Finally, a big-state governor has figured out how to do a state of the state presentation properly.
Unfortunately, that governor is not California’s governor.
A few years ago, I advised Gov. Brown to ditch the traditional State of the State speech, since it has lost all punch, and instead go around the state, listening to citizens in different regions. Such sessions would give a true state of the state.
Brown didn’t take my advice. Instead he took a shot at me at the beginning of his speech that year, accusing me (falsely, I must add) of being a “declinist” with “nothing to say in the face of California’s comeback.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now doing something close to what I suggested.
Cuomo, instead of giving a speech to the legislature in the state capital, spent a week going around the state, outlining his ideas in eight different speeches across various regions. It would have been better to make these town halls, rather than speeches, but the addresses themselves were fairly loose and colorful.
Brown would be wise to do the same thing this year. He desperately needs to get around the state, communicate with Californians, and rally people if he and legislative Democrats are going to be successful in battles against the Trump administration. It’s puzzling why there hasn’t been such a listening tour already across California—so that the Democrats could take the measure of Californians before going off to fight of them.
Instead, Brown has set his State of the State speech for Jan. 24. He should cancel that engagement – and finally take some good advice, and follow Cuomo’s example.