9.1: Introduction

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The Seal of the Governor of the State of California (public domain; Zscout370 via Wikimedia)

Learning Objectives

• To describe the executive branch.
• To analyze the roles of the governor and describe the formal and informal powers that the governor uses to fulfill these roles.
• To present case studies of Governors Pat Brown and Jerry Brown to illustrate the governor's roles.

Introduction

Americans have always had their misgivings about executive power. At the national level, we hold the President responsible for the state of the nation. Bad economic news, international calamities, or domestic difficulties will lead to swift rejection at the next election, and the President's party will also likely suffer. At the same time, with our system of checks and balances, this country gives the President relatively little power. The President must rely on his powers of persuasion to rise about the constitutional constraints of his office.

This paradox of executive power—of expecting so much from the officeholder but giving relatively little power to the office—is exacerbated at the state level because the executive branch is a plural office in California. A plural executive means that the heads of multiple executive departments are independently elected by the people rather than appointed by the governor. The rationale is the same: the delegates feared the potential of executive tyranny, whether at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention or the 1849 California Constitutional Convention in Monterey. Nonetheless, as with the President, voters hold the governor responsible for the "state of the state," even though powers are shared among the executive officials, the legislature, and judicial branches.

In this chapter, we will examine the structure of the executive branch and then focus on the governor's roles and the formal and informal powers used to fulfill these roles successfully. We will hypothesize about how a governor may be successful based on a consideration of these roles. Case studies of two governors, Pat Brown and his son Jerry Brown, will help bring these roles to life.