Debra Saunders has this column in the SF Chron with the above title. She includes this comment on Mr. Brown's changing profile on law enforcement, at the point of transition from talk-show host to mayoral candidate:
So what kind of record does Mr. Brown have on crime issues as AG? It is probably best described as "salutary neglect." He has good people in charge of the criminal law side of the office, and he largely lets them do their jobs. Has he exercised any leadership on crime issues where personal involvement of the top dog is needed? None that I am aware of.
In particular, he has not been a leader in removing the obstructions to the enforcement of California's death penalty. He has not applied for certification for the federal "fast track," even though California clearly qualifies and the federal courts' dithering is a major source of delay.
He was a member of the notorious John Burton's study commission, but instead of the double-barreled dissent from the stacked commission's slanted report that we needed, he issued a page-and-a-half waffling letter.
What does he plan to do about crime if elected governor again? Who knows? I'm not sure he knows. The "fighting crime" page of his campaign website is nothing but press releases of specific law-enforcement actions. Meg Whitman's crime-positions page has been criticized in some quarters as being superficial, but at least she has one.
(The last sentence is certain to win at least honorable mention for understatement of the year.)Brown also shed the anti-law-enforcement tone he used as a talk-radio-show host. (Read: "Some people might say that this increase in the prison population is a conspiracy, because it seems to be working almost perfectly for those with extra capacity for sale.") This mayor wanted more cops on the beat.
I voted to re-elect Brown, as he was the best mayor Oak[land] had seen in years. Granted, the bar was low.
So what kind of record does Mr. Brown have on crime issues as AG? It is probably best described as "salutary neglect." He has good people in charge of the criminal law side of the office, and he largely lets them do their jobs. Has he exercised any leadership on crime issues where personal involvement of the top dog is needed? None that I am aware of.
In particular, he has not been a leader in removing the obstructions to the enforcement of California's death penalty. He has not applied for certification for the federal "fast track," even though California clearly qualifies and the federal courts' dithering is a major source of delay.
He was a member of the notorious John Burton's study commission, but instead of the double-barreled dissent from the stacked commission's slanted report that we needed, he issued a page-and-a-half waffling letter.
What does he plan to do about crime if elected governor again? Who knows? I'm not sure he knows. The "fighting crime" page of his campaign website is nothing but press releases of specific law-enforcement actions. Meg Whitman's crime-positions page has been criticized in some quarters as being superficial, but at least she has one.
Leave a comment