the celebrity

An Interview With Jerry Brown on the Future of Oakland

No one could accuse Jerry Brown of being boring. In his long and colorful political history, he's been famous — and sometimes infamous — for speaking his mind and supporting his beliefs no matter what the current political climate.

Here, he speaks with producer Stephen Talbot about his controversial plan for Oakland's schools, the future of the city and what's next for him in politics.

A lot of people who have supported you in the past are asking, "Why in God's name is Jerry Brown, a liberal Democrat, supporting a military charter school?"

Two reasons. First, less than 2 percent of the African American and Latino boys in Oakland public schools who start as a freshman graduate four years later having taken enough courses to submit an application to Cal State. That's a horror. Number two, the military academy has been an option for more than 100 years in this country. It's been available primarily, almost exclusively, to rich people. And now, lo and behold, when I make it available to poor people of all backgrounds and all colors, then all of a sudden people yell and scream. Is there some implicit racism in that, that only rich kids can go to military academy — not poor kids? Think about it.

Do you believe that kids in inner cities need more discipline?

I believe that had I been sent to the military academy, as my mother and father threatened, I would have been president a long time ago. They do not tolerate the kind of sloppiness and lackadaisical attitude that hold a man back from his full potential.

You are 63 — a young, energetic 63 — but do you think about your legacy these days? I've heard you say that seeing the cathedrals of Italy made you think, "what can one leave behind?"

That's true because everything else gets washed away with time, and yet you go to Rome, it is incredible what they did. It is still a place of wonder. And that is what Oakland is capable of. Take Florence. Florence had far fewer people than Oakland does today, and far less capital, yet they created all these works of art. So we want to attract talent. And if someone wants to build something, like a cathedral we don't have to pay for, I say, good, let's go for it.

In Florence, they did have the Medicis as patrons.

Certainly, but we hope a democracy can also create beauty and monuments of lasting significance. I am committed to more than strip malls and the kind of ephemeral buildings that characterize a lot of our modern landscape.

If the country goes into a recession, what does that do to your whole dream for Oakland?

It probably slows it down. But Oakland relative to the rest of the Bay Area is doing very well. It is still affordable. And that is very ironic because some of the people in Oakland say, "Gee, the prices are going up." But if you are looking at it compared to Silicon Valley, Berkeley, San Francisco or Walnut Creek, no, prices are still very affordable for [apartments] and homes. So it's attractive. Oakland has a comparable advantage that will see it through this recession. Now, if it gets deep enough, yeah, we will suffer the same problems as everyone else. But I think no matter what happens, Oakland is on a trajectory that will see continued improvement.

As of Labor Day there had been 61 murders in Oakland. City Manager Robert Bobb thinks the National Rifle Association should be brought in with their Project Exile program. Do you think it is a good idea to get involved with the NRA?

Well, yes, if they bring in money, if they highlight the issue of illegal guns. We have to try everything we can. We don't want to be so ideological that if the NRA is on the Republican side we can't talk to them. No, I think we talk to whoever can provide funding.

Is this just talk or are you, Jerry Brown, mayor of Oakland, going to open a casino here?

I think it would be an asset. It is controversial. There are many impediments, including the governor of California, who doesn't like it. I am just being practical. Oakland is short of capital. A high-class casino would bring in a lot of money a billion and a half goes to South Lake Tahoe from the Bay Area and we could capture a significant amount of that money, and much of it could go to Oakland. Now, you want it, or you don't. That's what it really comes down to. We probably have to have a vote of the people. To me, it's a no-brainer.

Certain men of your not-so-old age would at this stage in their career gracefully retire to a law firm and make a lot of money. If at some point a Senate seat opened up, would you consider it?

If we can follow the book, "The Last Hurrah" — which was about a mayor, by the way, in Boston, Mayor Curley, who was governor and then became mayor — he said, "They either throw you out, or they carry you out." [laughs] I hope that won't be said of me, but it's an admonition that I often reflect on.

Sure, of course I would consider it. I've considered it so many times in the past, I don't see why I should stop considering it now.

I would say that nothing in my past shows that my ambition is limited. And I'm too old to change.

 











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