By SAMANTHA YOUNG, Associated Press Writer
This is a Monday, June 21, 2010 photo of a Japanese inspired home in the hills of Oakland, Calif. Jerry Brown and his wife, former Gap executive Anne Gust, own the 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.
That a former governor and nationally known political figure owns a great house in a great neighborhood isn't surprising. But Brown has made his past austerity a central theme to his general election campaign, using it to draw a contrast to his Republican opponent, billionaire Meg Whitman.
The former eBay chief executive lives in a $3 million home in a gated community in the Silicon Valley community of Atherton. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - When he takes to the campaign trail, Jerry Brown is fond of reminding voters that he shunned the governor's mansion in Sacramento in favor of a rented apartment during his first tour in the executive office and lived in a downtown loft in Oakland while he was mayor of the crime-ridden city.
The stories are part of a campaign narrative of frugality. The Democratic nominee wants voters to remember that 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.
He 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.
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