Don’t Be ‘Lulled’ by Jerry Brown, GOP Warned

Gov. George Deukmejian cautioned fellow Republicans Thursday not to expect the quixotic image of former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. to tarnish Democratic candidates if, as expected, Brown is elected state chairman of the Democratic Party this weekend.

“No one should get lulled into thinking that if Jerry Brown becomes the Democratic state chairman that it’s going to make things any easier for Republicans,” Deukmejian said. “Anybody who thinks that is kidding themselves.”

The governor, a frequent critic of his two-term Democratic predecessor, said if Brown is elected Democratic chairman he will “wish him well” and advise Republicans to continue considering themselves members of an underdog party.

“Republicans are still the minority party in this state. They have to keep recognizing that and doing everything they can to win over more and more people to our principles and to support our candidates,” the governor said.

Deukmejian, speaking on the eve of the Democratic state convention where Brown is expected to win a four-year term as party chairman, made his comments in a brief question-and-answer session with reporters after the annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast.

However, other Republicans, both publicly and privately, have been gleeful at the prospect of Brown’s political comeback and his ascension to power in the state Democratic Party.

“I do think he still has certain caricature qualities that will be exploited by some, even in his own party,” said Otto Bos, former campaign chairman and now special assistant to U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), who beat Brown in a 1982 Senate race.

“A lot of mainstream Democrats are not particularly fond of Jerry Brown and these are the switch Democrats who, for instance, voted heavily for Wilson,” Bos said.

Calling Brown’s possible election the “best news Republicans have had in a long time,” State Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) joked that he had even considered contributing to his campaign.

“I don’t know who benefits the most,” he said, “Republicans or Johnny Carson, who will get to rejuvenate his old jokes.”

Brown, 50, began a campaign for the chairmanship late last year, saying he wanted to rejuvenate the Democratic Party by bringing new registrants to the voter rolls and giving grass-roots workers more of a voice in the party.

He acknowledged at the time that his past reputation for flakiness and indecisiveness was “baggage” that he would have to overcome. But he said he was optimistic that with hard campaigning he would demonstrate his ability to lead the party.