Jerry Brown files papers to explore a run for governor

[Heidi]

Source: Los Angeles Times

As a gubernatorial candidate, the California attorney general is eligible for up to $25,900 per election from individual donors. He may wait until next year to decide whether to run, an advisor says.


September 30, 2009

State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown dropped the fiction that he was seeking reelection and filed papers Tuesday to explore a run for governor, a job that he first won in 1974 and has for months been fighting hard, if quietly, to recapture.

Brown's move was born of necessity: Contributions to candidates for attorney general are capped at $6,500 per election for individual donors, but gubernatorial contestants can accept up to $25,900.

"If he chooses to run, it will make him more competitive against a deep-pocketed Republican opponent," said Steven Glazer, a senior advisor to Brown, a Democrat. Two of the three major Republicans in the 2010 race are Silicon Valley moguls who are using personal fortunes for the campaign.

By all appearances, the former Oakland mayor and three-time presidential candidate chose long ago to run for governor again. But by keeping it unofficial, Brown has minimized his clash with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the lone major Democrat in the June primary.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown30-2009sep30,0,1862501.story