Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom produced an economic growth plan for California on Friday that, by itself, wasn’t worth the ink used to print it. But give the man credit.

His head was exactly in the right place, focused on California’s most important issue: how we can compete with other states and nations in a sophisticated, cutthroat global economy.

Call it a jobs plan for short.

Where is Gov. Jerry Brown‘s jobs plan? Where is the Legislature’s?

California’s unemployment rate is stuck at around 12%, nearly three points higher than the national average.

Any poll will show that California voters overwhelmingly regard jobs and the economy as the state’s most important issue, dwarfing anything else, including education or taxes.

“Jerry has created a vacuum,” says Democratic consultant Chris Lehane. “The lieutenant governor has seen an opportunity and stepped into it.”‘