California veteran Brown confirms Governor race

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has formally entered the race to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor, confirming a candidacy which had been widely forecast for months.

Brown, 71, who served two terms as California governor from 1975 to 1983, yesterday announced his intention to run as the Democratic candidate in a video message on his website, where he vowed to clean up the state’s fiscal problems.

“At this stage of my life, I’m prepared to focus on nothing else but fixing this state I love,” Brown said in the statement.

In a dual jibe at outgoing Governor Schwarzenegger and Republican candidate Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, Brown said the state could not risk electing “an outsider who knows virtually nothing about state government.”

“We’ve tried that, and it doesn’t work,” Brown said. “Not knowing is not good