Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
November 2, 2010
Democrat Jerry Brown made history Tuesday night, becoming the oldest candidate to be elected governor of California after serving two terms decades ago as the state’s youngest chief executive.
Brown, 72, who spent less than $25 million on his campaign, defeated former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who poured an estimated $160 million of her personal fortune into a failed bid to reach Sacramento.
Early projections, based on exit polls, showed Brown leading Whitman by 49 percent to 46 percent. Whitman, however, has refused to concede the race and one of her chief advisers, former governor Pete Wilson, told supporters around 10 p.m. Tuesday to “get ready for a long night.”
Brown told voters throughout the campaign that he had the experience needed to lead the state out of its dire fiscal situation. Brown vowed to gather lawmakers later this month to begin tackling the state’s budget deficit, which is already estimated at more than $20 billion for the next fiscal year.
Since last being elected governor in 1978, Brown has run for president twice, in 1980 and 1992, and for U.S. Senate in 1982. Brown also served as chairman of the state Democratic Party, Oakland mayor from 1996 to 2004, and the state’s attorney general since 2006.
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