Debate #2: Brown tells Whitman "Don't run for Governor if you can't say 'I made a mistake'"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Whitman, Brown clash over immigration

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
San Francisco Chronicle October 2, 2010 05:32 PM



Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown clashed in an impassioned, sometimes angry gubernatorial debate Saturday in which immigration dominated the harsh exchanges and stoked the fallout from Whitman's recent admission that she had employed an undocumented immigrant.

The former eBay CEO, aiming to contain the political damage, sought to cast Brown at the hour-long forum in Fresno as the manipulator who pulled the strings behind the revelation that she had hired housekeeper Nicky Diaz Santillan.

"Jerry, you know you should be ashamed, you and your surrogates ... put her deportation at risk," she said. Turning to face the state attorney general at the podium, Whitman accused Brown of "sacrificing Nicky Diaz on the altar of your political ambitions."

But Brown, who kept Whitman on the defensive for most of the hour, counterattacked by arguing that her actions in hiring - and then firing - a woman she called "a member of the family" reflected a pattern of failing to take responsibility, a personality trait that shows she lacks the character to be California's next governor.

"Don't run for governor if you can't stand up on your own two feet and say, 'Hey, I made a mistake.' You have blamed her, blamed me, blamed the left, blamed the unions. But you don't take accountability," he said in one of the most forceful exchanges of the session.

The story about Diaz, the Mexican-born housekeeper who worked for Whitman for nine years, was repeatedly referenced in questions - and in Brown's answers - in the debate on Spanish language television.

Whitman's ex-housekeeper came forward Wednesday - accompanied by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred - and accused Whitman of mistreating her and failing to pay proper wages.

The GOP candidate, who said she was never aware of her housekeeper's undocumented status until Diaz disclosed it, on Saturday insisted that Diaz was used by Brown and his supporters in a political stunt - though she offered no proof.

"You should be ashamed," she scolded Brown. "The Nicky I saw on the press conference a few days ago was not the Nicky that I knew for nine years."

And Whitman maintained that "I did hold myself accountable" in the hiring of Diaz, saying that in one of the hardest decisions in her life, she let Diaz go when she learned she had presented false identification.

The debate on Univision - which was briefly suspended because of technical difficulties - was considered pivotal to Whitman's campaign hopes after a week in which she faced repeated questions about the Diaz matter.

The first California gubernatorial debate forum simulcast in Spanish was dominated by questions about various aspects of immigration.

Whitman, who has aggressively courted Latino voters, opened by noting her campaign's unprecedented outreach to the Spanish-language electorate. She said her platform of job and economic development would benefit their community, particularly small businesses.

Brown, a former two term governor, cited his early work on legislation to protect the rights of California farmworkers, saying, "I worked very closely with Cesar Chavez, and I'm very proud of that." He cited his historic appointments of Latinos to the courts and his administration, and said he supports green technology that could benefit Latinos with thousands of jobs.

Specifically on immigration, the two candidates sparred on their positions regarding employer penalties for hiring undocumented immigrants, whether they supported any path to citizenship, and whether children born of undocumented immigrants should be entitled to U.S. citizenship.

Whitman, asked about employer sanctions regarding the hiring of undocumented workers, said "If we don't hold employers accountable, we will never get our arms around this ... problem."

Brown's comeback: "Ms. Whitman obviously didn't crack down on herself. This is a question of talking out of both sides of her mouth."

"You're going around this state saying employers must be accountable for hiring unlawful people, there ought to be raids on businesses, there's no path to citizenship," Brown said. "This a terrible thing we have - all these millions of (illegal) people, but you don't want a path to citizenship."

And when Whitman aimed to explain her opposition to a path to citizenship - arguing that securing the borders should be the first priority - Brown again referenced the Diaz story, saying undocumented immigrants in California should be treated as "God's children."

"You don't just bring in semi-serfs and say do our dirty work, and then we're finished with you like an orange and just throw it away," he said. "That's after you've squeezed it. That's not right."

One of the forum's most dramatic moments came when a college student in the audience - who did not identify herself - said she was an undocumented immigrant and asked their positions on the DREAM Act, which would allow for a path to citizenship for college graduates.

Brown said he would sign the law if he becomes governor, saying "Ms. Whitman goes beyond opposing the Dream Act. She wants to kick you out of this school because you are not documented - and that is wrong."

Whitman stuck to her opposition of the DREAM act, saying "this is a very tough situation, but I don't think it's fair to the people who are here in California legally."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/02/MNGG1FNGTV.DTL

[BeyondGeography]

1. Well played by Jerry

Disingenuous creep that she is.

[Change Happens]

2. Jerry won!

Big time...

[Codeine]

3. God-damn I loves me some Jerry Brown. nt

[DCKit]

4. He can't possibly fix what's broke in CA, but the alternative? Oy. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. thanks for posting this!

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Meg is just so mean. Cruella DeCandidate.

Jerry Brown is the once and future Governor of California.