Why I'll Be a Better Governor for California Than Jerry Brown

On June 8th, Californians will choose our party nominees for Governor. I'm running as a progressive challenger to Jerry Brown in the Democratic primary.

For nearly twenty years, I've been a bare-knuckled fighter for regular people and common-sense, progressive values. I was the Founding Executive Director at MoveOn.org, America's strongest progressive advocacy organization. Although I've never run for elected office, I am qualified to be Governor, and here's why I'll do a better job for California than Jerry Brown.

California needs a fighter right now. Six-plus years of Republican rule have left our state in crisis. We need a leader committed to aggressively confronting and cleaning up the mess the Republicans have made, not someone who wants to split the difference.

Here are three of the biggest challenges facing California. As our party's front-runner, Jerry Brown should be facing these issues head-on. Instead, he's running away from them.

Money:

California, the golden state, has a larger economy than all but 7 countries -- yet our government is broke, and regular people are struggling to make ends meet. Every day we hear another story of budget cuts to vital state programs. The human costs of these cuts include schools cramming almost 40 of our children into single classrooms, domestic violence shelters closing, massive tuition hikes at our public colleges, and thousands of layoffs from our Healthy Families program. Why are we letting this happen?

We have a choice. Instead of rolling over and accepting these cuts, we can raise the $19 billion we need to turn our beautiful state around. We can do it mainly by making the oil companies, the big commercial property owners, the corporations, and the richest people pay their fair share -- which none of them are doing today. We can also legalize and tax marijuana, tax services like lawyers as we do physical goods, and end incentive programs that aren't working. On my website, I've laid out a specific plan to raise the $19 billion it will take to close our ongoing budget deficit and stop the cuts, so we can start taking care of our children instead of the oil companies and real-estate tycoons.

I will do this without raising the burden on struggling Californians. In fact, I'll make things easier for people in the lowest income bracket, because right now they're paying a bigger share of their income than anyone else, and I'll change that by making the big guys start pulling their weight.

Budget cuts and the $19 billion deficit driving them are arguably the most serious problems facing our state. What's Jerry Brown's answer? He has none. He says only that he won't raise taxes. He may think that's smart politics, but it's not the kind of leadership we need.

Democracy:

You might think we have a democracy in Sacramento, settling our differences by majority vote. In fact, we don't. Instead, Sacramento has a 2/3 rule that gives the Republican minority the power to hold our state's finances hostage, even though we elect solid majorities of Democrats to represent us. Republicans exploit this power ruthlessly, preventing us from raising the revenues we need, because their Wall Street backers don't want to pay their fair share. It's one of the biggest reasons our state's in such a deep hole.

We've got to end the 2/3 rule and get the Republican boot off our neck. There's just no way around it.

You'd think Jerry Brown would agree. But, incredibly, he's taken steps this spring to sabotage the campaign to end the 2/3 rule. As Attorney General, he changed the wording of an important ballot initiative in a way that scares people away from standing up for our rights.

I support ending the 2/3 rule, and so do 70% of Californians. But Jerry Brown is carrying water for the Republicans, not fighting for us.

Health Care:

Our health care system is a mess. The problem is the health insurance companies. They are parasites, sucking up massive sums of money, and giving us paperwork, rate hikes, and denials of coverage in return. Although President Obama's new health care law reins in some of their worst abuses, it also perpetuates the problem, by forcing us to buy their inadequate products, and offering no other option.

A better answer is "Medicare for All", also known as single-payer health care, the most robust form of the "public option" that Californians asked for. It's simple and elegant: by getting the insurance companies out of the way, we get better care, and we save tons of money.

With Medicare for All, the average California family will save more than $300 per year. Employers who insure their workers will save almost $800 per employee per year - freeing that money up to hire more people. California as a whole will save $8 billion in the first year, and $343 billion over ten years.

The California Senate has passed our Medicare for All bill, SB 810 (sponsored by Senator Mark Leno). The state assembly has passed similar legislation in recent years. I'm committed to signing it if I'm elected Governor. Sadly, Jerry Brown refuses to make the same commitment.

California needs a leader we can count on: one whose values are clear, and who fights for us reliably. I love this state, and I'm fighting for it with everything I've got.

But with all of Jerry Brown's experience, if he's not willing to stand up and fight for us, what makes me think I can?

Take a look at my track record:

• Stopping President Bush: As MoveOn's Executive Director, I ran the campaign that defeated President Bush for the very first time after 9-11, when the U.S. Senate rejected his choices for judges on America's top courts.
• Stopping President Bush again: Working closely with Hill leaders including Rep. Henry Waxman, I led MoveOn's campaign that defeated President Bush's 2004 budget in the House, despite Republican control there.
• Protecting our Climate: I organized most of the grassroots support to pass California's car emissions law, AB 1493, which was the basis for President Obama's excellent new nationwide clean-car rules.
• Getting Corporate Money out of our Political System: I also organized the bulk of the grassroots support to pass the McCain-Feingold law, banning corporate "soft money" from our political system.
• Protecting People from Air Pollution: Working for the American Lung Association, I persuaded several states to release their air pollution data in real time, so people with asthma can plan their days in safety.
• Protecting the California Desert: At the Sierra Club, I helped secure crucial final votes to pass the California Desert Protection Act, the only major pro-environment law passed in the Clinton Administration.
• Helping Eliminate the U.S. Budget Deficit: I helped run a young people's campaign in 1992 that put deficit reduction at the front of the national agenda, helping spur President Clinton to balance the budget.

These are just a few examples of the difference I've made fighting for progressive values since the early 1990s. My background, defeating Republican power and moving a positive agenda in the face of an entrenched opposition, is exactly the kind of leadership experience we need in our next Governor.

Governing California will require management chops too. I have an M.B.A. from Yale, and my management skill is reflected in the enduring strength of organizations I've built:

• As MoveOn.org's Founding Executive Director (2001-2005), I grew the organization from 350,000 to 3 million members, and grew its budget from $81,000 to $6.5 million. I built a solid team, paid them competitive salaries, kept the books in order, and led MoveOn's millions of members in winning several game-changing victories over the Bush administration.
• As the Sierra Club's first National Student Organizer, in the mid-1990s, I secured permanent funding for the Sierra Student Coalition, recruited and trained a corps of skilled student campaign leaders, and created new ways to engage 30,000 students in campaigns like protecting millions of acres of the Mojave Desert as wilderness.

My values are clear and consistent, and I've fought for them reliably over nearly twenty years.

I don't owe favors to anyone, because I've always fought for the public interest, against the corporations, and I've never taken big money from any industry. Can Jerry Brown say the same thing?

Does Jerry Brown have what it takes to fight for us?


Let's look at one more major example: California's climate-change action plan, known as AB 32. AB 32 is state law, democratically passed and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. But Meg Whitman is promising that if she's elected, her first move will be to undo it. She's working for Texas oil companies, not California's people.

What does Jerry Brown have to say about this? He mounts a tepid defense of AB 32, saying he sees room for "adjustments."

Here's what I say about it:


Meg Whitman's assault on AB 32 is utterly insane. Undoing AB 32 not only threatens our survival, but it cuts the floorboards out from under our emerging clean-tech economy. Building the new green economy will require investment, and investors need stability, not see-sawing. Whitman is putting California at risk of blowing the greatest economic opportunity of this decade: green jobs. Her attack on AB 32 is like going back 30 years and saying we shouldn't develop the Internet. Where would eBay be today?


This is the kind of vigorous fight against Meg Whitman and the Republicans that California needs.

With Whitman promising to spend at least $150 million from her Goldman Sachs bank account, Democrats need a candidate we can get excited about, one who can inspire the votes we'll need to win in November.

Jerry Brown has a long record of service to our state. But today, he's not taking the leadership stands we need. Is it any wonder that, according to a recent poll, 41 percent of people under 40 have no opinion of him?

We can do better.

I have the skills, the values, and the experience to lead our state successfully through the challenges we face today. I've won major victories on behalf of regular people and common-sense values, and I've built powerful, enduring organizations.

Vote for progress on June 8th -- or as early as next week, if you vote by mail. Join my campaign for California's future on Facebook, on Twitter, and at http://Peter4Gov.org. Thank you.



 

Comments

[B Cayenne Bird]

03:23 AM on 05/22/2010

Peter Schurman has a track record of beating Bush several times. He is well-educated and presents himself in a classy manner. Jerry Brown is endorsed by CCPOA and is at the core of the prisons crisis. He is against legalization of MJ which is costing us millions to prosecute and against amending the three strikes law. Aguirre does not have the polish and maturity that it takes to be Governor yet. Moveon.org is a huge track record of success. I think Kamala Harris for AG and Peter Schurman for Gov would turn this mess of spending billions on prisons around.

[sdpolitics]

09:35 PM on 05/05/2010

I have been following the Aguirre for Governor campaign and Mr. Aguirre has a vision that we really need in California, and a real chance to beat Brown in June. His internet following is huge.(217,274 followers on twitter...) Here is a link to a youtube video called: "Richard Aguirre Debates Peter Schurman, The Only Governors Debate at the Democratic Convention 2010" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtdOwooaTAY

Here is a Link to Mr. Aguirre's website, tell me what you think of his plan.
http://aguirreforgovernor.com/

[justice4cori]

09:04 AM on 05/05/2010

i think jerry should consider you for some position in the new government

[sdpolitics]

03:25 AM on 05/06/2010

I have been following the Aguirre for Governor campaign and Mr. Aguirre has a vision that we really need in California, and a real chance to beat Brown in June. His internet following is huge.(217,274 followers on twitter...) Here is a link to a youtube video called: "Richard Aguirre Debates Peter Schurman, The Only Governors Debate at the Democratic Convention 2010" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtdOwooaTAY

Here is a Link to Mr. Aguirre's website, tell me what you think of his plan.
http://aguirreforgovernor.com/

[Todays Illusion]

11:56 PM on 05/04/2010

This is also true with the largest corporations. Ignore the rules, send in the attorneys. No problem. But someone better do something fast to help people start new businesses. Set up the data bases, so If I want to set up a business, running into a regulation, that no one "knew about" when the plan was written, or once opened, all unexpected, sometimes big fines, a total nightmare. I have seen it too often.

[Todays Illusion]

11:55 PM on 05/04/2010

It is conventional wisdom that start-up businesses create the jobs. Some earlier mentioned the regulations. This doesn't slow down someone like Wal-Mart coming in and bargining away rules and regulations and gaining favorable tax status, but the regulations to make it very very hard for an individual to start a business. California has city, county, state sales taxes, income tax, and the federal income tax. That is a lot of tax for ordinary people. Sales taxes are expensive to collect.
Why not kill the sales tax. have only income tax, but for goodness sake have a reserve for times when jobs decrease. Now, back to the regulations. We oh so desperately need someone to set up a database, city, county, state, federal regulations, that covers all, and I mean all conditions that must be met. City, by city, county, by county. Labor, environment, safety, insurance, and look at the fees. It is insane to try to start a business, this has harmed our economy, yet, illegal immigrants, new immigrants, come in start business, ignore the rules, later when they have earned some money, they just pay the fines and keep going. But there are problems and you know it. Problems with substandard working conditions, illegal labor, health violations, environmental violations, failures to collect and pay sales taxes and on, and on.

[LeftCoastJim]

07:56 PM on 05/04/2010

Imagine an activist for people that repeatedly opposed action of the Bush regime. And he has a Yale MBA degree. And he's beholden to no corporation. Ask any Fortune 500 CEO, "That's a dangerous guy."

One problem with the current political system is that it is funded by special interests. By funding campaigns, big money gets to keep the benefits of "democracy" headed their way. Big money get's to screen out candidates who talk too much about helping "people." These "Do-Gooders" fail at their first political run. They either learn where the bread is buttered, or they find other work. If the Pigs at the Trough aren't backing you, Good Luck! Schurman is an activist with a track record. He's in the people's pocket, no one else's. He's what voters fantasize about.

[Peter Schurman]

08:50 PM on 05/04/2010

Thanks, Jim! Spread the word: http://bit.ly/Peter4GovFB and http://Peter4Gov.org .

[kimk3]

06:06 PM on 05/04/2010

So, Mr. Schurman, how is it that no one in the progressive/activist community in Los Angeles has ever heard of you? Where ya been?

[Peter Schurman]

08:55 PM on 05/04/2010

Kim -

In fact, I've been endorsed by Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles: http://www.pdla.org/Endorsements.html

...and by the Progressive Democratic Club (of L.A. / Long Beach Harbor - South Bay area): http://prodemclub.org/

[zipowitz]

04:19 PM on 05/04/2010

Pete didn't like what I said in my post and referred me to a silly site on myths. However here are the facts on why CA is suffering and will be even more so if AB32 gets enacted and if we don't make huge changes to our pension funds. Go here for facts.
http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/75/pdf/bp59_es.pdf

Or how about the CA funding study on regulation which states: "The study finds that the total cost of regulation to the State of California is $492.994 billion which is almost five times the State’s general fund budget, and almost a third of the State’s gross product." "The cost of regulation
results in an employment loss of 3.8 million jobs which is a tenth of the State’s
population."

Arnold tried to sit on this study to no avail and here is the link. http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/75/pdf/CostofRegulationStudyFinal.pdf

Do some real homework to find out what ails CA.

[Jordan Gomez]

09:56 PM on 05/04/2010

Your link is to the California State Assembly Republican Caucus. They have been killing this state by inches for years. They are the least credible people I could think of to link to. They are responsible for the destruction wrought upon this state. They and their radical right wing companions are the architects of this fiscal calamity that threatens the lives of all the people living in this state. They give away our birthright to corporations and deny us the basic services that any decent state should provide. Countless thousands of students, the state's future, are threatened by budget cuts. When the state needs these people educated the most, as our economy and technology are changing, the answer is to fix this crisis, not sit down and do nothing. Hundreds of sick older people are denied help they need because free-market fundamentalists and trust fund babies think they should not pay their fair share because we of the common rabble don't deserve roads and schools. They depend more on the system than any citizen of the state does. They use infrastructure more and depend on the courts more and obtained the resources, like oil, that belong to all citizens of this state equally, free of charge, and then expect us to thank them for it. Real Americans provide them their profits. Real Americans make this state great. Real Americans are the ones hurt most by this radical right wing agenda.

[sdpolitics]

03:23 AM on 05/06/2010

I have been following the Aguirre for Governor campaign and Mr. Aguirre has a vision that we really need in California, and a real chance to beat Brown in June. His internet following is huge.(217,274 followers on twitter...) Here is a link to a youtube video called: "Richard Aguirre Debates Peter Schurman, The Only Governors Debate at the Democratic Convention 2010" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtdOwooaTAY

Here is a Link to Mr. Aguirre's website, tell me what you think of his plan.
http://aguirreforgovernor.com/

[goldstone]

03:56 PM on 05/04/2010

Is it allowable to do a little reality check with Mr. Schurman?

The title of the piece is enough to discount his whole effort. Mr. Schurman "will be" a better governor?

This is a scenario that is so remotely unlikely that it's ludicrous to state it in the affirmative. At best, Mr. Schurman can make a conditional claim.... would be better IF elected.

I remember lefty radio host Lila Garrett intoning over and over again in 2004.... "When Dennis Kucinich is president... when Dennis Kucinich is president.... when Dennis Kucinich is president....."

So tempting to finish the phrase for her, and, for that matter, for Mr. Schurman.

When Mr. Schurman is governor of California, monkeys will fly out of my....

Go ahead. Finish the phrase. It's right on target.

[LeftCoastJim]

08:08 PM on 05/04/2010

Schurman is a Democratic Voter's dream. An Activist with a Yale MBA, that decided to skip the selling of his soul to Special Interests before running for governror.

Get serious. Dennis Kucinich had bigger problems than Lila Garrett. He'd had a track record of sticking to his principles. He even lost his office rather than recant on his support for Public Electric Power. Only when the Public Power was maintained, and the citizens realized he was right, did they decide to put him back into office. The Fortune 500 wants nothing to do with principles. They want pragmatic functionaries who do their bidding regardless of how many citizens are hurt.

[sdpolitics]

03:23 AM on 05/06/2010

I have been following the Aguirre for Governor campaign and Mr. Aguirre has a vision that we really need in California, and a real chance to beat Brown in June. His internet following is huge.(217,274 followers on twitter...) Here is a link to a youtube video called: "Richard Aguirre Debates Peter Schurman, The Only Governors Debate at the Democratic Convention 2010" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtdOwooaTAY

Here is a Link to Mr. Aguirre's website, tell me what you think of his plan.
http://aguirreforgovernor.com/

[EarlRichards]

02:53 PM on 05/04/2010

Meg Whitman is too close to the corrupt and fraudulent investment banker, Goldman Sachs.

[Vinlander]

02:40 PM on 05/04/2010

A tiny piece of advice. Run for an office with a bit less responsibility as your first attempt at public office. Governor of California is a bigger job than Prime Minister of Canada or Mayor of New York. Maybe you should thing about a state senate job???

[mheister]

04:12 PM on 05/04/2010

Jerry Brown very successfully scared off all the other primary competition by amassing a huge war chest and some successful prosecutions as the AG. Gavin Newsom blinked. Last I heard, he's running for the job Brown is vacating.

Brown should have a primary challenger. Schurman has strong activist credibility, and has staked out far more progressive positions than Brown.

I had planned on voting for Newsom before he dropped out, and wasn't aware until today that Schurman was running. So, I'm happy to have an alternative.

[goldstone]

06:16 PM on 05/04/2010

Incorrect.

Gavin Newsom is running for Lt. Governor. Jerry Brown is Attorney General.

You can still vote for Gavin Newsom.

And you can still vote for the next governor of California: Jerry Brown.

Schurman's candidacy is deeply unserious..

[Winning09]

10:17 PM on 05/04/2010

WRONG.

Newsom is running for lieutenant governor.

Jerry is the attorney general.

It helps to know what's going on...

[LeftCoastJim]

08:14 PM on 05/04/2010

And the problems California faces are here even though we are awash in professional politicians. Schurman is a guy who isn't afraid to get his knuckles rapped by big business. In fact, he expects it.

[Winning09]

11:34 PM on 05/04/2010

He won't get his knuckles rapped because nobody serious cares.

[EarlRichards]

02:38 PM on 05/04/2010

Pete, you do not seem to have any position or platform on domestic violence and the funding of battered women shelters. The funding for BWS runs on June 30, what are battered wives to do after this date? abandoned to be killed by their husbands/boyfriends.

[Peter Schurman]

09:00 PM on 05/04/2010

Earl -

Respectfully, that's not correct.

Funding for domestic violence shelters is one of the main reasons I am fighting to raise revenues from the big guys who aren't paying their fair share.

It's right here, along with my program for how to raise the money:
http://peterschurman.org/content/californias-budget

Californians have choices to make -- we simply have to face them.

* We can slash our Healthy Families program, or we can bring in more money.
* We can cram 40 or more of our kids into a single classroom, or we can bring in more money.
* We can close our domestic violence shelters, or we can bring in more money.

To me, the choice is clear. We must raise revenues.

[csavage]

02:30 PM on 05/04/2010

As a TXan, I have something to remind all Californians of-Enron. A TX company hijacked your electric interests in 2000. You'd be crazy to surrender your state to Texan energy interests again.
Brown had his chance in the 70s..it's time for a change

[sdpolitics]

12:25 PM on 05/06/2010

I have been following the Aguirre for Governor campaign and Mr. Aguirre has a vision that we really need in California, and a real chance to beat Brown in June. His internet following is huge.(217,274 followers on twitter...) Here is a link to a youtube video called: "Richard Aguirre Debates Peter Schurman, The Only Governors Debate at the Democratic Convention 2010" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtdOwooaTAY

Here is a Link to Mr. Aguirre's website, tell me what you think of his plan.
http://aguirreforgovernor.com/

[simonlang2001]

06:28 AM on 05/07/2010

"Brown" was removed from office, in large part, was due to the fact that he was talking about, and actually taking action against Enron, California Edison and PG&E, and other power providers.

Why?

The price rate hikes which occurred during the power outages/brown outs meant that really expensive long term contracts for electricty were taken out by California state and municipalities during this time. As a way of forestalling additional price increases.

By the way, we are still paying way over the normal "market rate" for our electricity due to this manipulation of the electrical market.

There was a meeting in Los Angles where Schwarzenegger met with a group of people many of them deeply in bed with the utility providers, they got him to start the recall.

After it was realized that Enron and others energy providers, were gaming the electrical system, court action was taken by Brown to cancel and get out of these long term very expensive electrical contracts in court.

The challenge to the legality of these contracts required that the Governor had to take action and approve the court cases which were quite winnable considering the circumstances they were signed under, aka duress,

So since Schwarzenegger was governor at this time no action was taken, and the court cases were dropped.

Which is why, in large part, there has been no action taken against the power providers and prevented any proper review or chance of breaking these long term, high cost contracts.

[bushitbrain]

01:29 PM on 05/04/2010

An Open Letter to Peter Schurman:
I agree with your HP letter & like what you stand for. The governator has blown it, & Brown is not the progressive he was 33 yrs ago.
My only question is: Where do you stand on ending the nightmare DrugWar which has consumed this nation & Calif. for the last 40 years, since the time of Nixon ? Californians need to know if the next governor is truly committed to change & this vanguard movement is the acid test. Your two opponents are Not, and want to avoid controversy at all costs, but in so doing, clearly abandon the vista of positive changes that await All Californians if they vote to legalize Marijuana, as the will be able to in November.
Such a transformative & bold change can be championed & spearheaded only by someone who quickly learns the salient facts, and CHALLENGES their opponents to refute them.
They cannot, & will become `Emperors Wearing No Clothes' for all the voting public to see.
May I recommend:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-newman/dismantling-the-talking-p_b_549565.html?page=4&show_comment_id=45433153#comment_45433153
Studies show this is a pro-active & populist issue out West as opposed to back down east.
Please become our leader & standard bearer, and you will be swept into office on the winds of change !

[mheister]

02:00 PM on 05/04/2010

Schurman strongly supports legalizing and taxing marijuana.

[Peter Schurman]

02:28 PM on 05/04/2010

Thanks for asking.

mheister (below) is correct. I'm on record calling for legalizing and taxing marijuana, as part of my platform on raising revenues so we can stop the cuts that are devastating our state:

https://peterschurman.ngphost.com/content/californias-budget

We can pay for a lot of things with the $1.4 billion we'll raise & save by legalizing and taxing marijuana.

[Thabor]

01:07 PM on 05/04/2010

If you want to beat Brown then you need to campaign against him, not against Meg and Bush. You were sounding pretty solid, until I got to the actual resume then you flopped. If you want to excite progressives stick to your policy positions, instead of talking up your imaginary victories. As for me I'm more of a moderate, you aren't going to get my support just by badmouthing Brown for not being an aggressive liberal.

[Peter Schurman]

02:32 PM on 05/04/2010

There's nothing imaginary about the victories I've won. These are solid, real-world results that have made the world better for everyone:

* Stopping President Bush (twice)

* Protecting our Climate:

* Getting Corporate Money out of our Democracy:

* Protecting People from Air Pollution:

* Protecting the California Desert

* Helping Eliminate the U.S. Budget Deficit

[Winning09]

11:34 PM on 05/04/2010

Funny. I missed that part in my universe...

>>>> There's nothing imaginary about the victories I've won. These are solid, real-world results that have made the world better for everyone:

* Stopping President Bush (twice)

[Winning09]

11:35 PM on 05/04/2010

Whoops, missed that one, too...

>>>> * Getting Corporate Money out of our Democracy:

[Brian Abbey]

02:35 PM on 05/04/2010

It seems to me Peter Schurman is addressing the lack of a voice coming from Brown and the Democratic party right now - not bad mouthing him. I welcome someone coming to the race with real progressive ideas.