Jerry Brown on an airplane with Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and others during his administration
The Sacramento Bee and the NBC Bay Area's Prop Zero blog recently highlighted the USC Libraries' Jerry Brown gubernatorial papers. The collection, donated by Brown in 1985, preserves letters, memos, and other documents from Brown's 1975-83 tenure as California governor. NBC's Prop Zero has been exploring letters Brown received about the contentious Proposition 13. The Bee recently featured the collection, and a companion article unearthed stories about Brown's response to the Mediterranean fruit fly infestation and an incident in which the governor kept angry newspaper executives waiting for over an hour.
Gov. Brown's papers, housed in the USC Libraries' special collections, have attracted interest from journalists and other researchers now that Brown, currently state attorney general, is seeking the state's top office again. Marjie Lundstrom of the Sacramento Bee writes, "The records stirred some controversy this year, as Brown's agreement with USC allowed them to remain sealed for 50 years, available for viewing only with his permission. Brown granted the Bee and some others individual access to the files. 'The governor has always been very generous in giving people access,' said Dace Taube, the history collection librarian."
A companion article in the Bee recounts several stories found in the collection, including Brown's response to a major Mediterranean fruit fly infestation and an incident in which he left of hundreds of angry newspaper executives waiting for over an hour.
NBC Bay Area's Prop Zero blog also received access to the papers. Its focus has been Brown's handling of the 1978 tax revolt that ultimately led to the passage of Proposition 13.