Pat and Jerry and the Brown Legacy in California

Being largely unrecognized for his historic contribution creates an ironic twist because Brown, as a young-man-in-a-hurry, largely ignored his father’s achievements.

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the elder Brown. Governor Schwarzenegger, state legislators and academics alike emphasize the importance of the highways, water projects and universities built during the Brown era. Seeking to jumpstart their own projects, these elected officials have helped renew the image of Brown as governing during the state’s golden era, a sort of Camelot by the Sea.

Pat Brown’s public service spanned twenty-four years. He was elected San Francisco District Attorney in 1943, as US soldiers fought to rollback Nazi advances in Europe. He left office in 1967, turning over the keys to actor Ronald Reagan, who brilliantly rode the wave of voter discontent with the social upheaval associated with Watts, Berkeley and Delano.

Pat Brown is appropriately credited with expanding the state’s infrastructure. Less discussed, but equally important, is his work in what used to be called human relations. The first bill Brown signed — in 1959 — outlawed discrimination on the job and created the Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce the new law. Later, he created the first bilingual state positions so state agencies would better serve immigrants.

Brown also pioneered international trade. He traveled to Mexico City to open a trade mission with our southern neighbor. He partnered with President Lyndon Johnson to create the Chile-California program that promoted trade and cultural exchanges.

Pat Brown likewise gets credit for making the first significant number of non-Anglo appointments. While not the first to act, Governor Culbert Olson actually appointed the first African American and the first Latino to the bench, Brown did so in greater numbers than all his predecessors combined. He appointed Arthur Alarcon — a law-and-order Republican — as the first Latino gubernatorial chief of staff.

Jerry Brown topped his father’s pioneering civil rights work. He moved beyond fair employment to institute affirmative action throughout state government, even pressuring white male dominated departments like Forestry to diversify their ranks.

Jerry Brown helped make the upper ranks of government look more like the voters by appointing a record number of African Americans, Asians, Latinos and women.

In some incidents Jerry built on the practices of his father and, yes, Governor Reagan, and the Californian occupying the White House during the late sixties and early seventies, Richard Nixon. At other times, he was way ahead of the political curve, such as anticipating the present day role of Latinos in government and society.

Armstrong and Rice hope that making a movie about their grandfather’s life and times will inspire future generations. In seeking their own roots, they will also enlighten many of today’s civic leaders for whom Pat Brown is a large but distant figure.

Kenneth C. Burt is the political director of the California Federation of Teachers. A graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard University, Burt worked for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and is a board member for the Pat Brown Public Policy Institute.The author of a number of books and articles on California history, Burt may be reached at KennethBurt.com.