Lake County Record-Bee

At 90, California political icon Willie Brown still dominates every room

- By James Richardson James Richardson is a former senior writer with The Sacramento Bee and the author of “Willie Brown: A Biography.” His latest book is “The Abolitioni­st's Journal: Memories of an American Antislaver­y Family.”

Willie Brown Jr., one of the most flamboyant and powerful politician­s California has ever known, was delivered into this world by a midwife in his grandmothe­r's drafty, white clapboard house in segregated Mineola, Texas.

Next week, he will turn 90 years old.

Brown still dominates every room he enters with his smarts and swagger. His advice — and connection­s — are still sought by friends and even former adversarie­s.

Brown became the most powerful Black politician in the country in the 1980s and '90s as California Assembly speaker, serving a record 14 years. After he termed out, he was then elected mayor of San Francisco for eight years.

“I'd still be a speaker without term limits,” Brown proclaimed to laughs at his recent induction to the California Hall of Fame.

When I was a reporter for

The Sacramento Bee, I wrote a 500-page independen­t biography of Brown, but we hadn't talked much since he left office as mayor 20 years ago. Recently, we sat down at a corner table for lunch at Sam's Grill in San Francisco. Brown took his usual seat facing the door where he could see who was coming and going.

We talked for two hours as a steady stream of friends and well-wishers stopped by his table. One of his lawyer friends sat down with us. Three former San Francisco firefighte­rs also stopped to talk and gave him a thumbs up on their way out the door. Former Assemblyma­n Rusty Areias even ambled by to sit and chat for a few minutes.

“He's not only smart and a great example, he is a lot of fun to be with,” Areias told me a few days later. “He did not let the old man in.”

Brown's eyesight continues to deteriorat­e from retinitis pigmentosa, diagnosed decades ago. He said he doesn't watch much television because it's hard for him to see the screen. He prefers listening to audiobooks.

Brown looks a little grayer and paunchier, but his mind — and tongue — is sharp as ever. As we talked, Brown spun off political opinions and observatio­ns. He predicted that President Joe Biden, “the best candidate Democrats have,” would win re-election.

Brown had recently finished listening to the book “The Accidental President” by A.J. Baime, chroniclin­g how Harry Truman upset the pundits and prognostic­ators by beating frontrunne­r Republican Thomas Dewey in 1948.

“Biden has the same kind of crazy Congress,” Brown said. “His opponent is crazier than Dewey.”

And Brown knows Donald Trump.

As reported by journalist Dan Morain in his book “Kamala's Way,” Brown and his friends, including his then-girlfriend Kamala Harris, were visiting Boston in 1994 when Trump sent his private jet to fetch them to New York to discuss a hotel project in Los Angeles (the deal never materializ­ed).

Vice President Harris got her start in politics when Speaker Brown appointed her to a state board reviewing appeals for those denied jobless benefits.

`King Kong of California politics'

Brown migrated from Texas to California in 1952, virtually penniless. He made his way through San Francisco State working in his uncle's undergroun­d casino. He went to Hastings law school and became a protege of U.S. Rep. Phil Burton, the older brother of John Burton.

Elected Assembly speaker in 1980, Brown relished controvers­y. He tangled with governors, including in an epic 64-day state budget stalemate with Gov. Pete Wilson over education funding. The state notoriousl­y issued IOU's during their standoff.

It was widely felt that Wilson caved to Brown, who once called himself the “King Kong of California politics.”

As San Francisco mayor, Brown presided over the sprucing up of the Embarcader­o, opening day care centers and building a new ballpark for the Giants. In an interview as he left office, Brown told me it was “the most enjoyable eight years of my political existence.”

But his critics accused him of being too cozy with developers and favoring allies for city contracts. For five years, the FBI investigat­ed City Hall to root out corruption — which began in part because of his own request for the bureau to intervene. Few prosecutio­ns resulted, and Brown was never indicted, claiming the probes were politicall­y motivated.

He also embraced a high-rise building boom in San Francisco that priced-out working- and middle-class residents. Brown now lives in one of those high-rises, the 58-story Millennium Tower.

“Those are the fun days,” he said. “As I reflected on it, the world of politics in those days was enjoyable.”

Inducted to the California Hall of Fame

Despite all of the current rancor, he remains hopeful about the state of politics.

“I've got optimism,” Brown said. “I do think, frankly, that there are newcomers who really are about trying to achieve. And they are not buying-in exclusivel­y to the process of parties. Whether Democrats or Republican­s or progressiv­es, they really do have a desire to achieve.

“That gives me hope for the whole system.”

As Brown reaches his 90th birthday, the accolades and honors that eluded him when he held elective office have been rolling in. In February, he was inducted by Gov. Gavin Newsom into the California Hall of Fame.

“It meant a lot to him,” said longtime political consultant Gale Kaufman, who talks with Brown frequently. “There is a new generation not as familiar with his history and importance to California politics.”

As the ceremony began, Newsom upstaged the official host — his wife, Jennifer — to pour praise on Brown.

“I'm standing here because of Willie Brown,” Newsom said, recalling his start in politics with an appointmen­t from Brown to a San

Francisco traffic commission. “And that was a simple appointmen­t that changed the trajectory of my life.”

Many politician­s still seek Brown's advice.

“I am awed every time I have an opportunit­y to be in his presence and to speak with him,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, a former Assemblyme­mber and Senate President Pro Tem. “Age does not seem to have diminished anything about him. His intellect, his wit, his knowledge, his keeping up with politics and current events.”

In retirement, Brown maintains what he calls his “circuit”: a regular schedule for eating at a different San Francisco eatery each day of the week to support restaurant­s after the pandemic lockdown lifted. If it's Friday, he's at Le Central.

He also has lunch once a month with Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul when they are in town.

“I don't think he's slowed down on any level,” said Kaufman.

His friends will stage a series of birthday celebratio­ns for Brown this month, and they promise to be over-the-top.

As my lunch with Brown came to a close, I asked him what he wanted to do next.

“Try to make it to 91,” he replied.

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