California Today: And the Californian of the Year Is …
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The readers have spoken: Gov. Jerry Brown is our 2016 Californian of the Year.
The governor collected the most votes in our contest for the person who best encapsulated California in 2016. Not far behind was Vin Scully, followed by Kamala Harris, Elon Musk and Barbara Boxer.
Mr. Brown, 78, is the most prominent Democrat in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. In a Field Poll in September, 60 percent of respondents said they approved of his performance, up from a low of 43 percent over the last five years.
Since the 1970s, Mr. Brown has held a dizzying array of political roles, among them California’s secretary of state and attorney general, Oakland’s mayor (twice), and three ill-fated candidacies for president.
This month, he reflected on the topic of political blood sport during a speech in San Francisco. “I know it pretty well,” he said. “I’ve been doing it a long time. And I enjoy it by the way. It’s not a nice business. But it’s a hell of a lot of fun.”
We asked Chuck McFadden, the author of “Trailblazer: A Biography of Jerry Brown,” to help explain Mr. Brown’s popular appeal via email.
• Why do you think most Californians are pleased with the governor?
Jerry Brown is the son of a governor; he grew up in privileged circumstances; he is, by any measure, a member of the elite. Yet he somehow manages to be a populist. He says things the people want to hear, but retains his idealism — a remarkable combination of traits that makes him very popular.
• In your book, you say only in California could a politician as idiosyncratic as Mr. Brown flourish. What did you mean by that?
For three and a half years, he studied to be a Jesuit priest; after his first two terms as governor, he spent six months in Japan studying Zen; he sprinkles Latin phrases in his speeches and refers to St. Ignatius and Buddhism; he has always been an unabashed intellectual, unusual in a politician.Californians like politicians who are out of the ordinary — witness the elections of movie stars Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s doubtful someone such as Brown could be elected governor in, say, Iowa. But in California, he will have wrapped up 16 years as governor in 2018. Quirky state — quirky governor.
• Is there an anecdote about him that you especially like?
He’s always had a reputation as a skinflint. There is the story that when he was dating singer Linda Ronstadt, they were headed for a party at the home of Rosemary Clooney when Linda received a dozen red roses as a gift. Jerry wanted to wrap them up again and take them to the party as a gift to Clooney.
California Online
• Foreign governments concerned about climate change may soon be spending more time dealing with Sacramento than Washington. [The New York Times]
• Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are saying goodbye to their “Thelma and Louise” partnership. [Los Angeles Times]
• Two California towns illustrate the hefty price to taxpayers when Wall Street steps into public works. [The New York Times]
• The story of Susan Berman, the murder victim at the center of the Robert A. Durst trial, is only now emerging. [The New York Times]
• For the working-class neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, a newspaper written by teenagers might be more important than ever. [Opinion | The New York Times]
• Ed Reinecke, the lieutenant governor of California who resigned after being convicted of perjury in a Watergate-era scandal, died at 92. [The Associated Press]
• On the surface, Hollywood is a land of loose morals. But studios have quietly been building connections to Christians. [The New York Times]
• One of the Bay Area’s wealthiest communities has a small uprising on its hands: a group of millionaires angry about water rates. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• A family left behind staggering turmoil in Uganda. They needed more than a little help to get settled in California. [The New York Times]
• After the loss of quarterback Derek Carr to injury, the Raiders’ dream season is now in Matt McGloin’s hands. [East Bay Times]
• Close to nature — and to San Francisco — Mill Valley has a competitive real estate market: “There are multiple offers on every house.” [The New York Times]
• A new exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco will feature Islamic fashion. [The New York Times]
And Finally ...
P.C: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/us/california-today-californian-of-the-year.html
Trevor Taylor, a Times reader in Sacramento, shared his photo of Bodie, one of California’s most authentic gold rush towns.
Bodie, in Mono County, is seemingly frozen in time, preserved much as it was when the last residents left in the 1950s.
Designated as a state historic park in 1962, the town is home to wooden structures that have been left undisturbed amid the harsh high desert weather. Visitors can peer into the town’s abandoned church, saloon and a general store still stocked with goods.
On a trip to Southern California to see family, Mr. Taylor, 28, said he decided to skip the quicker Interstate 5 and take the more scenic route along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada. Along the way, he stopped in Bodie.
He said park officials had done a great job preserving the town’s old-time feel.
“The parking lot and bathroom facilities, they even hide behind a hill,” he said. “So when you’re in the middle of the town it’s like you’re really there in this time period.”
California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.
The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter.
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.
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