Brown vs. Brown — Jerry opposes Bay Bridge rename for Willie

Jerry Brown and Willie Brown at a bill signing in 2011, with the Bay Bridge in the background.

On the eve of a state Senate vote that would give final legislative approval to the idea, Gov. Jerry Brown has come out against renaming the western span of the Bay Bridge in honor of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

“Gov. Brown believes that the iconic Bay Bridge should keep the name that it has had for nearly 77 years,’’ Evan Westrup, a spokesman for the governor, said Tuesday. “It’s a name that lives in the hearts and minds of all Californians. And he feels the same way about the Golden Gate Bridge.”

We’re told the governor expressed similar sentiments in a private meeting with state NAACP head Alice Huffman, one of the key backers of the proposed name change.
Westrup confirmed the meeting with Huffman, but said he had no specifics on what the two discussed.

Lawmakers and other sources had been saying privately for days that the governor was unhappy about naming the western span after the former mayor and Assembly speaker and current Chronicle columnist. He reportedly noted that the Legislature’s rules forbid naming roadways after living people, although lawmakers have ignored that ban repeatedly.

Despite the governor’s objections, lawmakers say there appears to be every indication the Senate will approve the nonbinding resolution, which has already passed the Assembly on a 68-0 vote.
Late Monday, the Senate Transportation Committee voted to back the measure by state Assemblyman Isadore Hall III, D-Compton, by an 8-1 vote. The lone “no” vote was cast by Republican Ted Gaines of Rocklin (Placer County).

None of the lawmakers offered any comment on the proposal.

Earlier, the panel heard from about 25 supporters of renaming the bridge for Willie Brown.
About a half dozen others — including members of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus, a Gold Rush historical group — also spoke up, asking that the bridge be named in honor of the 19th century San Francisco character Emperor Norton.

The full Senate is expected to vote Wednesday or Thursday.
The governor’s last-minute opining is the latest twist in what is becoming an increasingly bizarre game of political pass-along.

Normally talkative Bay Area politicians are privately expressing consternation over the idea of renaming the bridge in honor of Willie Brown, given the outcry the suggestion has prompted on his home turf.

So far, however, no San Francisco lawmaker has voted against the measure — although Democrat Tom Ammiano, who ran against Willie Brown for mayor in 1999, was one of 10 members to abstain when the Assembly voted for the name change.

San Francisco’s other assemblyman, Democrat Phil Ting, co-authored the name change resolution along with Hall.

It’s unclear what Gov. Brown can do if the Senate approves the change. The governor does not have the power to veto a nonbinding resolution. And because new signage would be paid for with private money, there’s no state cash at stake.

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