Dutton lectures Brown on the Inland Empire

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

With talks at a standstill in Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown is taking the budget show on the road this weekend, beginning Friday at a meeting with education officials in Riverside.

That’s in the district of Senate minority leader Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga), who said he won’t be attending because of a previous engagement. Dutton did take the time to send Brown a matter-of-fact letter on “a few facts you should know about” his district before arriving.

Among them: That 73% of voters there opposed extending taxes in 2009, the unemployment rate in Riverside County is 14.1% and that “your proposed budget does nothing to create jobs and, in fact, threatens many Inland Empire jobs.”

Dutton has posted the full letter online here.

Brown hopes to use his appearances in GOP districts to drum up public support to extend taxes increases to balance the budget. Republicans have opposed that plan.

‘The facts are that Riverside schools are facing 228 teacher layoffs and millions and millions of dollars in cuts. There are a lot of parents and educators who are very concerned about what further budget cuts will bring,’ said Brown spokesman Gil Duran.

Relations between Dutton and Brown have been icy since budget talks collapsed last month. Last week, Dutton complained that Brown’s wife yelled at him during those talks.

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento