SACRAMENTO -- In vetoing the Legislature's budget 10 days ago, Gov. Jerry Brown took some sharp jabs from members of his own party, who accused him of betraying their trust, among other things. But it was worth it for the credibility he earned with the public, political observers say.

The veto reaffirmed the persona that Brown had cultivated through his campaign as the guy who means what he says and who will make tough decisions despite the political cost.

"If he doesn't veto the budget, he's eating his words and completely reneging on the promise that he wouldn't go along with gimmickry," said Bill Whalen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution and former speech writer for GOP Gov. Pete Wilson. "It's keeping his covenant with voters."

The effects earn him political benefits in multiple ways. Legislators from both parties will view him as an honest broker, which could help future negotiations, though perhaps not within current talks with Republicans on taxes -- or with Democrats on more massive budget cuts.

More importantly, however, if Brown's plan on taxes ever gets to the ballot, he will have the trust of voters. The governor's internal polls showed a 10-point jump in favorability among voters after his veto, suggesting that they view him as standing above the partisan fray.

"At some point, the governor needs to go to the ballot with the voters, and if the governor is not true to his word, he won't be able to sell ideas to voters," Whalen said.


"Governor Brown won't get very far with the flesh, or flexing his muscles; he's not a Hollywood superstar. What he will have to have down the road is honesty and integrity. That will carry into future negotiations. It sends the message that he'll stick to his word -- you can negotiate with him because he won't con you."

It is not clear whether Brown's methods will ultimately prevail in a Capitol considered dysfunctional, beset by ideological and partisan divisions, and weighed down by institutional drags such as term limits.

Brown has eschewed the recent traditions of the Big 5 budget negotiations -- talks that were kept within the sphere of the four legislative leaders and the governor. Instead, he has pursued what some have called a quixotic path: a charm offensive of reaching out to legislators with intimate meetings in his office, gatherings at his downtown loft apartment, meals at small diners or drinks at a bar. He even attended a pair of Republican Party receptions.

Brown targeted a handful of Republicans he thought might be ripe for a deal on tax extensions, but his pickoff strategy has been fruitless so far, undermining Brown's boast that he could change the bickering ways of Sacramento.

"The jury's still out," said Larry Gerston, a political science professor at San Jose State. "This stalemate can go in any number of directions. For the moment, he's definitely winning the PR war. Can he use this as leverage for the rest of his term? It's hard to know."

The gains that Brown has made by appearing above the fray may dissipate if the impasse lasts well into the summer, Gerston said.

"If the public tires of it and begins to view the Republican position more favorably, he could see support drop," Gerston said. "The longer it goes, the greater the risk, because you never know what will happen over time. Still, he's got more goodwill than anybody else right now."

In his campaign, Brown deployed the oft-used phrase "at this stage of my life," suggesting that voters didn't have to worry about the governor losing interest in the task at hand, or seeking out the next political campaign, as he did during his first go-round as governor from 1975 to 1983.

"He wasn't considered a very strong legislative force his first time," said Thad Kousser, political science professor at UC San Diego. "He convinced voters he was a new Jerry Brown, a tougher, more effective and wiser Jerry Brown. But he has to remain tough with the Legislature to convince them he's really a new Jerry Brown."

The image as the honest broker and elder statesman has allowed him to broach subjects that are verboten for most. Brown raised the prospects of revisiting Proposition 13 last week, saying that if Republicans don't come to an agreement with him on taxes, there would likely be a move by labor groups to raise caps on commercial property taxes.

It raised eyebrows among some Democrats, who worry that even whispering the phrase "Proposition 13" will spark a new anti-tax rebellion.

"That kind of transparency is something that, when he was younger and looking at his re-election, he couldn't afford to do that," Kousser said. "Now, he has the recklessness of being at the end of his career."

A politician worried about his future prospects would never have taken on some of the policy objectives Brown has embraced, observers said.

Not only is he seeking a clean budget that will spell painful outcomes for many, but he is seeking a fundamental overhaul in governance. Brown's realignment proposal would shift responsibilities to local governments for a number of services, including jailing more nonviolent offenders; he wants to eliminate enterprise zones and is fighting off some powerful forces in his plan to shrink redevelopment agencies.

"He is staying true to his governing principles, and the public respects his commitment and tenacity," said Steven Glazer, Brown's political adviser. "He's trying to get a job done, and his actions have benefited both the political and policy."