In his first term as governor, Brown delivered on major legislation, including a tax increase and the California Master Plan for Higher Education.

In a second term, troubles mounted, including the defeat of a fair housing law (1964 California Proposition 14), the 1960s Berkeley protests, the Watts riots, and internal battles among Democrats over support or opposition to the Vietnam War.

His second attempt at election to public office came in 1939, running for district attorney of San Francisco against Matthew Brady, an incumbent of twenty-two years, who beat him handily.

As journalist Adam Nagourney reports: "With a jubilant Mr. Brown officiating, California commemorated the moment it became the nation's largest state, in 1962, with a church-bell-ringing, four-day celebration.

"[11] Brown appointed Fred Dutton as chief of staff as a reward for his enormously energetic and effective row last campaign manager.

Although he was basically a moderate, Brown reached out to the powerful left wing in his party by emphasizing the word “liberal” repeatedly, He proclaimed: "Offered government by retreat, the people preferred progress."

[12] He set up a Fair Employment Practices Commission that helped African Americans break through the informal barriers that it kept them out of white collar positions.

Numerous other reforms were passed, largely thanks to cooperation with the Democratic leaders in the state legislature, including George Miller Jr. in the Senate, and Bill Munnell and Jesse Unruh in the assembly.

[15] Opposition to the State Water Project was immediate, especially with Sacramento River Delta users worrying about saltwater intrusion which had already been a concern without factoring in redirection of outward freshwater flow.

Residents of the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California were concerned about the increase in water draw the South might demand as populations expanded.

He lobbied Congress to exempt California from the 160-acre rule, lauding the benefit of employment and progress to the state's northern and southern residents, calling for an end to the north–south rivalry.

[8] The first year of Brown's administration saw the abolition of the cross-filing system that had enabled candidates to file with multiple political parties at once while running for office.

The 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision Reynolds v. Sims declared unconstitutional California's "federal plan", which had allocated the apportionment of state senators along county lines, as opposed to population-based districts.

In February 1961, Brown proposed a massive reorganization plan for the state government, which included the creation of several so-called "super-agencies" (originally spelled with a hyphen) to greatly reduce the number of direct reports to the governor.

[17] The superagencies continue to exist today as part of the long-term legacy of the Brown administration, although there are currently only seven, and there are several Cabinet-level departments outside of them.

Agriculture and special interests defeated his best efforts to pass a $1.25 per hour minimum wage, and Brown's opposition to capital punishment was overruled by the practice being supported statewide.

In the November 1962 election, Brown was reelected, by 296,758 votes, whereupon Nixon famously held his self-proclaimed "last press conference" (he would eventually become president in 1969).

[24] This new law brought a slew of lawsuits against the state government, and led to California Proposition 14 (1964), which overturned the Rumford Act with nearly two-thirds in favor.

He also presided over the implementation of the California Master Plan for Higher Education, fair employment legislation, a state economic development commission, and a consumers' council.

On the evening of the same day, Marquette Frye was pulled over on suspicion of driving while under the influence; a field sobriety test was administered, he was arrested, and the police officer called for the impounding of his vehicle.

When his mother, Rena Price, was brought to the scene by his brother, a scuffle began, and soon crowds built, snowballing the incident into full-blown riots.

[26] By August 13, the third day of riots, Governor Brown ordered 2,300 National Guardsmen to Watts, which increased to 3,900 by the night's end.

[27] One of his more notable commutations was the death sentence of Erwin "Machine-Gun" Walker, whose execution in the gas chamber for first-degree murder had been postponed because of an attempted suicide some hours before it was scheduled to take place.

[27] In contrast, Governor Brown approved 36 executions, including the highly controversial cases of Caryl Chessman in 1960 and Elizabeth Duncan in 1962; she was the last female put to death before a national moratorium was instituted.

[27] His Republican successor, Ronald Reagan, was a firm supporter of capital punishment and oversaw, in 1967, the last execution in California prior to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it was unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia (1972).

[29] The California Republican Party seized upon Brown's increasing unpopularity by nominating a well-known and charismatic political outsider, actor and union leader Ronald Reagan.

After his reelection victory over Richard Nixon in 1962, he was strongly considered for Lyndon Johnson's running mate in the 1964 presidential election, a position that eventually went to Hubert Humphrey.

During the Watergate scandal President Richard Nixon considered appointing Brown as special counsel, but the choice was rejected by Attorney General Elliot Richardson.

[1][2] Brown's wife, Bernice Layne, was a fellow student at Lowell High School, but it was not until the completion of his law degree, and her teaching credential, that they began a courtship.

[34] After leaving office, Brown returned to the practice of law and also experienced success in business, investing in a company involved with the Indonesian petroleum industry.