Brown convinces another business group

This time it's the Bay Area Council, which voted this afternoon to endorse Brown's budget proposal after meeting with the governor in SF. From press release:

"The talk we had with the Governor was tough, but the experience was profoundly refreshing because it was honest," said Jim Wunderman, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council. "California's budgets of the recent past have violated every principle of fiscal responsibility by conjuring up billions of dollars in fake revenues and pushing hard decisions off until 'next year.' The day of reckoning has finally arrived, and the only way through it is with a spirit of shared sacrifice and grownup behavior. We don't like everything in this proposal. Our members don't like the higher taxes, which run counter to expanding business and jobs in the state. But on balance, we need to be part of the solution and we support the Governor's proposal overall."

The endorsement comes one day after the president of the California Chamber of Commerce suggested that the group might be willing to support a plan that includes tax extensions as well as budget cuts. Last week, the L.A. Chamber of Commerce gave its endorsement. So the winds appear to be shifting in the governor's direction, at least in terms of support in the business community. But he still has to line up a few Republicans in the legislature.