These men must govern very conservatively if they are to succeed. Jerry Brown no longer has the option of his predecessors in taking local funds to help make up for statewide shortfalls, or enacting fees on less than a two-thirds majority and pretending they are not taxes. He should be looking at Chris Christie in New Jersey as a model.
Jerry, don't be afraid to take on your own party. If you are, the glow of victory won't last long and a decent political legacy will end in shame. If you aren't, you cap a legendary political career by saving the state.
Pat Quinn and Andrew Cuomo should do similarly. Govern 'like Republicans'. Cuomo should take a page from David Paterson's playbook, not Eliot Spitzer's.
Fortunately, California solved half of its problems this year with the referendum allowing budgets to pass with a simple majority. Now all they need to do is ditch Prop 13 and California might actually be on its way to financial stability.
