In not-remotely-shocking news, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown will finally announce his official candidacy for governor this week, according to several reports.
The former governor is expected to make the official announcement on line Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported:
Though he had been plotting this run for two years, Brown had resisted making it official while two would-be Republican contenders have openly battled for their party's nod. The winner of that primary contest in June, whether it be former EBay chief Meg Whitman or California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, will have substantial personal wealth with which Brown will have to contend in the general election.
Officially, all Brown would say Monday is that he would make a major campaign announcement. The press release said, "The announcement will made via Brown’s campaign website – www.jerrybrown.org" at 11 a.m. We even know the feed will last all of six minutes.
Brown has been asked countless times over the past months if he was running, but has refused to answer every time. It would be much bigger news if he announced he wasn't running because that would mean the democrats have zero candidates who have raised their hands saying they want the job. Lots of notables have said no thank you, including San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Don't expect a big press conference or rally. This is expected to be online only with follow up interviews later this week.
The final duck to get in the row ahead of today's official announcement was apparently U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who just officially said she will not make a run for the job. All that, plus the candidate filing deadline is next Friday.
U.S. & World
Despite having served two gubernatorial terms beginning in 1975, Brown is still eligible for the office because current terms limits were not in effect during his tenure. If he gets the job, he will take over at twice the age he was when he first took over as the state's governor.
It's been widely reported Brown will enter the race with at least $12 million in campaign funds in the bank.
Let the spending begin.
