After a consequential election, California and the nation are moving into a period of widespread change. Last week, PPIC president and CEO Tani Cantil-Sakauye spoke with former governor Jerry Brown to discuss lessons learned from a life in public service and the results of the November election.
In addition to serving four terms as California governor (1975–1983 and 2011–2019), Brown has held diverse roles in politics and public service, including California Democratic Party chair, Oakland mayor, California secretary of state, and state attorney general. Reflecting on the differences in how he approached his first and second gubernatorial terms, he cited the value of experience: “Knowing how to do things is good. Having lived long enough to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them is good.” At the same time, he noted that his first two terms benefited from more creativity. “I didn’t have all the knowledge and respect for the powers that be. I just forged ahead,” he said, adding that there is value in both naïveté and knowledge.
Voter turnout was down in 2024, and trust in government remains low. Brown commented that low trust is not limited to California or the nation. “It’s a function of inflation, uncertainty about unemployment, vast cultural changes, and the general anxiety of not seeing a world that’s familiar…. People don’t see a politics that will make enough of a difference,” he said.
In November, Proposition 36, which increased penalties for certain theft and drug crimes, passed by a large margin. This measure reverses some of the changes voters made in 2011 when the passage of Prop 47 lowered penalties for these crimes while seeking to reduce incarceration. Brown said that the vote on Prop 36 clearly showed that voters are unhappy with the status quo regarding drug crimes and retail theft. However, he also emphasized that rehabilitation programs are necessary as well. “You need a hammer, and you need a hand,” he said. Prop 36 “brought back a little of the hammer, and hopefully we’re going to still extend a hand because a lot of people don’t have what they need to overcome the terrible situation they are in.”
More philosophically, Brown remarked that some of the issues politicians must confront are not “problems” but “conditions”—that is, they will never be entirely fixed. When we continue to see issues with poverty, crime, taxes, housing, and education, we should not get discouraged because “that’s part of being a human being,” he argued. “If you have a problem and you can’t solve it, that doesn’t feel good.” With a condition, “you can make gains and you can make things better, but you’re never going to change the human condition…. There’s still hope. There’s plenty of hope. But don’t be a fool.”
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PPIC’s Speaker Series on California’s Future invites thought leaders and changemakers with diverse perspectives to participate critically, constructively, and collaboratively in public conversations. The purpose is to give Californians a better understanding of how our leaders are addressing the challenges facing our state.
PPIC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. PPIC does not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor does it support, endorse, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office. Any opinions expressed by event participants are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect any position of the Public Policy Institute of California.
