Californians for the first time in years are likely to elect a governor Nov. 2 without knowing routine information about his or her finances.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened his books. So did former Govs. Pete Wilson and Gray Davis. Former gubernatorial candidates Steve Westly, Phil Angelides, Bill Simon and Al Checchi did, too.
But not Meg Whitman, the Republican nominee for governor, or Democrat Jerry Brown. Neither candidate agreed to release tax returns as they campaigned for governor this year.
Months ago, it seemed they might. Whitman, the billionaire former eBay CEO, promised to release 25 years of data if Brown produced returns dating back to 1983, the year he left the Governor's Office. Brown's campaign, saying it was unfair to ask for 27 years of records in exchange for 25, proposed releasing 10 years of returns if Whitman also did.
But the two sides failed to agree, and with each candidate blaming the other for the lack of disclosure, neither pressed the issue.
"It seems unlikely at this point," said Brown spokesman Clifford Sterling. Whitman spokesman Tucker Bounds agreed.
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