Brown, Kashkari provide partial truths in governor debate

Some of the claims made by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and his Republican challenger, Neel Kashkari, during Thursday’s hourlong debate stretched the truth.

Kashkari slammed Brown for appealing a Los Angeles County Superior Court decision that concluded the state’s teacher tenure laws unfairly discriminate against poor and minority students.

In response, Brown said he signed a law “to get rid of bad teachers.” But that bill deals only with teachers accused of serious misconduct, not ineffective ones.

On Brown’s prison realignment law, Kashkari said he would “fight the courts” to keep dangerous criminals behind bars. But Brown’s administration has repeatedly challenged court orders and lost at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kashkari said that, unlike Brown, he did not come from a “rich, powerful family.” But both men are relatively wealthy.

Written by Juliet Williams (Associated Press)