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Oakland: What [Jerry] Brown got done
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Patrick |
| Last Edited | Patrick Jan 30, 2006 05:09am |
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| Category | Analysis |
| Media | Newspaper - San Francisco Chronicle |
| News Date | Sunday, January 29, 2006 11:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | When former Gov. Jerry Brown took office as Oakland's mayor in 1999, he vowed to usher in a new era for the long-neglected city. Standing on the stage at the Paramount Theater, he promised to address the city's biggest problems -- high crime, troubled schools and stagnant economic development that had left downtown all but vacant.
As he enters his eighth and final year in office and looks back on his tenure, Brown says he did a great job improving the economy and a pretty good job reducing crime but concedes his school district reform plans were largely a bust. And his administration has not been without its pitfalls, including a corruption scandal that has left the Police Department under the oversight of a court order.
"I haven't done everything I wanted to do," Brown said last week. "But we did a lot, and I think the city is really headed in the right direction. Just walk around the city, you can see and feel the change. In seven years it is absolutely amazing what has happened here. I think confidence is higher in Oakland now than it has been in 40 years."
Brown, who has been termed-out of office and is running for state attorney general, raised the expectation among voters of what an Oakland mayor can -- and should -- do, but he did not always meet those lofty expectations, according to interviews The Chronicle conducted with 32 voters, including many self-described Brown supporters, throughout the city.
"Speaking as an Oakland merchant and lifelong resident, I say Jerry Brown is light-years better than any other mayor here," said Leondre Jarrett, 34, a barber in East Oakland. "He's done a lot, but he didn't do everything he said he was going to do. I wish he'd stay and finish the job." |
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