Brown the Elder & Brown the Younger

At a wide-ranging meeting with reporters to discuss his accomplishments in 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown “invoked” — his verb — his father, Gov. Pat Brown several times.

Discussing the role of the chief executive and the Legislature and how, in the interest of “comity” the governor sometimes signs bills with little impact or import merely to forge a better working relationship with lawmakers, Brown noted that his father was “very hesitant to veto” bills that had a “strong vote” in the Legislature. 

Asked what was different about his third time as governor, the 73-year-old Democrat said, “I’m more focused on being governor and less on what I’m going to do afterwards.”

“Sacramento,” Brown the elder replied.

“I look out the window and all I see is Capitol Park,” Brown the Younger said. 

On revamping the state’s environmental quality act, presumably to make it less cumbersome to comply with, Brown said doing so was like “getting the Vatican to alter its views on birth control. “

As to his own performance over the past year, Brown was asked to grade himself:

“I think I took this semester on pass or fail so I passed.”

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