Puzzling Press Conference Leaves Many Wondering What Governor's Plan Is For Roads
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Gov. Jerry Brown refused to say on Wednesday whether he supports raising California's roads, instead opting for strange, evasive answers while talking to reporters.
Brown calls his leadership "brooding omnipresence." The line got a laugh at his press conference and a quick comeback at the Capitol from state Sen. Jim Beall.
"If the governor comes down from the clouds and helps us, we can get things done quickly," he said. "He has to play a role in pulling people together."
Beall says the governor isn't leading the effort to fix California's crumbling roads.
"He's still up there in the omnipresent clouds at this point," he said.
The conversation went where there are no roads.
"My approach to bringing people together is not to prematurely close the door," Brown said.
Ideas to raise money for the state's roads have included raising the state gas tax by 12 cents a gallon, upping the diesel tax by 20 cents, adding a $35 registration fees to cars and a $100 fee for electric cars.
Caltrans says it needs $8 billion this year to fix roads, though an independent report says the agency is overstaffed by 3,500 positions at a cost of $500 million.