Like father, like daughter: It's Gov. Brown for them

Dean Backlund of Redondo Beach was 18 in 1978 when he cast his very first vote for Gov. Jerry Brown. 

Today, his daughter -- Roya, who just turned 18 -- also cast her first vote for Brown.

"Thirty-two years later, my 18-year-old daughter cast her first ballot for the very same person running for the very same office," Backlund, 50, said. "We were just kind of blown away at how unprecedented that was."

Backlund was a high school senior in Rancho Palos Verdes when he voted for the first time. He was impressed with the ideals espoused by California's young (40 in 1978) governor at the time.

"He was running for a second term and I thought he was a remarkable guy," Backlund said. "I liked the fact that he was so low-key and unpretentious ... he rejected the limosine and even rejected the governor's mansion in favor of a small apartment.

"He seemed like a guy who was centered on public service and I think he's still kind of that person."

His daughter, Backlund said, hold similar ideals. When she asked her father about Brown, he told her to read up on him. "She was extremely excited and proud (to vote for the first time) just as I was. She's just very conscientious and a very politically-aware young lady."

Voting for the first time was a meaningful moment for Roya, her father said. "She was proud to be doing her civic duty," he said. Sounds like he raised her well.

"So many kids these days -- and grownups for that matter -- don't even do something that simple," he said.  

So today, father and daughter -- who hopes someday to be an attorney or a writer (or both) -- went together to the polls at the Rolling Hills United Methodist Church to vote after school was out.

Backlund once again cast his vote for Brown, who had no serious opposition in the Democratic primary.

And he thinks the state's former boy-wonder Democrat has a shot at winning the governor's office once again in 2010.