LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- Is Jerry Brown planning to run for governor of California next year ? He sure sounded like it when I spoke with him this week . Jerry Brown , a one-time governor of California , is reportedly looking to run again next year . Brown was first elected governor of California in 1974 . At age 36 . He was -- and still is -- the state 's youngest governor since the turn of the 20th century . And now ? `` I think about the problems of California all the time , and , with the experience I 've had as attorney general , lawyer to most of the state agencies , mayor for eight years and governor for eight years , I 'd like to tackle the challenges that face the state , '' Brown told me . `` I do n't say that solving that budget thing is going to come easy , maybe not even in the first year , but I really think I can make an impact , particularly in energy , prison reform , education and water . '' Brown , currently the state 's attorney general , adds : `` I would work very hard to transcend the poison of partisanship which has totally changed state government for the worse since I was there . '' In fact , polls suggest Brown is the frontrunner in next year 's race for California governor . He 's 71 years old . If he wins , he would also become California 's oldest governor . Republican contender Steve Poizner alluded to that fact when his Web site marked the 40th anniversary of the day Brown first ran for public office . `` When it comes to Jerry Brown and Election Day for California voters , it reminds us of the film 'Groundhog Day . ' Every day is the same . Jerry 's always on the ballot , '' Poizner said . California 's got huge problems , daunting even for `` The Governator , '' Arnold Schwarzenegger . So I asked Brown , `` Why would anybody want to be governor of California ? '' `` That is really a critical question . Having been there , I have to reflect on that , '' Brown answered . `` It is an impossible job , or nearly impossible , but quite frankly I love this kind of work . '' For Brown , it 's the challenge -- one challenge in particular . `` That 's one of the reasons I 'm seriously thinking about running , '' Brown told me . `` I consider a it challenge worthy of all the imagination and energy I can bring to bear to try to unravel this poisonous partisan mess that state government has become . '' During his two terms as governor , Brown captured the public imagination . He was new , young , unconventional , cutting edge . He was called `` Governor Moonbeam . '' Has he changed ? Well , he did get married four years ago . `` When I was governor , I was n't married . I stayed at the office until 11 or 12 o'clock at night and then went and spent a little time in Sacramento , '' Brown said . `` Other people say that I 'm a hell of a lot better now , having married Anne . All I can say is , good , I 'm glad of that . '' Can a 71-year-old man still be cutting edge ? His thinking remains unconventional . `` I went to a Jesuit seminary and I lived in a very authoritarian , very black-and-white world , '' Brown explained . `` When I left that a long time ago , I retained a skepticism and an independence and an inquiring mind that does n't easily fit into the mold of either of the parties . '' Brown may be the only politician ever brought down by an insect . In 1981 , his handling of a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation that threatened the state 's crops caused a lot of voters to hit the roof and doomed his 1982 Senate campaign . Asked about his biggest mistakes , Brown answers Jesuitically . `` Even though I used to go to confession quite regularly in my youth , I hesitate to enumerate my flaws . My critics have done that so eloquently that I would rather leave it there , '' Brown told me . Brown ran for president three times . Does he still harbor those ambitions ? `` I 'd say those ambitions have dissipated with time . Certainly , if I do run for governor , that 's enough for one lifetime , '' Brown says today . When Brown lost his bid for the Senate in 1982 , he turned around and started a whole new political career , from the bottom : party chairman , radio talk show host , mayor of Oakland , and now attorney general . Who says there are no second acts in American lives ? After all , this is California .
Jerry Brown is currently California 's attorney general . Comment: Brown was first elected governor of California in 1974 . `` I would work very hard to transcend the poison of partisanship , '' he says .