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Gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown speaks at a campaign rally in Los Angeles Nov. 1, 2010

Newly inaugurated California politicians probably won't get much of a honeymoon. From Gov. Jerry Brown to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, virtually all the politicians sworn in this week are guaranteed to face a significant amount of voter anger as they propose tax increases and service cuts necessary to close massive state and local budget holes. 

Gov. Jerry Brown 

Jerry Brown pulled off what many thought would be impossible when he defeated Republican Meg Whitman even though the former eBay CEO spent a record $161 million of her own money on the campaign. Now, the 72-year-old former governor will have an even more difficult task on his hands: balancing a $28 billion budget deficit. In his inaugural address this morning, Brown talked about "courage and sacrifice."  

The Sacramento Bee reports that Brown will propose cuts that touch "nearly all Californians, eliminating local redevelopment agencies, shrinking social service benefits, shuttering parks and reducing library hours." 

"Choices have to be made, and difficult decisions taken," Brown said. "At this stage of my life, I have not come here to embrace delay and denial."

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Kamala Harris

Attorney General Kamala Harris 

Brown took the oath of office a couple hours before Kamala Harris, the San Francisco District Attorney, who overcame hurdles including a scandal at the San Francisco crime lab, a low felony conviction rate and her opposition to the death penalty to beat Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles district attorney, in the race for state attorney general. Harris, who took the oath Monday at the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento, had put civil rights at the center of her campaign. 

She makes history as the state's first female attorney general, first African-American attorney general and first Asian-American attorney general (she is of mixed descent).

Harris also leaves behind a vacancy at the DA's office in San Francisco. Her successor may be chosen by...

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom

Who is leaving his post as mayor of San Francisco to take a position he once mocked. ("What does a lieutenant governor do? For the life of me, I don't know.") But unlike Brown and Harris, Newsom did not take the oath of office Monday. While his term officially begins Jan. 3, Newsom has decided to delay his formal swearing in, possibly until Jan. 10, by which time he could potentially name a replacement for Harris.

But the primary reason Newsom wants to stay on is to prevent the current Board of Supervisors from naming his successor. On Jan. 8, a new, slightly more moderate board will take office. And that brings us to...

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San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco's Interim Mayor

Once he or she is appointed, San Francisco's interim mayor will have the unenviable task of balancing a budget that's more than $300 million in the red. Like last year, layoffs and service cuts will go into effect. Progressives on the Board of Supervisors will also push for tax increases.

Makes you wonder why anyone with political ambitions would want to be interim mayor. Maybe that's why Assemblyman Tom Ammiano took his name out of the running, and why other possible picks — including former Mayor Art Agnos and Sheriff Mike Hennessey — are on the tail ends of their careers.

Whoever is picked won't have much of a mandate, but neither does Oakland's new mayor...

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan

Jean Quan received just 24 percent of first-place votes on election night but nevertheless bested state Sen. Don Perata, thanks to Oakland's ranked-choice voting system. Like Brown and the new interim mayor of San Francisco, Quan will also face a huge budget deficit. But compared to the $300 million gap in San Francisco and the $28 billion deficit Brown is looking at in Sacramento, the $40 million Quan will be staring down looks downright manageable.

Still, it's likely that despite the passage of Measure BB in November, Quan will have to oversee deep cuts to public safety, which makes up about 75 percent of the city's general fund.