Jerry Brown Forced to Campaign to Stop Proposition 6 Gas Tax Repeal

California Gov. Jerry Brown began spending political capital on Friday to stop the Proposition 6 gas tax repeal’s momentum in last days before the election, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle reported that Gov. Brown is risking his legacy by spending his political capital to campaign against the Prop 6. Although Brown has not been visible on TV advocating to save his regressive $5.5 billion a year spike in gas taxes and vehicle fees, the Chronicle revealed that Brown has been a major force in soliciting the $46 million war chest for the “No on Prop 6” media blitz campaign.

Early poll numbers seemed to indicate that the initiative would fall short due to what the ‘Yes’ campaign blames on a deceptive ballot title assigned by Democrat California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and modest fundraising of just $4.8 million, or a tenth of the money raised by the ‘No’ campaign.

But Reform California and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association, which sponsored Prop 6, have run a highly effective radio and grassroots campaign to get the message out that passing Prop 6 will save the average family of four $779 a year in gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. The “Yes” campaign told Breitbart News that its internal polling shows that the vote is extremely close and that the “Yes” campaign has the momentum.

Despite being a lame duck governor, Jerry Brown is the most popular politician in California with an approval rating among likely voters that has been at or above 50 percent for the last two years, while his disapproval rating has been in the low 30 percent range. That compares to a 43 percent approval rating for the state legislature; 39 percent for President Trump; and 20 percent for Congress, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

The main reason Brown has remained so popular as he heads for retirement in January, is largely that he has avoided spending his political capital to campaign for divisive issues, like his huge 2012 tax increases and his 2014 water project bond initiatives.

Brown has stayed out of the battles to replace him as governor and avoided taking sides in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and her California Democratic Party-backed opponent, State Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). Brown’s office told the Chronicle the governor would not be part of this weekend’s Southern California swing by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally support to flip four key Republican U.S. House seats.

 

But the Sacramento Bee reported that Brown showed up at a Palo Alto rally in a park near a heavily congested stretch of the 101 Freeway to give a blistering 90-second speech to union firefighters and construction workers attacking what he called “shady politicians” that are trying to make Californians fools: “Prop. 6 is a scheme and a scam put on the ballot by some partisans, actually, they’re acolytes of Donald Trump.”

Brown went all-in for the “No on Prop 6” campaign by participating in a television ad released on Friday, and a recorded robo-call message that will run through Election Day on Tuesday.