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Newsom: Brown slept with the enemy
By: Mike Aldax
Examiner Staff Writer
10/09/09 11:14 AM PDT
Attorney General Jerry Brown has committed the political version of adultery, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s campaign.
Newsom’s people say Brown, the mayor’s Democratic nemesis in the 2010 gubernatorial race, slept with the enemy by raising money for “rightwing Republican leaders.”
“We were astonished to learn … you were the guest of honor at a fundraiser for San Bernardino District Attorney Mike Ramos, a rightwing Republican,” the Newsom campaign writes in a petition that it will send to Brown after 5,000 “progressive Californians” sign it.
The letter pretty much says: Don’t do it again, Jerry.
The fundraiser Brown attended reportedly raised $100,000 for Ramos’ reelection campaign. The Newsom camp said it was outraged Brown would support “one of California’s Republican rising stars.” Ramos has served as chairman of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign.
“Mr. Brown, we do not believe that you should be raising money for right-wing Republican politicians who will take us in the wrong direction,” the mayor’s letter said.
The Brown camp said support for Ramos was “a non-partisan position,” that Ramos is an “effective crime fighter” and that “public safety rather than partisanship drives Jerry’s evaluation.”
Carol Robb, chair of the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee, agreed, saying in an email that other prominent Democrats attended the fundraiser.
“It is not unusual for individuals in law enforcement to support each other across party lines in such a fashion,” her email said. “The office of the District Attorney is a nonpartisan office.”
The latest Field Poll released Thursday showed the mayor was trailing Brown by 20 points in the governor’s race. Newsom has said he’s not paying attention to early-in-the-game polls.
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