9.4: The Governor as Political Leader

Two Case Studies of Governors

The institutional characterization of the executive branch provides us with the basic facts. However, let's explore two case studies about how a governor exercises leadership. These case studies illustrate leadership theory and provide insight into California's history.

Studies of leadership often break executive actions into different roles. First, the governor is the chief executive, administering laws. Second, he is the chief legislator, spearheading a political agenda through the legislature. Third, he is the chief of state, the symbolic leader representing all of California. The study of roles is a helpful organizing principle for describing leadership, but to understand successful leadership, we need an explanation of the relative effectiveness of the governor. Drawing on the classic work of Richard Neustadt, who argued that presidential power is the power to persuade, we can explain gubernatorial effectiveness similarly. Governors, just like presidents, have very little command power. Instead, they must seek to convince other stakeholders—parties, the public, the media, legislators—about the validity of their ideas. Let us examine two governors, father, and son, whose influence on California is vital in itself to consider but who also illustrate the argument that executive power in America is the power to persuade.

Diving into these case studies will help us better understand the frenetic pace of California's history in the post-World War II era. The dramatic growth of California as a leader economically, technologically, and culturally is best represented by Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown, who held the office from 1959 to 1967. Second, his son, Edmund Gerald ("Jerry") Brown, had a very different leadership style, serving as governor twice, from 1975 to 1983 and then again from 2011 to 2019. In both eras, these governors confronted challenges to the state in ways that left lasting legacies.

For Your Consideration

Take a moment and think about the nature of leadership. What are the qualities of leadership that you find most effective? Do you believe that these qualities should also be present in political leaders?