Brown Promises Both Fiscal Restraint And New Projects

Now safely elected to an unprecedented fourth term, California Gov. Jerry Brown is shedding a bit more light on what his final four years in office might look like.

At a picnic table in the governor’s office, on the morning after his re-election, Brown said he would continue to keep a close eye on the budget while pushing ahead with his big projects, like the Delta tunnels and high-speed rail – an agenda he acknowledged is “paradoxical.”

“I have looked over many decades, and it seems to be that deficits are the usual residue of eight years as a governor,” Brown said. “So I’m gonna try to do everything I can to keep this state in balance. But I also want to build things.”

Later, Brown joked that he might not be done running for office: “Now that we have an incumbent superintendent of instruction, there’ll be a vacancy in four years.”

First Lady Anne Gust Brown’s response? “Oh no, oh my god, will you stop?”

Brown indicated he’s planning state budgets with the assumption the Proposition 30 tax increases will expire – and that he plans to push heavily for policies that reduce carbon emissions both inside and outside California.

The governor said he has no plans to call for any changes to California’s tax code – though he added that second terms often bring surprises.