Voters Thirst for More Than Just a Brown

If your first name is Kathleen and your last name is Brown, it’s hard to miss winning a Democratic primary in California. But gender and genealogy won’t be enough to get Kathleen Brown elected governor.

People do love a good story with a happy ending. And here is a guaranteed heart warmer: Respected governor’s baby daughter grows up to become the state’s first woman chief executive. In between, the only son--an amusing fellow and prophet, but a bit weird--also is elected governor.

It’s a touching trilogy about the Brown family dynasty, three governors in 36 years. But as with any story, this one needs believability before the people will accept it. People need to believe Kathleen Brown is up to the job of governor. They need confidence in her ability to lead--to talk straight, to forge compromise, to cajole and to make tough decisions.

They want evidence that she grasps the state’s problems and has solutions, especially for their main concerns: crime, immigration, the economy and education. They want to think she really does have a commitment to “restore the California promise,” and that this is not just another new campaign slogan, replacing “America’s Best Treasurer.”

They need to believe her desire for the job goes beyond a commitment to carry on the family business and to make her beloved father proud.

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In Tuesday’s primary, women were 55% of the Democratic electorate and they backed Brown by a 5-3 ratio over John Garamendi, according to a Times exit poll. Also, Brown’s family background significantly influenced her voters. But only 28% of Garamendi’s supporters and just 58% of liberal Tom Hayden’s said they would back Brown against Gov. Pete Wilson.

Much of that is bitterness, and most Democrats ultimately will side with Brown. But there is a sense among many, including some who packed into her victory celebration Tuesday night, that she is not connecting with voters.

Regardless of the charm, intelligence and commitment she exhibits in small groups, Brown’s speeches and TV comments too often seem uninspiring, unconvincing and flat.

“I don’t like to give speeches,” she told me recently.

But at another point she said, “I don’t think I’m as bad as you say I am. I don’t think I’m as good as I might be.”

She suffers, Brown suggested, from high expectations generated by her family pedigree. And she got uncommonly agitated, while keeping her smile.

“I mean, was Tom Bradley a great speaker?” she asserted. “Is Pete Wilson a great speaker? George Deukmejian? I mean, what is it that you want from me? What in God’s name do you want from me? Look at the people who have been governor. Look at the people who have been senators. Are they great?”

The problem is, as she also told me, “people are hungry for someone who can articulate a vision for California, who can give a sense of direction and purpose and comfort.” Her first mission as governor, she said, would be to provide “a sense of hopefulness again . . . a sense that this place is worth fighting for.”

But when Brown stands at a microphone and says she’s running for governor “because I’m angry,” she doesn’t sound angry. “It’s a controlled anger,” she said. “I am very disciplined, very deliberate.”

And very frustrated with her critics. Last year, to counter charges she was not being specific, Brown developed lengthy plans for immigration, crime, education and the economy. They, in turn, were ridiculed as too shallow. “I mean, I can’t win for trying.”

Incidentally, she said, “I’ve never run for public office just to run for public office. I’ve run when I thought I could make a difference and was passionate about being involved. I’m running for governor for the same reason. . . . I’m worried about California.”

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Some people say they hear a whininess in Brown’s voice--a long, drawing out of words they find annoying. But what I hear is her father, especially when he was trying extra hard to be convincing. As a bass, Pat Brown wasn’t considered whiny.

The daughter inherited her speaking pattern. And, in truth, she is at least as good an orator as her father, if not as talented as brother Jerry. There’s not a lot she can do about her octave level.

What she can do is give Wilson hell. And she intends to. “I’m not taking off for a vacation,” she said. “This guy is tough. He is determined. And I am determined to meet him step by step. He does not deserve to be reelected.”

But to be believable, she also needs to be herself and speak from the heart. If she doesn’t, this race could become referendums on Pete Wilson versus Jerry Brown. And Wilson already has beaten that Brown once.