business, Wall Street Journal, 10 August 1999]
1999

“The U. S. incarceration binge is not tied to crime. It's a strategy to control the surplus population in a capitalist system that is breaking down.”

Jerry Brown

[Peter, Waldman, Back to Earth: Jerry Brown, the Voice of New-Age Populism, Gets Down to Business, Wall Street Journal, 10 August 1999]
1999

“I've been in office and I've been out of office. And if I were to choose, I'd rather be in office.”

Jerry Brown

"Capitol Journal", Los Angeles Times, 19 January 2004.
2004

“We are in a degenerate state of self-government. In fact, even to use the words self-government, is not only an exaggeration, it's a lie. It's a big lie!”

Jerry Brown

Speaking to the International Transpersonal Association Conference in Santa Clara, California, 10 June 1995.
Political Consciousness and Transformative Action, LeapNonprofit.org, League for Earth & Animal Protection (LEAP), 2007-06-12 http://www.leapnonprofit.org/phil%20article4.htm,
1995

“There's nothing wrong with being an anarchist.”

Jerry Brown

“Jerry is perceived by most legislators as very selfish.”

Jerry Brown

Leo McCarthy, former Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the California State Assembly, United Press International, unspecified article, unspecified date, 1978.