Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/17719
JERRY BROWN FOR GOVERNOR governor.’ I’ve been governor, and it isn’t that much fun, I can tell you. It’s not like being president of a company. If you’re a CEO, you say, OK, lay off 10 percent. When you’re a gov- ernor, you have a legislature. This is a compli- cated and profoundly important job, but it takes the skills not of an autocrat, not of an iso- lated CEO that flies around in a bubble giving orders, but rather someone on the ground en- gaged with ordinary people.” He shares our values Brown’s disarming, down-to-earth person- ality belies a man who is a deep thinker, nego- tiator, visionary, and, yes, clever politician. Yet he has his critics as well. Sanchez himself acknowledges that CTA’s relations with Brown have not always been cordial. “Jerry Brown has always been a public official who has looked for creative out-of-the- box solutions to meet the needs of the public — even when those ideas were not always em- braced wholeheartedly by the public — or by our members. We haven’t always been on the same page with him.” In fact, Brown ran afoul of both the Oak- land Educators Association (OAE) and CTA during his years as mayor of Oakland. At that time, he focused on promoting more charter schools and getting voters’ approval to appoint three members to a larger school board. He also raised funds to begin two charter schools, which are still functioning. The experiment left a bad taste in the You can thank Jerry Brown for: > Catalytic converters > Diamond lanes > Cleaner air quality in the state > California Agricultural Labor Relations Act > Stronger equal pay laws > Repeal of the “depletion allowance” — a tax break for the state’s oil industry > California Conservation Corps (CCC) > California Coastal Protection Act > The country’s first building and appliance energy efficiency standard > Solar and alternative energy leadership mouths of many OEA members. But rec- ognizing the world as it is, OEA Presi- dent Betty Olson-Jones says Brown is the better choice for governor. “Given his acknowledgment that every school should have the type of funding he’s been able to raise for his two charters, we’re hopeful he sees that all schools need adequate funding and that charters are not the answer,” she says. Brown now acknowledges his efforts did not pan out perfectly. Still, it’s clear that he is a person concerned with the welfare of children and education — and he shares educators’ values. Brown knows that Cali- fornia’s future depends on a world-class, quality public school system, and his long record in public service demonstrates that. He believes that the best education reform takes place where there is collaboration among educators, parents and administra- tors to best meet the needs of students in neighborhood public schools. 12 California Educator | OCTOBER 2010 SPECIAL ELECTION ISSUE ABOVE: Jerry Brown talks with students at the Oak- land School for the Arts, a charter school founded while he was mayor of Oakland. Signed collective bargaining law During his time in office, Brown signed the collective bargaining bill into law. At the OCLF picnic in Santa Ana, Brown talked about the importance of all stakeholders be- ing involved. “In labor unions you have collective bargaining. When you have collective bar- gaining, you have management, you have the union, and you fight — but you listen to the other side.” Why I’m voting for Jerry I am a California student who strives to better my education and be the most effective educator I can be. I will be voting for Jerry Brown because he stands up and supports public education. His education plan is informative and inspiring and he understands the challenges educa- tors face on a daily basis. He believes and shows that everyone deserves to have a valuable education. Christopher Pancoast , Student CTA Photo courtesy of Brown for Governor 2010 campaign