Governor Jerry Brown has won many fans over the years. He's also gained a fair share of critics. But regardless of how Californians might feel about Brown in his final year, one thing rings true: California's never seen a governor like Brown, and it isn't likely to see one again anytime soon.
So how will California historians remember Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.?
Jack Pitney, the Roy P. Crocker professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College, puts it in three words:
Restraint. Recovery. Stability. Some of that is the product of circumstances, and some of that is Jerry Brown's doing. In general, he's been a very good, competent governor, and to use the words that Reagan used to describe his own tenure: "Not bad, not bad at all."
Guests:
- Jack Pitney, Roy P Crocker professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College
- Carla Marinucci, senior editor for Politico's California Playbook