Analysis: Gov. Newsom sprints out of the shadow cast by his iconic predecessor
by John Myers, Los Angeles Times
Feb 13, 2019
4 minutes
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - There was an itchiness to the relationship between Gavin Newsom, who spent eight years as an understudy, and former Gov. Jerry Brown.
Much of it was institutional: California's lieutenant governor and chief executive don't run on a joint ticket and once elected, the second in command has almost no official duties. The structure allows even a middling leader to cast an imposing shadow.
But with Brown, an iconic Democrat and the state's longest-serving governor, the shadow was more like a slow-moving solar eclipse.
That may help explain why Newsom, in his first State of the
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