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Politics

Gov. Brown Runs Campaign Ad For Propositions

A screen shot from one of Gov. Jerry Brown's ads promoting Propositions 1 and 2.
Brown for Governor 2014
A screen shot from one of Gov. Jerry Brown's ads promoting Propositions 1 and 2.

With less than four weeks until Election Day, California Gov. Jerry Brown has released his first campaign ads. But they might not be what you expect.

In one of the ads, Brown looks into the camera and talks about his decades of experience in California. But it quickly becomes clear he’s not asking you to vote for him over his Republican opponent, Neel Kashkari.

"Propositions 1 and 2 will even out the boom and the bust," Brown says. "Prop. 1 saves water, to prepare us for droughts. Prop. 2 sets aside money to prepare us for economic storms."

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Kim Nalder, a Sacramento State University government professor, said Brown clearly isn't worried about his own re-election, but he may be concerned about the propositions.

Brown is combining the items in hopes they’ll both pass, said Nalder, who directs the Project for an Informed Electorate.

“If you look at the most recent polling data from PPIC, it looks like Prop. 1, which is the water bond, is very likely to pass among likely voters," she said. "But Prop. 2, which is the rainy day fund, looks less certain. So if he can tie the two together and we can think of them both as a package of savings measures, he may be more successful."

The Public Policy Institute of California poll shows 58 percent of likely voters support Prop. 1, while 43 percent support Prop. 2. But Nalder said Brown’s popularity may give the propositions a boost.

"Politicians in general are not popular right now. But he’s one of the few exceptions, frankly, in the country," she said. "So it’s very smart to have a visible name representing these two initiatives."

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Brown’s campaign committee paid for the ads. Recent disclosures show he’s raised more than $23 million for his re-election campaign.

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