page_title: Jerry Brown
section_title: Fourth term
hierarchical_section_title: Jerry Brown / 39th governor of California (2011–2019) / Fourth term
caption_attribution_description: 2811
context_page_description: Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. is an American politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and from 2011 to 2019. In the early 1970s, Brown was elected California secretary of state, and decades later served as mayor of Oakland, California from 1999 to 2007, and California attorney general from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, Brown was both the oldest and sixth-youngest governor of California as a consequence of the 28-year gap between his second and third terms. Upon completing his fourth term in office, Brown became the third longest-serving governor in United States history, serving 16 years and 7 days in office.
  Born in San Francisco, he was the son of Pat Brown, who served as the 32nd governor of California, and Bernice Layne Brown. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley and Yale University, he practiced law and began his political career as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees. He was elected to serve as the 23rd Secretary of State of California from 1971 to 1975.
context_section_description: Brown announced his bid for re-election on February 27, 2014. On June 3, he came first in the primary election by over 1.5 million votes. He received 54.3% of the vote and advanced to the general election with Republican Neel Kashkari, who took 19.38% of the vote.
  There was only one gubernatorial debate. When asked to schedule another, Brown declined. During the debate in Sacramento on September 4, 2014, Kashkari accused Brown of failing to improve California's business climate. His leading example was the Tesla Motors factory investment, creating 6,500 manufacturing jobs, going to Nevada rather than California. Brown responded that the cash payment upfront required by the investment would have been unfair to California taxpayers. A range of issues were debated, including recent legislation for a ban on plastic bags at grocery stores that Brown promised to sign and Kashkari thought unimportant.
  Brown said that if he were elected to a fourth and final term, he would continue transferring power to local authorities, particularly over education and criminal justice policy, and would resist fellow Democrats' "gold rush for new programs and spending".
  In the general election, Brown was re-elected by 3,645,835 votes (59.2%) to Kashkari's 2,511,722 (40.8%). His stated goals for his unprecedented fourth term in office were to construct the California High-Speed Rail, to create tunnels to shore up the state's water system and to curb carbon dioxide emissions. He still had $20 million in campaign funds to advance his ballot measures in case the legislature didn't support his plans.
  In October 2015, Brown signed off the California End of Life Option Act allowing residents of California who fulfilled strict criteria to exercise the right to die by accessing medical aid in dying. During the sign off he took the unusual step of adding a personal message indicating his dilemma regarding the consideration of the ethical issues involved and stating that he felt unable to deny the right of choice to others.
  On December 18, 2015, Brown moved into the Historic Governor's Mansion, now part of Governor's Mansion State Historic Park.
  In the 2018–19 budget plan that Brown released on January 10, 2018, the Governor proposed spending $120 million to establish California's first fully online community college by fall 2019.
  Legislative accomplishments in Brown's final term include passing California Sanctuary Law SB 54, which prevents police from complying with most requests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold illegal immigrants for deportation; California Senate Bill 32, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, extending the state's cap and trade system (which had originally been outlined by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) to achieve this goal; and passing the Road Repair and Accountability Act. Brown has opposed the Proposition 6 ballot measure to repeal the Road Repair and Accountability Act, and endorsed Gavin Newsom to succeed him.
  Brown has been criticized for his links to the oil and gas industry, notably for contributions from, and his family ties to, Sempra Energy.
  By September 2018, Brown had granted more than 1,100 pardons since returning to office in 2011; more pardons than any California governor in recent history. Brown commuted more than 82 sentences, the highest number since at least the 1940s.
caption: Brown meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke in April 2017
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