Jerry Brown barnstorms for putting taxes on the ballot

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Gov. Jerry Brown continued barnstorming for his budget proposal Tuesday, asking a friendly audience of business executives to help him round up Republican votes to put a tax extension on the ballot.

‘We need the legitimacy of a statewide plebiscite -- a mandate to either make the cuts or extend the taxes,’ he told more than 500 business leaders at a conference of the Bay Area Council in San Francisco.

He said he has been talking to Republicans and believes the votes will eventually materialize.

‘As the reality of the cuts sinks home, people get more realistic,’ he told reporters. ‘When thousands of teachers are walking around with pink slips, it gets more real.’

He said he will review the proposal by some Democratic legislative leaders to increase taxes first and get voter ratification after, but hasn’t yet taken a position.

‘I’m totally committed to a vote of the people and not smoke and mirrors,’ Brown said.

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-- Patrick McGreevy