Jerry Brown celebrates California’s successes in speech

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Gov. Jerry Brown delivered a triumphant State of the State speech on Thursday morning, saying California has once again confounded its critics to become a model for the rest of the nation.

“This special destiny never ends. It slows. It falters,” Brown said. “It goes off track in ignorance and prejudice but soon resumes again — more vibrant and more stunning in its boldness.”

Brown’s speech — which weaved together references to the Bible, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Franklin Roosevelt and William Butler Yeats — said the state’s continuing challenges pale in comparison to the obstacles faced by the state’s pioneers.

The governor thanked voters for seven years of temporary taxes, which were approved in November and are a critical piece of his plan to repair California’s finances.

Still, Brown urged caution as the state prepares for its first budget surpluses in years. California’s progress, he said, relies on financial discipline.

‘It is cruel to lead people on by expanding good programs, only to cut them back when the funding disappears,’ Brown said. ‘That stop and go, boom and bust, serves no one. We are not going back there.’

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-- Chris Megerian in Sacramento
twitter.com/chrismegerian