Monday, January 03, 2011

Dem State Sen: "I'm disappointed" Jerry Brown didn't speak to hot dog party (VIDEO)

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Sacramento -- Ah, we were only two hours into the Brown Administration and he's already disappointed somebody: State Sen. Lou Correa, D-Anaheim...aka, The Happiest Place on Earth.

Lou, along with the 18,000-member Orange County Employee's Association set up camp on the Capitol grounds and gave away free hot dogs to whomever. They dubbed it The People's Inauguration Party and set up a microphone and stage, expecting the Guv to speak. They even got a veggie dog for Jerry. (The rest were all beef.)

Well, Jerry and wife Anne Gust Brown stopped by, blew by the microphone and talked with the folks who were waiting in line for a dog. They grabbed a dog, chatted for a few minutes, then left. When Lou told the crowd that Jerry wouldn't be speaking, there were a smattering of boos there.

Afterwards, Shaky Hand Productions asked Lou if he thought what some in the crowd were telling us: That this was Jerry's way of distancing himself from unions. We all remember how a certain Meg Whitman used to say that Jerry was "bought and paid for" by the unions. And their hot dogs.

Posted By: Joe Garofoli (Email, Twitter, Facebook) | Jan 03 at 06:15 PM

Listed Under: California politics | Permalink

Jerry Brown: My first act will be to walk across the street to my house....(VIDEO)

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Sacramento --- The entire Shaky Hands Productions team is in Sacramento -- though we miss Comrade Marinucci -- Monday for the Guv inauguration. Before we go to a glimpse of Gov. Jerry Brown's first post-inaugural moments, got to mention how perhaps only he could wring a laugh out of reciting the inaugural vows. When asked if he would accept the responsibility of the office without mental reservation, Brown fired an aside to the audience: "Really. No mental reservation." Ho-ho! Ha-ha! Ho-ha!

Anyways, here's Brown's first comments as he stepped out into the light after the inauguration:

Then he and wife Anne Gust Brown walked across the street to their loft, trailed by every TV reporter west of Reno. High quality journalism, friends. Call it the California equivalent of a newly-inaugurated president walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. Highlight: When Brown is asked if it's better being married this time when he's governor. Listen to Gust Brown chime in -- and Jerry's response:

Also: Listen to employees from P.F. Chiang's -- restaurant on ground floor of their building -- cheer Jerry ("Welcome home, Jerry!") as they walk past.

Posted By: Joe Garofoli (Email, Twitter, Facebook) | Jan 03 at 05:50 PM

Listed Under: California politics | Permalink

Kamala Harris inaugurated

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Gov. Jerry Brown wasn't the only one with an all-star cast of supporters at their inaugural event today. Attorney General Kamala Harris drew big city mayors (Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa, Kevin Johnson), current lawmakers (including the Bay Area's Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco and Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley) and, it seemed, the entire Legislative Black Caucus.

Harris' ceremony acknowledged her racial/ethnic background (she is the daughter of an Indian mother and black father): It began with a traditional south Indian dance and ended with a performance of the gospel classic "Oh Happy Day." Harris spoke at length about Earl Warren, who also served as AG in Sacramento and went on to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I am particularly proud to have started my career as a prosecutor in the Alameda County DA's office -- an office with a longstanding reputation as one of the best in the country.

That all began, of course, with Earl Warren, who was Alameda County’s District Attorney for 14 years, and revered in the storied history of the office as a great modernizer and innovator. And through a lifetime of service -- from the courtrooms of the East Bay to the California Attorney General's office to the chambers of the United States Supreme Court -- Earl Warren never forgot he was a prosecutor first and, by training, that meant the law stands for everyone. ...

As a career prosecutor, Earl Warren understood: separate but equal was inherently unequal by the same logic that says, a crime against any one of us is a crime against all of us. So, ladies and gentlemen, on this day: Let us remember the house that Earl Warren built.

It's often said that a good prosecutor wins convictions. But a great prosecutor has convictions. Chief Justice Warren put it this way: "Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for."

So to my fellow Californians, I say: In the coming four years, and in the continuing work of the Attorney General's office, we are going to do whatever it takes -- and catch hell if necessary -- in the cause of protecting and defending the lives and livelihoods of all Californians, by moving beyond the status quo."

Posted By: Marisa Lagos (Email, Twitter, Facebook) | Jan 03 at 05:15 PM

Listed Under: Attorney General Kamala Harris | Permalink

Jerry Brown inauguration attracts all-star crowd

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It's a veritable who's who of Democratic superstars at Jerry Brown's inauguration this morning. First up: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was chatting and laughing with Lt. Gov-elect Gavin Newsom just minutes before the ceremony began.

We've also spotted former Gov. Gray Davis, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, and Sacramento Mayor (and former NBA star) Kevin Johnson. Folks from the other side of the aisle include soon-to-be former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, as well as Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado, who will stay as the state's No. 2 guy until Newsom is sworn in next week. We actually saw Newsom and Maldonado -- who only recently were engaged in a heated race -- chatting amicably this morning.

Posted By: Marisa Lagos (Email, Twitter, Facebook) | Jan 03 at 11:25 AM

Listed Under: California politics | Permalink

Jerry Brown's speech: Not written down yet. Over/under: 12 minutes long

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Sacramento-- Greetings from Jerry Brown's no-frills inauguration where we have an early prediction for his speech: 12 minutes long. Or 4 1/2 minutes longer than his very first inaug speech in 1975. Kickoff time for the inaug: 11 a.m. Or 11:20 JT (Jerry Time).

Nonetheless, "If you have a 12 o'clock lunch date you'll be out in plenty of time," said Steve Glazer, who was Brown's campaign manager. He's now billing himself as "advisor" and "volunteer advisor" at that.

Naturally, the Brown camp can't confirm or produce an actual written copy of the speech in advance. But that's not unusual -- was the same way throughout the campaign. Confirmed that Jerry wrote the speech himself. And yes, there are portions that have actually been written down, Glazer said, but the Guv will be riffing -- as is his custom. And we've been guaranteed at least one trip to the dictionary to translate Jerry.

Also: No word about whether Jerry will attend the union-sponsored hot dog party, post-inaugural. "It's an option," Glazer said. He said Jerry also might walk across the street to his loft after this gig. (What for? To wait for the cable guy?)Or go to work in the office.

How no-frills is this gig? Attendees are being given a one card program which appears to be hot off the press from Kinko's. No fancy laminates for the press. The plain graphic on the screen just says "The inaugural ceremony/Edmund G. Brown, Jr./Governor of California." Hey, the state's $28 billion in the whole. What do you expect?

Spotted so far in ths crowd: Ex-SF Board of Supes prez Aaron Peskin and SF City Attorney/mayoral hopeful Dennis Herrera.

Posted By: Joe Garofoli (Email, Twitter, Facebook) | Jan 03 at 10:32 AM

Listed Under: California politics | Permalink