Looking Ahead to 2014 Politics

"Your remarks give us great enlightenment, not only like a statesman, but also like a university professor."*

Shenzhen Party secretary Wang Rong to Governor Brown during recent China trip

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Political year 2014 may seem like a long way off but one GOP possible candidate has already semi-declared: Abel Maldonado, the former Lt. Governor.   It is widely assumed that Gov. Brown will run for re-election.  If for some reason he didn't, there would be no shortage of Democratic candidates for governor including the current Lt. Governor, Gavin Newsom (who tried briefly in 2010).  So one question is what will be involved for UC and higher education in whatever campaign emerges.  Of course, readers of this blog see such issues as tuition and the state budget allocation to UC as very important.  However, if the past is a guide, you won't hear much about those issues in the campaign.

Below are links to the 2010 Brown-versus-Whitman campaign TV and radio ads.  What is striking is that such issues are mentioned only in one ad (for Whitman at minute 11:15).

Pro-Brown 2010 ads:


Pro-Whitman 2010 ads:


*Quoted in http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/16/5347158/jerry-brown-ends-china-trip-at.html

Bottom line: It seems unlikely that gubernatorial campaign of 2014 will revolve around higher ed issues.