It is a daunting task indeed to try and encapsulate the life and career of somebody like Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, who served two terms as Governor of California from 1959 to 1967. Then as now, California was a bellwether state, and Brown’s time in office was marked by an explosion in the state’s population, a massive aqueduct public works project, a revolutionary education master plan enabling thousands of students the chance to go to college, and changing dynamics within civil rights and social movements.
For filmmaker Sascha Rice, the documentary “California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown” meant that not only would she be making a film about one of the most influential people in California’s political history, but she would also be telling the life story of her grandfather. As his story unfolds, Rice—and the audience—gains a deeper understanding of the complexities of being Pat Brown, and what it means to a family that is often referred to as the West Coast Kennedys.
Brown first ran for political office in 1928 as a Republican, losing a State Assembly race. Four years later, he became a Democrat, and ran for District Attorney of his hometown San Francisco in 1939, once again losing. He won the D.A. job in 1943, and before becoming governor, he would win election as California Attorney General.
The political dynasty started by Pat Brown includes his son, current Governor of California Jerry Brown (who also held the office from 1975 to 1983 and who is Rice’s uncle) and Kathleen Brown, who served as California State Treasurer and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1994 (and who is Rice’s mother).
Told through interviews with political and media luminaries such as Tom Brokaw, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nancy Pelosi, and Stu Spencer (a prominent Republican adviser and Ronald Reagan’s campaign manager), and archival footage and interviews, “California State of Mind” delves into a pivotal time in California’s history and where the state is today.
When Pat Brown was first elected governor a thousand people a day were moving to California, and the state had very little infrastructure to handle the influx of people. It was the progressive Democrat Brown who helped shaped the vision for what the state would become, using whatever political capital he had to push through the California Aqueduct, the system of canals and pipelines that brings water from the central and northern parts of California to the more populated south.
In 1960, the state also enacted The California Master Plan for Higher Education; the original plan called for tuition free higher education for state residents and the creation of several state colleges. Brown also spearheaded legislation such as the Fair Employment Practices Act, and was ahead of the rest of the country on several civil rights initiatives, even meeting with Martin Luther King. Brown is also well known for his opposition to the death penalty. There are quite a few poignant moments in the film, and none more powerful than Brown poring over the binders which contained the information of death penalty cases.
