Don’t give Jerry Brown a third term

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown’s candidacy for governor -- detailed in the Feb. 2 Times article “35 years later, Jerry Brown runs for governor again” -- should give voters the following alert: If you like the fiscal straight jacket and economic chaos that have afflicted California since 1978 when the Proposition 13 era began, then vote for Brown in 2010. After all, he was singly the most responsible for the passage of the anti-property-tax law responsible for the state’s never-ending budget malaise.

When Gov. Ronald Reagan was confronted with nearly identical anti-tax efforts in 1968 and 1972 (the so-called Watson amendments), he allied with Democratic Assembly speakers Jesse M. Unruh and Bob Moretti to defeat the measures. By noting that the massive loss to the state of property-tax revenues would force equally massive increases in sales and income taxes to balance the state budget, they induced voters to snow the measures under both times.

When he came to power, Brown secretly carried a chip on his shoulder against his father, former Gov. Pat Brown, and the political liberalism he represented. He set about releasing a “new spirit” in Sacramento, which often seemed more akin to the conservative appeals of Reagan, who had tumbled Brown’s father from power. This was especially so in fiscal affairs and the series of “tightwad budgets” that he produced, along with his solemn admonitions against public spending to deal with public needs. He harvested a temporary storm of public acclaim with this anti-government rhetoric in the post-Watergate era, and hoped that his fiscal stringency would gain him further approbation from the anti-tax increase crowd.

Ironically, he found himself faced with the “problem” of treasury surpluses, not revenue shortages, which made his penurious appeals seem quaint rather than relevant. To liberals, such as the Democratic leaders in the Legislature, the surpluses appeared a godsend, especially because they derived from the substantial new tax increases that Reagan had been induced by them to sign. Furthermore, there were many unmet needs to spend the surplus on -- education, healthcare, infrastructure and environmental protection -- but Brown would have none of this and instead sought to conceal the actual size of the surplus from legislative scrutiny.

When Proposition 13 suddenly exploded on the scene in the primary election campaign of 1978, neither Brown nor the Legislature was ready for it. The treasury surpluses invalidated the earlier arguments used against the Watson amendments, and the passage of Proposition 13 -- along with several subsequent legislative, gubernatorial and initiative follies -- have brought us to the parlous state in which we find ourselves.

For a time, Brown did indeed ride the tiger of anti-government conservatism to enthusiastic public notice. But he soon faded into private life and petty public office. Now he’s faced with political oblivion.

Let’s help him get there.

Jackson K. Putnam is a professor emeritus of history at Cal State Fullerton and the author of “Jess: The Political Career of Jesse Marvin Unruh.”