Gov. Jerry Brown has been around long enough to have learned to pick his battles carefully, especially when it comes to navigating the complicated thicket of initiatives on the California ballot next week. So it is notable that Mr. Brown has started a full-scale campaign to defeat one of them: Proposition 53, which would require voter approval before the state could issue bonds for projects over $2 billion, financed with user fees, such as tolls. The measure has been championed by Dean Cortopassi, a wealthy farmer and landowner who lives near Stockton.