Not too far into Wednesday morning's question and answer session with Jerry Brown, it became clear to me that the first of many differences in the looming gubernatorial battle is the implicit message both he and Meg Whitman are putting out on an essential element of governing: leadership style.
And it's something on which there seems to be a sharp contrast worth considering.
Leadership is no doubt an important part of the job, but it's hard to define. Every governor sees their role differently, and uses different doses of compromise and confrontation to get the job done.
But in the Brown-Whitman contest, the voters will be asked to weigh whether a governor is there to implement a specific plan, or help foster compromise.
Photo: Getty Images
The candidate and her campaign team have long touted her glossy booklet of policy pronouncements -- some fairly specific, some that leave you wanting more details. The former CEO also has been outspoken about how she sees the role of the governor vis-a-vis the Legislature.
"I will consistently use the veto pen to try to get this Legislature focused on the things that really make a difference to California," she said back in March.
Whitman also has said she wants to organize legislators into "teams" to help carry out her three big policy objectives -- creating jobs, cutting government spending, and fixing the state's education system. The "teams" comment has been criticized a bit, and all of her comments regarding the large, loud, but nonetheless coequal branch of government do seem to conjure up the infamous 1999 comment from then governor Gray Davis that the Legislature was there to "implement my vision."
The Republican nominee's approach toward governing would no doubt be deeply influenced by her experience as a CEO. And so when Jerry Brown challenged her to a series of ten town hall style debates Wednesday, Whitman's quick reply was to accuse him of not having a vision.
"He should lay out his plan for California," she told reporters in Irvine. "You know, his website has virtually nothing on it. I have put out a 48 page policy book that details the plan I have for to turn around California."
Brown's reply, at the aforementioned event at the old-school Los Angeles Athletic Club?
"It’s very easy to put out a pamphlet and make a promise," he said. "It's another thing to roll up your sleeves, and confront your allies and your adversaries, and deal with this in an honest and responsible way."
Brown was asked several times -- mostly by yours truly -- about whether he would, in fact, issue a lengthy list of proposals to solve the state's fiscal woes. Granted, there's a political calculus going on here. The longer he can avoid such specifics, the longer he avoids any kind of campaign issue -- other than his lengthy career -- with which Team Whitman can attack him.
But his answers on the issue also hinted at a different approach to what he thinks is missing here in Sacramento: collaboration. Brown said his mission would be to immediately bring in legislators after the November election and "doing everything I can to tee up the tough choices."
"The real question," he later said, "is who do you believe has the integrity, the intelligence, and the skill to grapple with this problem?"
The general election campaign is just beginning, so expect an awful lot more layers to this narrative to come. But for now, an interesting contrast exists between the CEO with some details and some desire for control... versus the long-time elected official who says the process may be just as important as the policies.
