Jerry Brown votes, talks Greek history

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Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown cast his ballot Tuesday morning at a sleepy fire station near his house in Oakland Hills, citing Greek history to explain why he was leading his Republican rival, Meg Whitman, as the campaign comes to a close.

[For the record, 12:44 p.m.: An earlier version of this post used the term ‘Greek mythology’ in referring to Aristides the Just; actually, Aristides is a figure from Greek history, not mythology.]

‘My father used to tell me about Aristides the Just, the Athenian politician that was exiled because they got tired of hearing ‘Aristides the Just,’ ‘ Brown told reporters after casting his ballot. ‘You gotta remember name recognition is good, but name repetition and the repetition of ads can be very debilitating, and I think that’s a lesson I learned a long time ago.’

He said a victory over Whitman, who has spent more than $140 million of her own money on her campaign, would send a message. ‘Spend your money wisely,’ Brown said. ‘Just throwing money at things doesn’t necessarily solve them. Throwing a lot of ads on the TV in the middle of the summer may not make a lot of sense. There’s only so many times you can tell somebody something.’

Dressed in a suit, Brown and his campaign manager, Steve Glazer, walked to the polls from the candidate’s house. ‘I won’t take too long,’ he told reporters as he entered the fire station. ‘I know who I’m voting for.’ After about five minutes, Brown submitted his ballot and addressed the media outside.

‘It’s a beautiful day. It’s a great way to start the last day of the campaign and I think the signs look favorable, but we’ll know when the polls close,’ Brown said. ‘I also have to add [that] I think it’s going to be very tough for the next year or two because all signs point to some very hard decisions, and my goal will be to get the Republicans as well as the Democrats, business leaders as well as labor leaders, to recognize we’re in a very tough fix, but if we all pull together I think California can be prosperous again.’

Brown lamented the intense partisanship in Washington and Sacramento.

‘I think the attacks on Obama by the ultraconservatives have not been helpful,’ he said. ‘I really wouldn’t want to see our politics turn into a demolition derby where the Republicans destroy the president and then the Democrats destroy whomever might come afterward. We’ve gotta take what we have, work together and make some compromises. And I mean that about the Republicans and the ‘tea party’ but also the unions and the environmentalists.’

As for his plans for the rest of the day, Brown said he would probably visit the gym and call ‘legislators and others that I think will be critical to being successful, if I’m elected.’

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-- Michael J. Mishak in Oakland