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Democrat Brown wants voters to think he's frugal when they consider whether to send him back to the governor's office as California faces a $19 billion budget deficit, an unemployment rate above 12 percent and a continuing foreclosure crisis.

What California voters do NOT hear is Brown boasting about his latest home.

Brown and his wife, former Gap executive Anne Gust, own a custom-designed, $1.8 million house in one of the San Francisco Bay area's most prestigious neighborhoods—a Zen-inspired, five-level architectural gem perched high in the wooded Oakland Hills.

The three-bedroom home comes with bamboo floors, a spiral staircase, breathtaking views of the bay and roll-up family room windows that let the sea breeze wash in. The office on the top floor has a private entrance. A spa level features a sauna and wetbar, while a dumbwaiter services every floor, making it easy to send a bottle from the wine cellar to the dining room.

When fog isn't hovering over the bay, the home provides a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, according to a brochure of the home when it was on the market in 2007.

HOW CAN BROWN AFFORD A MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE WITH NO VISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT?

The mystery of Jerry Brown's pension (Jerry's a double-dipper)
Orange County Register via DrudgeReport | 8/13/2010 | Brian Joseph
FR Posted on Friday, August 13, 2010 by GVnana

As Cali gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown grabbed the spotlight with his criticism of Bell city officials and their outrageous salaries and pensions, The Orange County Register Watchdog got to wondering: How much will the Democrat for Governor make in retirement?

That, as it turns out, is a very difficult question to answer.

After more than a month of investigation, the Watchdog can only say for certain that Brown and a handful of other top officials are eligible for generous benefits under a special pension fund so obscure that few people in government know how it works and many thought it had been eliminated 20 years ago by outraged voters.

Under the law, Brown should have accrued, at most, 16 years of service credit in this special fund, known as the Legislators’ Retirement System, or LRS. Actuarial statements produced by LRS, however, indicate that an unnamed person of Brown’s age and earning Brown’s exact salary has been credited with 25 to 29 years of service. The difference would mean tens of thousands of dollars in additional pension payments for Brown each year.

Brown’s campaign staff acknowledge the unnamed person sure looks like the gubernatorial candidate but have been unable to explain the discrepancy over service. Officials at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which manages LRS, have similarly refused to cooperate ... -snip-

But perhaps most eyebrow-raising is the service of a current LRS member identified in actuarial reports only as 65 years or older with 25 to 29 years of service and a salary of $184,301. -snip-

The person listed in the actuarials appears then to be Brown. -snip-

The only problem is Brown should have only 16 years of LRS-eligible service: four years as Secretary of State (1971 to 1974), eight years as Governor (1975 to 1982) and four years as Attorney General (2007 to 2010). (Excerpt) Read more at taxdollars.ocregister.com ...