A week after announcing that he had collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot, Gov. Jerry Brown's campaign to pass the measure appeared this morning to take shape.
The Democratic governor, appearing at the office of the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters to submit the first of about 1.5 million signatures collected statewide, was accompanied by political consultant Ace Smith, whose company, SCN Strategies, will run the campaign.
Smith managed Brown's bid for attorney general in 2006, and SCN oversaw California Attorney General Kamala Harris' run in 2010.
Brown proposes to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.
"It's balanced, it's fair and it will take a major step forward in putting California in a very solid position," Brown said, leaning into a podium outside the registrar's office flanked by boxes of signatures and about two dozen supporters. "We are facing a world that is full of economic uncertainties, but with this tax measure, and with the cuts that I'll be proposing on Monday, California will put itself in a very, very strong position."
Brown is expected to propose further spending reductions in a revised budget proposal on Monday. He declined to discuss his proposal in detail but said it "will be a difficult day in Sacramento."
Brown was joined at the press conference by his wife and special counsel, Anne Gust Brown, and his dog, Sutter. Following his brief remarks, Brown said to his supporters, "That's it? All right guys, let's get 'em filed."
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