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DAILY BRUIN THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010
NEWS
Former California governor to run again BY NEIL PAIK
Bruin contributor
npaik@media.ucla.edu California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced he will be a candidate for governor in this year’s state election. The 71-year-old Brown, who previously served as governor for two terms between 1975 and 1983, declared his candidacy by posting a video on his campaign Web site Tuesday morning. Brown has raised the most money of any Democratic candidate. After the primary election in June, he will likely face either former eBay CEO Meg Whitman or state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. “What we need is not a scripted plan cooked up by consultants or mere ambition to be governor,” Brown said in reference to his Republican opponents on the official announcement video. “We need
someone with insider’s knowledge but an outsider’s mind. ... We need to work together as Californians first.” Although Brown promotes his experience as a factor that adds to his credibility, some critics see his extensive involvement in government as a drawback. “If you don’t like the state the way it is today, it’s people like Jerry Brown who made it this way – people who are part of the political machine,” said Andrew Kreitz, former chairman of Bruin Republicans. Kreitz, a fourth-year business economics student, said he thinks Republican Meg Whitman is a much better candidate for the position with her business background. “She’s an outsider, she’s a businesswoman, she’s a leader,” he said. “Ultimately, she’s an executive, and what we need is a chief executive.” Supporters of Brown, such as Bruin Democrats President Carrie
McFadden, believe his experience can speed up necessary reforms. “I know that Jerry Brown has the qualifications to hold this office,” McFadden said. “He is a champion of the Democratic party and Democratic values.” Brown was first elected governor in 1974 and then was re-elected by a landslide vote in 1978. Current California law limits governors to a maximum of two terms in office, but Brown is an exception because he served his first two terms before the law was passed in 1990. While serving his first two terms as governor, Brown increased the math and science requirements for California State University and University of California schools. If elected again, he will face the challenge of maintaining such standards while managing the cost of education at these public universities. “The UC system has been one of the most valued education systems
in the country, and I’d hate to see that destroyed because of the budget,” McFadden said. “I’d like to see Cal Grants become a permanent part of the budget rather than something that needs to be renegotiated every year and more money from the general fund earmarked for education.” In 1980, Brown unsuccessfully challenged Jimmy Carter’s re-nomination for president of the United States. After suffering losses at the New Hampshire and Wisconsin primaries, he withdrew from the race. In 1992, Brown chose to run for president once again, this time leading a more successful campaign. He garnered more votes from Democratic delegates than any candidate other than Bill Clinton, who went on to win the party’s nomination.From 1999 to 2007, Brown served as mayor of Oakland before becoming California attorney general three years ago. In his announcement, Brown said California’s credit rating was the worst in the country and that the focus of his candidacy would be to fix the state’s budget crisis. The Democratic primary election will be held June 8, with the general election following in November.
ENFORCEMENT from page 1 be on and off campus to help deescalate any situations that could arise and to take action against any people who may violate the law. “If the indiv idua ls that a re involved in any kind of demonstration happen to endanger other individuals or do things that would endanger the public, then of course we would have to act accordingly,” Adams said. UCPD also hopes to form open dialogue between protesters and police, including urging people to give them a call if they see anything disruptive going on during the protests, which will help police to maintain the peace. “We understand that there are many different people that are passionate about the issues that are out there, and not everybody is going to see eye-to-eye within their own demonstration groups,” Adams said. The Center for Student Programming, a department of student affairs at UCLA, is also working with police to provide security at the marches. As at the UC Board of Regents meetings, the center
will work to protect students and prevent the marches from getting out of hand by informing those who are involved of UCLA’s policies, including noise complaints and respecting counter-protests, said Berky Nelson, director of the center. “We want to make sure that the protesters are aware of the rules and regulations and do not tip the balance between free speech versus violence,” Nelson said. “Everyone who participates in the demonstration doesn’t know university rules, and that’s what we are here to provide.” After the controversy that arose with police enforcement at the regents meetings in November, including the use of Tasers and Mace on students, concerns have developed regarding the security measures that will be taken at the marches. However, as the marches and the regents meetings are two dissimilar situations, different measures will be taken today, according to Greenstein. “We had a mission to not only protect the ability to have the meeting continue, but also we had to protect the individuals in the meeting, which is different from hav ing spontaneous events on campus,” Adams said. For the protests today, police will focus on ensuring the safety of those involved and keeping the peace on campus. “Our mission is to protect life and property, in that order, and to make sure that not only the university but also the students, staff and faculty members are kept safe,” Adams said.
NATIONAL from page 1 planned for Los Angeles, Sacramento, the East Bay, San Diego, San Francisco and the San Fernando Valley. Outside of California, similar rallies and protests are taking place from Maine to Washington. In Nor th Carolina, the fight extends beyond the fee increases and massive teacher layoffs, as its focus lies in stopping the resegregation of public schools in Wake, Wayne and Wilmington, according to the Fight Imperialism Stand Together Raleigh Web site. The claims of re-segregation emerged after the North Carolina school board’s vote to revoke the 2000 policy that used income information to promote economic diversity. In Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Student Action Coalition argues that the state is treating students like “customers,” rather than “economic investments,” according to the United for Justice with Peace Web site. The coalition hopes to see at least 50 percent of all funding for public education come from the state, which currently ranks 46 in the nation in terms of funding public higher education. “The higher the fees, the more education skews towards producing useful rather than educated students,” said Christian Haesemeyer, UCLA associate professor of math. “Are we just a factory that produces people to produce profit later, or is it about educating people? The more that education becomes a market place, the more it skews in the direction of producing cogs in the machine.” Haesemeyer represents one of a growing number of UC faculty that have responded to what they call the “measures that undermine the core teaching, research and service mission of the university,” according to a letter written by UC senate faculty. Many faculty began March 1 by lobbying legislators and the governor in Sacramento. “I think the eventual goal should be to reverse cuts. We are obviously in an economic crisis because of the failings of financial capitalism,” Haesemeyer said. “Now, it is not the people who failed or the institution that failed, yet they are being made to pay for the crisis. It is families, immigrants and others who cannot afford to pay for the burden.” Having participated in protests against the introduction of tuition at Germany’s University of Bonn, Haesemeyer also noted that such a day should allow different sectors of society to build up trust among each other and stand in solidarity. “Organizing is so widespread, that is what makes it so powerful,” said UC Student Association President Victor Sanchez. “This kind of action is exactly what is needed. Folks are really angry, and they will do their best to make it known.” I n m a k i n g c it i z e n s’ a n ge r known, the committee and the ad hoc group have gained hundreds of state and national endorsements since their December calls for action, including the California State University Employees Union, National Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, Frantz Mendes, President of the United Steelworkers Union, and the International Socialist Organization. “Ultimately, it is another chapter in what has been an historic year to reclaim a public good that has been lost to privatization,” Sanchez said.