Exclusive Interview: Governor Brown Speaks Out In Defense of His State

Q  What do you think are the State's growth industries for the future?
A  Some of those with the greatest potential are electronics, aerospace, alternative energy technologies the record industry and motion pictures. Services and construction will also be strong.And any science-based technology will do well because of the educational system.

I think the growth industries are those that depend on ideas and thinking and technologies in order to expand and develop. Trade with the Far East, particularly in agriculture, is very important, too.

Q  How much room for growth is there in California?
A  We're running into a limitation on the number of people. A poll taken in Los Angeles showed that residents believe population growth is a serious problem, along with air pollution.

Basically, we're looking for clean industries and for ways to accommodate people at higher standards of living, but with good standards of environmental quality. We're running out of prime agricultural land, and obviously the cost of energy will shape the extent of futher development.

California's population is growing at twice the national average. Short-term, between now and 1982, population will grow by some 2 millon. That means a millon more homes. California is outpacing the nation in housing development, but where will we get the energy for it all? The demand has sent home prices rising and forcing people to adjust their views of what is a suitable home. So there'll be more townhouses and condominiums.

We're confronting the issue of quality of life, as well as the quantity of life. But the quality of life is something you take for granted. Business executives who come to California like it here. They like the environment, the recreation, the ideal that you can go to the beach, the desert or even sking within an easy drive of San Francisco or Los Angeles. And that's something we have to maintain.

We're also worried about the increase in crime, mental illness, alcoholism and family breakup. I'm as concerned about the reconstituting of communities as I am about the development of new industries.We are facing limits that we, as a people, have to wrestle with, and that's exactly what we're doing. I think the limits on how many people we can support here is a function of how our cultural institutions develop and how well we can learn to live together.

Q  Do you believe California will continue to lure residents from other parts of the country?
A  That's the paradox. The more jobs we create, the more people want to come here. So we never quite catch up with unemployment, because we have such a mobile society. That's why California's concern over employment opportunities is a national problem, not just a State problem.

California is not a company town. It's not a homogeneous group of people but a very diverse culture, with highly sophisticated people and possibilties. And perhaps that's its attraction. People should not apply models of other places in the world, or of other States, to California.

What people have to decide is where is the best place to locate for their product or for their way of life. For many, as in the past, California will be the place.