Jerry Brown: Not a good governor

David Dayen in The American Prospect:

Earlier this fall, I joked that our staff writer Alex Sammon had become a California legislative correspondent, after reporting on bills to make Uber and Lyft drivers and other independent contractors into employees, and to prevent dialysis companies from steering patients into coverage that benefits their bottom line. 

Indeed, the Prospect has covered a flurry of progressive policy advances this year in the Golden State, like bills to unionize child care workers, cap rent increases, enable public banking, and allow college athletes to earn money on their name, image, and likeness. This is a very partial list.

Just in the past day, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed laws setting a cap on payday lending interest rates and ending forced arbitration in employment contracts. It’s the most productive session in Sacramento in recent memory. 

And what you have to conclude from it is that Jerry Brown was a bad governor.

Most of these bills have been popular and supported by a majority of California voters and lawmakers for years. Newsom isn’t putting much on the line to sign them. 

Democrats held a two-thirds majority in the legislature, or close to it, for most of Brown’s tenure. The votes were there, but Brown vetoed several bills that Newsom ended up signing this year, including the child care worker bill. Others just weren’t worth the trouble of passing until Brown left office.

Older media figures were enthralled with Brown’s throwback rhetoric, his ability to conjure up money quotes, and his willingness to punch the left. Hagiographers wrongly position Brown as a savior of a state in fiscal trouble, when it was progressive ballot measures (which Brown initially resisted) that fixed the situation...

Rob's comment:

Dayen doesn't mention Brown's support for the dumb high-speed rail project that he wrote about earlier this year. Dayen didn't mention it because he supports the project based on the same stupid arguments we've been hearing for more than ten years!

For some excellent analysis of the project go here.

See also High-Speed rail: Checking the fact check and Dumb high-speed rail story, smart comments.