Gavin Newsom suggests challenging Jerry Brown's UC cuts

Will Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom be the advocate he is for the CSU system as well? CSU funding will certainly be a hot topic this year. From the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert:

In his first remarks at a University of California Board of Regents meeting this morning, Lt. Gov. and Regent Gavin Newsom proposed challenging half a billion dollars in cuts to the UC system proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Newsom said the regents shouldn't automatically accept the cuts and said, "I'm not convinced we're going to lose that half a billion dollars."

The remark suggested Newsom won't hew tightly to the Brown administration line as lieutenant governor, despite coming from the same party and sharing longtime family ties. Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, had expressed some concern about Brown's proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies on Jan. 10, just minutes after taking the oath of office.

Wednesday's remarks at the Board of Regents meeting, however, reflected a stronger tone from Newsom. The lieutenant governor's office comes with a Board of Regents seat.