Brown Reaffirms Bid to Help Poor in L.A. Speech

Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. complained Thursday about being relegated to “the black hole of media anonymity,” but promised his campaign wasn’t going to go away.

“Despite the rise in delegate votes for my opponent (Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton), despite the black hole of media anonymity which the national press has wished to consign me, we are still here and we are not going away,” Brown told a cheering crowd of about 300 in a speech from the steps of Los Angeles City Hall.

The former California governor referred to the Rodney G. King beating trial and the riots that followed the not guilty verdicts for four police officers. “We are here at a very critical time obviously in our city, in our country and in our party,” he said.

Brown read an impassioned letter he had written on behalf of “those whose voices have been stilled” to Democratic congressional leaders urging them to work toward solving inner-city problems.

“The usual tepid response of photo opportunities and budget crumbs won’t work anymore,” he said. “The injustice has gone too far.”

Brown urged the Democratic leadership to adopt the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ plan to infuse $30 billion in federal block grants to help rebuild battered cities.