While speculation continues about whether U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) will leave her seat to run for state governor in 2010, state Attorney General Jerry Brown is making his own moves that suggest he's interested in the seat.

With a Southern California fund-raiser planned for tonight at the home of Brown's former chief of staff - and former governor - Gray Davis, Brown has already accumulated some notable fundraising numbers in recent weeks.

He's also told one prominent California political figure that he's deadly serious about running for the job he previously held from 1975 to 1983.

In the two-week period from late November to early December, Brown collected a total of $415,000.

On Dec. 2 alone, the reported contributions included $12,000 from Hollywood Park Casino, $12,000 from Hawaiian Gardens Casino and $12,000 from The Bicycle Casino.

The contributors made those donations to the Brown 2010 campaign account, which at this point is only for Brown's re-election campaign for attorney general.

That account could have as much as $4 million in cash on hand, which would put Brown far ahead of other likely Democratic gubernatorial candidates such as Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

In a Sunday San Francisco Chronicle column, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said Jerry Brown was clear when asked if he was serious about a return to the governor's post.

"I am, I am," Jerry Brown replied, according to Willie Brown's weekly column.

Jerry Brown's political campaign office did not return several calls seeking comment this week.