Inside California Politics Gubernatorial Debate - April 22, 2026

In California, the race for governor turned upside down as the front runner withdrew in a scandal. Now for the first time, the new leading candidates square off and who will

separate themselves from the pack? A Republican Steve Hilton. Everyone can see things have gone off track. Life is impossible.

Chad Bianca.

I see the dysfunction in Sacramento and somebody has to do something about it.

Or a Democrat, Tom Steyer.

I want to make sure we're on the side of working people. Katie Porter.

People know that we're going to need someone who's going to be strong, who's going to be tough,

who's going to be strong, who's going to be tough, who's going to be a fighter. Javier Becerra. Listen, I've been confident I can get those voters since the day I jumped in about a year

ago.

Matt Mahan.

Well, this race is wide open more more than ever. We are live statewide from San Diego to Chico and everywhere in between and broadcast across the country on NewsNation. Debate night in California. This is Inside California Politics, Governor's Debate. Good evening. I'm your host, Leland Vittert. It is the debate everyone is talking about after a

plot twist which shook the California governor's race to the core. Eric Swalwell's departure led Nextar Media Group to take the unprecedented step of repolling and restaging the debate in just a few days. Two new candidates have been invited onto the stage after that repolling. There's a lot to get to. Here's the debate moderators, Frank Buckley of KTLA and Nikki Lorenzo of Inside California Politics.

Thank you, Leland and good evening. Welcome. We are live from San Francisco. This is debate night in California.

We would like to welcome you at home and welcome the candidates to the stage. Right now we begin with the rules.

Each candidate will get 60 seconds to answer a question. If there's a follow-up or rebuttal necessary, the candidate will get 30 seconds and 15 seconds for clarifications if needed.

We will be reminding the candidates of those times throughout the night. The sound of a bell will ring when their time is up. The candidates will answer the questions with the first order determined at random and their position on stage was determined by polling.

Our first topic tonight is the cost of living in California and that includes the high cost of gas. We pay one of the highest gas taxes in the country, about 61 cents per gallon. That money goes to pay for road repairs and public transportation. Mr. Sire, the first question of the night

goes to you. Should we cut the gas tax? You have 60 seconds.

Let me say that the reason that gasoline is so expensive, that our President Donald Trump has started an insane war in Iran and driven up the cost of gasoline for everybody in California. That has put $70 billion into the pockets of the oil companies who actually put him in the presidency. Californians are suffering across the board. The biggest problem in California is that the

Californians can't afford to live here anymore. The answer on this is not to give up the gas tax, but actually to have a windfall profit tax on the oil companies who have been ripping us off for decades. Let's that's on the books. We can activate it right away.

We can get the money and we should send it directly back to California citizens. The problem we have here is a president who's out of control, who's driving up costs across the board, and we actually need to take on the special interest oil companies who are taking advantage of Californians

and making $70 billion more because of this war.

Mr. Steyer, thank you. Ms. Porter, what is your position on the gas tax?

You have 60 seconds. Affordability is not a buzzword for me. It's been my life's work, sitting across from families who have been pushed into bankruptcy by bills they couldn't pay, helping families avoid foreclosure or eviction when they were cheated by subprime lenders. It is too expensive

to live in California and I get that. I'm a single mom of three. I push a shopping cart and I fill up my minivan which has nearly 180,000 miles on it. I absolutely feel these pressures and I think we need to do something about it. But I also want to be clear, 82% of Californians don't breathe clean air today. And when we look at what that's costing our healthcare system, what that's costing people,

we have to continue to make investments in having the cleanest fuel that we possibly can. So I absolutely think we ought to be thinking about how to move away from fossil fuels, and that means moving away from a gas tax and replacing that with the general fund taxes.

Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Mahan, you support temporarily suspending the gas tax. Some, including the candidates on the stage tonight, have called that proposal unserious. What's your response? You have 60 seconds.

Well, Nikki, Frank, it's great to be here with you this evening. I'm the only candidate on this stage who has called for suspending the gas tax and reforming it so it no longer is the most regressive tax in California that's putting an undue burden on working families like the one I grew up in.

Look, I'm in this race because we deserve better answers. We deserve better answers than we've been getting from the other candidates on this stage. We don't need a billionaire who made his money in private prisons and oil and gas that he's now supposedly against,

or Trump's hand-picked candidate, or a D.C. insider who the Sacramento establishment is now rallying around. Let me tell you who I am. I grew up in Watsonville. Working-class family.

My mom was a teacher. My dad was a working class man. I grew up in a small town in Jacksonville. Working class family. My mom was a teacher. My dad was a union mailman. I know what it means when gas

prices go up a dollar or two unnecessarily. I'll reform the gas tax so it's no longer the poorest, hardest working people in our state who

are paying an unfair share to

maintain our infrastructure. Mr. Mahan, thank you. Frank. Mr. Becerra, you have said you don't support suspending the gas tax. Why?

You have 60 seconds.

Frank, we need to make sure our roads, our highways, the potholes, we take care of business because every day people get in their cars, they take transit, they need to get to work, they need to come home. The last thing they need to see is an infrastructure for roads and transportation that doesn't work. I remember when my parents would tell me the stories of when they came with $12 in their pocket.

They had to make a life here. They needed to make sure California could work for them. Let's make sure Donald Trump is not starting reckless wars to keep the prices of gasoline down. By up to $2 a gallon, we could reduce the price

if that war in Iraq that Donald Trump started would go away. My parents looked at things like this and said, hey, help me make a living here in California. That's why they were able to, at the end of the day, send my three sisters and I to college, buy a house, make it so that they could retire here in California. We need to bring down those prices,

but we have to do it the right way. I'll make sure, as governor, I tackle these crises because I've been through these crises before and had to handle them. We need someone with experience, someone who doesn't need on-the-job training the moment they get into the governor's office.

Mr. Becerra, thank you. Mr. Bianco, you have said you want the total elimination of the gas tax. How would we fund roads and bridges? You have 60 seconds.

So funding roads and bridges is a fundamental responsibility of government. We need to get rid of the rest of all the waste, fraud, and the abuse of the rest of government, which all of the Democrat policies over the last 20 years, 30 years have created. We only have the highest gas price in the country because of Democrat policies that are absolutely destroying the oil industry, the

automobile industry, and forcing those prices up, forcing our refineries out of the state, forcing our oil companies from drilling in our state. When you send oil, make it into gasoline and send it to across state lines and it miraculously becomes $2 cheaper, you know that your state is the problem. It is Democrat policies for the last 20, 30 years that are driving the cost of not only

gasoline but the cost of living in California up. We have the highest cost of living in the country because we have had one party, Democrat progressive rule for decades that is destroying the state.

Mr. Bianco, let me ask clarification one more time. How would we fund roads and bridges if you eliminate the gas tax? You have 15 seconds.

We eliminate all of the waste, the fraud and the abuse that's going on where our money is being spent now. The number one responsibility of government is public safety. Number two is infrastructure. And if you look at where California spends its money, infrastructure is way down the line. Don't say that the gas tax is funding our roads because we have the worst roads in the entire country. Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Hilton, you support

permanently cutting the gas tax in half and eliminating carbon climate policies. With a super majority of Democrats in the legislature, how would you as a Republican governor make any of these changes into law? You have 60 seconds.

We have to make these changes because Californians are being crushed by the gas prices, by the gas tax. We have the highest gas tax in the country for the worst roads in the country. And across the board, we have the highest taxes for the worst results.

And you know who's really suffering? It's working Californians, it's small businesses. Most of my career has been in business. I know what it's like to try and run a business. The costs that are being imposed on our businesses and on workers in California is just too much. And one way or another, all the Democrats here are part of this system that obviously isn't working.

We need common sense solutions. We need practical solutions. Why are we importing oil from 7,500 miles away in Iraq rather than using the oil we have here in California? That's the kind of common sense change that as governor, I will be there to persuade the legislature to do because they in the end want to help Californians too.

And just to clarify the question again, how would you as a Republican governor make any of these changes into law with a super majority of Democrats? 15 seconds.

The first point is that to open up California oil production doesn't need the legislature because it's through executive action. The way that they've been closing it down is through an agency of the executive branch called CalGem, the California Department of Geologic and Energy Management. I would replace the people in there and give them a clear instruction to issue permits to our oil industry to produce oil here in California so we can cut gas prices for California families and businesses.

Thank you very much, Nicky.

This next question is a follow-up question. It is for all of you. Should electric vehicle drivers pay a mileage-based road tax to fund infrastructure? Mr. Steyer, we'll start with you. You have 30 seconds.

So let me say this. I think it is critical that California get off fossil fuels. Electric vehicles' starting cost is too high, and I would triple the credit so that people can afford to buy electric vehicles and no longer be subject to the fossil fuel costs and the fossil fuel control. Should they be

paying the equivalent of a gas tax? Yes, but the truth is electric vehicles are

cheaper. That is our future and we need to move to it as fast as possible.

Mr. Sire, thank you. Miss Porter, same question to you. You have 30 seconds.

I think all taxes should be progressive. The very wealthy, the billionaires should pay more. The problem with a gas tax or a vehicle's mild travel tax is that it does the opposite. It punishes lowest the lowest income Californians, those who have the longest commutes to work and can least afford fancy vehicles. So I think it's important that we fund this as I've said out of

the general fund. We do need to move toward electric vehicles over time but the reason they're not getting purchased isn't range anxiety, it's pocketbook

issues. Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Mahan, same question to you. You have 30 seconds.

I would reform the way we're funding infrastructure by issuing a flat fee on all vehicles, whether they're EVs or gas powered. Right now, gas powered families, disproportionately lower income families, people living in rural communities

are paying three times more to maintain our roads. The way to achieve our climate goals is to invest in innovation, infrastructure, smart targeted subsidies, not to punish working people

who can't afford an EV. Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Becerra, same question to you and I'll repeat it. Should electric vehicle drivers pay a mileage-based road tax to fund infrastructure? You have 30 seconds.

Well, let's think about our commuters and what they would want to see. I know that they want to see roads, bridges, highways that work for them, that let them get to work, that let them pick up their kids. They don't want to have potholes that ruin their vehicle tires and wheels. They want to have roads, bridges, highways that work. So I would say, let's take a look at all of the above. Whatever works. I'm not going to let our transportation infrastructure crumble. We have to make sure it's working for all of us. And so let's consider anything that works that the public can get behind. That's how I would do it.

Specifically, though, just to clarify here, would you support a tax for electric vehicles?

15 seconds. If we see that that's one option that people support, I would make sure that we are funding our infrastructure. We can't let that go because what we have is when we let our roads and our bridges crumble, people suffer, commuters suffer, and we pay a higher price. So we will fund our transportation infrastructure.

Mr. Becerra, thank you.

Mr. Bianco, same question to you, you have 30 seconds.

Let me make this very, very clear. California doesn't have a money problem. We have a money spending problem by decades of Democrat failures. Every answer you've had so far for the California public, they're raising your taxes, they're taking more and more of your money because they refuse to stop their spending. No, I will not support a tax on mileage. No, I will not support a gas tax. It is a government's responsibility to

have priorities and infrastructure is an absolute priority. We are getting rid of all the waste and we are doing what government is supposed to do.

Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Hilton, same question to you. You have 30 seconds.

No, we cannot keep going in this direction with Democrats constantly going for their insatiable appetite for more and more taxes, for their bottomless money pit. And now the mileage tax, they want to track you everywhere you drive. No, I would veto that.

We need to cut spending and cut taxes so that we can give relief to families and businesses My plan is for $3 gas and your first hundred grand tax-free That's what we need to do to make our state Cal affordable. Mr. Hilton. Thank you Frank

Our next question tonight is about an issue. We all see every day in California homelessness There are one hundred and eighty,000 people experiencing homelessness in the state right now. In a recent Inside California Politics poll, 86% of those surveyed believe the homeless problem has stayed the same or is getting worse. We want to ask a question about Governor Newsom's performance on homelessness. What letter grade would you give him on handling the issue and

what if anything would you do differently? Ms. Porter we're going to begin with you. You recently gave the governor a solid A- when it comes to his overall job performance. What grade would you give him on homelessness and what if anything would you do differently? You have 60 seconds. I'm a

notoriously tough grader but I would probably give him a B on homelessness. I don't think this has been an easy problem to solve but I do give him a lot of credit for calling attention to the problem. When he campaigned eight years ago he was talking about housing when nobody else was. Our homelessness problem is a direct correlate of our housing problems. We're not going to solve homelessness without bringing down the cost of housing. That's why housing has been my number one

issue since the day I launched this race over a year ago. What I would do differently than Governor Newsom is fund homelessness prevention. It is so much more cost-effective and so much more humane to prevent families from becoming homeless in the first place and making sure that if they do lose their home that they're able to land in an interim housing or shelter situation. We can't solve this problem because the problem keeps getting worse for every person we put into permanent supportive housing. Somebody else loses their home and takes their place. That's why Californians don't feel like we're making progress despite spending significant money. Miss Porter. Thank you very much. Mr. Mahan, you've given Governor Newsom grades

ranging from A to D, depending on the issue. What grade would you give him on homelessness? And what, if anything, would you do differently? You have 60 seconds.

Well, Frank, look, the assessment does depend on the issue. And I'm gonna leave the letter grades to you and all the pundits out there. Let me tell you what we've done in San Jose, because we've created a model for the rest of the state. We've increased trust in local government by 40 percent, primarily because we have moved

thousands of people indoors. I had to take on the establishment within my own party to change the way we were spending our money. We were spending a million dollars a door and taking years to build alternatives to the streets. Instead, we built basic, dignified shelter, invested in prevention, and when

shelter was available, we required that people come indoors. We've reduced unsheltered homelessness in San Jose by nearly one-third over the last four years. That's why trust in government in San Jose has increased. It's why fewer people are outdoors, and it's part of the reason that our streets are safer and cleaner. I'm proud of what we've done. All demand results from every city and every county in California as governor.

I'd like to clarify and ask you one more time to give a letter grade to help voters understand your assessment of Governor Newsom's job on this issue. You have 15 seconds.

All right, Frank, since you insisted, look, I'll give him a B on CareCourt and Prop 1 and many of the important initiatives that he championed where I've been proud to stand with him. I'm gonna give us all though, a D on implementation. San Jose has led the way, a few other places have,

but we have not delivered the results people deserve.

Thank you very much for the letter grades. Mr. Becerra, we haven't seen you issue a letter grade on Governor Newsom's overall performance. What grade does he get on homelessness? And what, if anything, would you do differently? You have 60 seconds.

Frank, I would say that the governor has made efforts. We've seen him come down to Los Angeles, actually go out and try to clean some of the streets. On effort, I would give him an A. Here's what I would do that's different though. I would focus on accountability. I would make sure if we're sending billions of dollars down

to the local communities, to our cities and our counties, that we would demand accountability for the dollar that we're gonna give them. We need to see results and results are what you see on the streets. We need to pull folks up, help get them back on their feet and that's what I would do. But what I will tell you is my principal job as governor, and I'm glad to hear other people

are saying this, is I'm going to keep you housed. If you are in a home right now, renting or owning, if you lose your job unexpectedly or you have a medical emergency and now you're about to become homeless as a result of that now unaffordable expense, tell me what you need. How can I help you keep your home? Because it costs me so much more money to pick you off off the streets, provide you with the assistance in the shelter than it does to keep you in the home that you're already paying for. Mr. Becerra, let me ask you a follow-up question. You're saying that anyone who needs housing assistance, you will help them, that means the government will help them.

How much is that going to cost, and where does that money come from? You have 30 seconds. Yeah, Frank, we spend billions, tens of billions of dollars right now to try to pull people off the streets. Do you think it's working?

It would cost us a fraction of that amount to help someone who temporarily lost their job stay in the home if they for two or three months fall behind on the rent they don't get kicked out because we'll try to support them a zero interest loan you can keep them in their home I save a lot more money by keeping them in the house than watching them hit hit hit the streets and then try to find them and pick them

up far more expensive mr. Bracero thank. Mr. Bianco, you have been very critical of Governor Newsom. What grade would you give him on homelessness and what would you do differently? You have 60 seconds.

I think we've just learned of the failure of the California education system, too, if we can't even realistically assign grades to failure. It is an absolute dismal failure. And anyone that says it's not is fooling themselves or trying to fool voters. We are not dealing with homeless, so stop calling it homeless. It has nothing to do with homes.

This is drug and alcohol-induced psychosis, mental illness causing the other. It doesn't matter. But these people are suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness. We would have fixed this problem probably already had the Democrats in California in state legislature and our governor funded Prop 36

to give us the treatment that we need. I am on the front lines of this. I've been on the front lines of this for 33 years. This has nothing to do with the home. Until we actually start caring about these people, you have compassion to look them in the face

and tell them that you're going to walk by them and ignore them if that's what you're going to do. You're just a part of the failure of government. We are going to deal with this for what it is. It is not homes. Mr. Bianco, I just want to

clarify here the second part of the question. If you're elected governor,

what would you do differently? You have 15 seconds. Every single bit of the money going to nonprofits and NGOs for homeless ends the day I take over. And a small portion of that will go to the funding of the drug and alcohol treatment centers that they need, the mental health treatment centers that they need, and then more importantly, the combination of drug and alcohol and mental illness.

Mr. Hilton, you've given the governor an F on his overall performance. When it comes to homelessness, has he done anything right? You have 60 seconds.

Wow. By the way, I'd love to be in your class, Katie, if you get a B for what Gavin Newsom's done on homelessness. My goodness, of course it's an F. It shames our state, the situation with homelessness. We have about 10% of the U.S US population, around 50% of the country's homeless population. And as for Javier praising Gavin Newsom for the photo op where he tried

to pretend he was cleaning up a homeless encampment, literally Gavin Newsom did that three times in a row. Nothing changed. And nothing will change if you have one of these Democrats in power. It will be more of the same. My plan is a common sense, three-point plan. Number one, it is illegal to live and camp on the streets. We need to enforce the law. Number two, we need to get people into the drug treatment that they need, and it cannot

be a choice. Number three, we need to get people the mental health care that they need instead of the barbaric situation we have right now in California as a result of these Democrat policies where the main place where treating people with mental health problems is jail. That has to change.

Mr. Hilton, thank you. Ms. Porter, Mr. Becerra, I'll let you respond but I just want to clarify the second part of my question. Do you think the governor has done anything right on homelessness?

No, everything has taken us in the wrong direction. That's why we spend, what is it, the state auditor found $24 billion of our money spent on homelessness. They have no idea where it went because it's going into these non-profits

and crony developers that are, instead of solving the problem,

they are profiting off these democrat classes. Thank you, Ms. Porter, I'll Hilton, thank you. Your time is up. Thank you.

Ms. Porter, I'll allow you to respond. You have 15 seconds. If you were in my class, Mr. Hilton, you would learn in my bankruptcy and consumer protection class that the majority of homeless people in California are actually working. They're not just people on the streets. mental illness or people with drug or substance use problems. It's also families who are fleeing intimate partner and domestic violence.

It's people who are double and tripled up. It's people who are living in their cars on our college campuses. Homelessness comes in a lot of different forms. And if we don't see the whole problem, if we demonize them from one perspective, we'll never be able to solve this problem.

Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Becerra, I'll allow you to respond to Mr. Hilton there. You have 15 seconds.

Well, it's interesting to watch someone who has served as a talking head on a Fox News program telling us how government should run when he never has run any government in his life. And it's fascinating to see that he can do all these things when he's talking about not collecting any revenue

to be able to do any of this work. It doesn't add up. The math doesn't work, but then that's what happens. You could be a talking head and not worry about the consequences of what you do. Mr.

Becerra, thank you, Mr Stier. The last time you were asked to great Governor Newsom, let me ask this question. We know you have a lot to say tonight. We have a lot to get to. So let me, you passed, saying that you hadn't followed his record closely enough. Are you ready to give him a grade on homelessness? And what, if anything, would you do differently? You have 60 seconds.

So I'd give the governor a B- on this. And I want to start with a simple statement, which is no one gets well on the street. What I would do is make sure to keep as many people off the street and if they're on the street, to get them off as fast as possible. Because only one in seven people who becomes homeless starts with a serious mental health problem,

either bipolarism or some sort of substance abuse. But being on the street itself is such a stressful, vulnerable, dangerous place that it creates mental health problems for many people. That's why I'm in favor of emergency interim housing. Getting people into one room with a key, shared laundry and food.

You don't have to be clean. And you can bring your animal. We need to get people off the street. And let's remember this. We want our cities to be walkable and safe. We want kids to be safe walking down the street.

Cleaning up this problem gives us a chance to rejuvenate our inner cities, to make them vibrant and a place where we're going to build more housing and put more people.

And Mr. Starr, I just want to clarify that last part when you said get people off the streets and into housing.

Is that something that you would force them to do? Let me say this, the point about emergency in interim housing is this, people want to go to it. This is something that actually is designed to meet their needs as opposed to the huge shelters or waiting seven years to get them into permanent housing, which costs, Matt Mahan was saying it costs a million dollars a key and the numbers I've heard of between $750,000 and a million dollars a key and the numbers I've heard of between 750,000 and a million dollars. Being homeless for seven years is an

incredibly dangerous thing to do and it's the most compassionate thing we can do is to provide the interim housing that gets people to places they want.

Mr. Stiers, thank you. Mr. Mayhill, what's your response since he invoked your name

and called out the figure there? Yeah, thanks. Well, look, it has cost a million dollars a door. I can show you the receipts from projects that have been approved across the Bay Area. It's worth keeping in mind, you know, the only housing Tom Steyer's built has been private prisons and ICE detention centers.

Here's the truth. The reality is when you build interim housing, and what Tom's pointing to is the San Jose model. We've built interim housing, dignified alternatives to the streets. 70, 80% of people have been willing to come indoors. There's also a share of folks who are out there who are unwilling or unable to come indoors.

We have to be able to mandate a contribution. Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Starr, I'll give you 15 seconds.

So let me say this. My wife and I started a non-profit bank to basically go in and support the people who can't get financing from normal banks. We have financed 17,000 low-income housing units. We have made sure that every loan is measured only for its impact on the community, either in terms of economic growth

or environmental sustainability, and we don't make a dime out of it,

and we absolutely never will. Mr. Steyer, thank you. Now we would like to ask a question about each of your individual campaigns. You will have one minute to answer this question. Mr. Mahan, we will start this round with you. Artificial intelligence is replacing jobs in every industry. Your campaign is supported in part by billionaire tech executives. How can voters concerned about AI trust you to work for them and not the tech industry? You have 60 seconds.

Thanks, Nikki. I'm the only candidate on this stage who has direct experience with deploying AI in government and regulating it. We created the playbook in San Jose that hundreds of other cities and counties use to put restrictions on how technology is used. Being the mayor of the largest city in Silicon Valley, I am at the forefront of these technological

changes. I know that these tools can be harnessed to do great good, to make government more efficient and more responsive. We've sped up buses and improved language access, but I also understand the risks to privacy, misinformation, and manipulation, job loss, which is why we've put strict regulations on our use of technology that other cities are following. We've

created the first AI upskilling curriculum for our workforce so that they aren't displaced by technology, but they can use it to enhance their work. I am not afraid to regulate big tech or any other industry. And as governor, I'll make sure we protect the people of California.

Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Becerra, you were chair of the Democratic caucus when Eric Swalwell was elected to Congress. You said in a recent interview that quote, many of us heard the rumors. What rumors did you hear? And should you have pursued the rumors as a member of democratic leadership? You have

60 seconds. Thanks, Nikki. Yeah, you hear rumors all the time about all sorts of things. Rumors are not facts. And the caucus, the Democratic caucus is not a place that adjudicates those things. It's law enforcement that does. If someone had come forward, we could then have investigations. I say that as the former Attorney General for the state of California. When I was Attorney General, we did go after sex trafficking. We did go after those who abuse of young women and take advantage of them.

We did prosecute people. There was an individual who was a religious leader who was taking advantage of young women. We prosecuted that individual, and today he is in jail for his crimes. We have gone after people, but we go after them based on evidence and based on facts.

Unfortunately, we have a president today who would go after someone based on rumors. That's not the way we do it in America. We have to have the facts. Rumors are one thing, but getting the facts really gets you to move.

And let me just applaud those courageous survivors who stood up and told America what the truth was. And today, Eric Swalwell is facing accountability.

Mr. Becerra, thank you, Frank.

Mr. Bianco, you took an unprecedented action recently, seizing six hundred and fifty thousand certified ballots by your own county election officials as part of an investigation into election fraud because of an allegation by one group. The California Supreme Court has ordered that investigation paused for now.

Do you believe California elections are secure and would you consider taking the same action after the primary election if you don't believe the results you have? 60 seconds.

Well, we're never going to know if our elections are secure, because when law enforcement does action after the primary election. If you don't believe the results, you have 60 seconds.

We're never going to know if our elections are secure because when law enforcement does legitimate investigations into the allegations, it's stopped by our current Democrat one party rule in California, particularly our embarrassment of an attorney general. So this was a very, very basic, normal investigation. The allegation didn't come from a group. It came from reports that our own records,

county records from the registrar of voters that do not match the output of votes counted. So a very simple investigation would have counted those ballots to see if they match the votes. But we now have a massive political outcry from our Attorney General using political lawfare

to stop a lawful investigation. And it wasn't stopped, the investigation was not stopped by the Supreme Court, it was stopped so we could argue these ridiculous allegations from the Attorney General about whether or not he has authority to stop that investigation in the first place. And to clarify, would you consider taking the same action after this primary election if you

don't believe the results? You have 15 seconds. I have. You made that assumption that that's why this happened. That is absolutely horrific that you basically said that I did that because of how I felt. If we get information, I've been 33 years in law enforcement investigating crime. Do you want me to start doing that with murders? I mean, this is ridiculous.

This is an absolute ridiculous question. This is a ridiculous topic because we have an allegation of voter fraud. And Californians are sick of voter fraud. They're sick of politics. And they believe there's voter fraud.

But when we try to fix it, it is stopped.

All right, Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Hilton, you said you were deeply honored to recently receive President Trump's endorsement. That's despite the fact that 62% of Californians disapprove of the job he is doing. Are those Californians wrong?

You have 60 seconds.

One of the proudest days of my life was the day I became an American citizen. It happened in a ceremony right here in San Francisco. So it is a deep honor for me to be endorsed by the President of the United States. And here's the thing that's gonna help every Californian

when I'm governor, is that we will have a constructive relationship and partnership with the federal government, which would be the case, I would hope, for any party in that situation, so that we can make things better in California, work with the President and his administration to manage our forests better, to harvest the timber so we can

build the single-family homes we need for our young families, to work to increase California energy production, as he wants to do, so we can lower gas prices, to fight the fraud in our government so we can cut spending and cut taxes, to work to enforce our Immigration laws in all these areas and more it will benefit every Californian to have a governor Mr. Hilton is a partner on these issues. Mr. Hilton with the president. Thank you very much, Nikki

Mr. Steyer, you are the only billionaire in this race according to reports you and you and your wife paid $5.4 million in federal taxes in 2024. You have said repeatedly, quote, tax me more. How much more should you be paying? And there's nothing preventing you from paying more. Have you? You have 60

seconds. So let me say this. I'm the only billionaire on the ballot, Nikki. But I'm not the only billionaire in this race. The billionaires and corporations are spending big in this race to oppose me and to support the other people on this stage. In 2024, corporations spent $540 million to lobby in Sacramento. They are literally spending tens of millions of dollars against me. I'm the billionaire who wants to tax other billionaires.

I'm the billionaire who's taking on the electric monopolies and trying to break up their power. I'm the billionaire who wants to tax the oil companies and make polluters pay. So when you say I'm the only billionaire in the race, yes, but I'm the person who is the change agent

in this state. I'm the person who's taking on the funded corporate interests who are driving up costs for Californians in every place No one wants to take them on I'm doing it. They're spending tens of millions and let me say this On Earth Day, the oil companies dropped five million dollars today against me to fight me on Earth Day. Thank you very much

Mr. Sire, thank you. And I just want to clarify for people watching this right now. Two parts of the question, you said tax me more. How much more? And there's nothing preventing you from paying more taxes, have you?

My wife and I have said that we will that we will give the bulk of our money away while we're alive and in the process of doing that. But me paying more taxes is not the answer. I've said I believe you can say that

again.

I know.

Mr. Hilton, Mr. Hilton, I said one person putting more money into the system.

Mr. Hilton, if you guys are both talking, people at home won't be able to hear you.

So if one person puts more money into the government, that doesn't solve it. We need structural change. And in every one of the places where Californians are being ripped off where it's impossible for them to make rent at the end of the month. I'm taking on the special interest and they're fighting back. They're the person who are coming after me because they're scared of me.

Mr. Steyer, thank you. Frank.

Ms. Porter, you've acknowledged that your interactions with an aide and with a reporter captured on videos which went viral were, in your words, a bad look and that you could have done better. What have you done to address those concerns? And as a person who frequently speaks about being a parent on the campaign trail, what would you tell your own kids if they ever faced a boss like that? You have 60 seconds.

I apologized that day to that staffer four years ago, and I took responsibility then, and I have taken responsibility since, acknowledging that it was not the right way to treat someone. And that is a big contrast to what we have seen other candidates do when they have been called out for misconduct. I'm proud that that staffer in that video and I continued to work together for four years following that incident, and it speaks to how I addressed it. I work hard with my team to deliver for

Californians things like free COVID testing in the first weeks of the pandemic, things like cracking down on pharmaceutical price gouging, calling out a bank CEO for the fact that their employees couldn't pay for housing. All of my accomplishments have come from my team. And I would say that if somebody is treating you rudely, you should speak up. And that's what I would want my children to do.

And that's what I did when I was being pushed again and again and again to cow, to cow, to give in and defend Donald Trump when he was engaged in despicable actions. I wasn't gonna do that for that reporter and I'm I will not do it as governor.

Ms. Porter, thank you very much. With that we're gonna take a short break. When we come back we're gonna ask the candidates about an exclusive report that shed new light on a battle between California and the Trump administration. You are watching Debate Night in California. ♪♪

♪♪

Welcome back to Debate Night in California, the race for governor coming to you live from San Francisco.

All right, let's move on to our next question. In an exclusive Cron for report, a California Highway Patrol officer was recorded giving a roadside English proficiency test to a commercial truck driver. Let's take a look at the video.

Do me a favor. Tell me what this sign means. So what do you, what does this mean?

What is it telling you?

What does this sign mean?

This video is captured following the US Department of Transportation withholding $40 million in funding, saying California is the only state in the country that refuses to ensure Big Rig drivers can read road signs and communicate with law enforcement.

Mr. Becerra, we begin this round with you. Should the CHP be giving English proficiency tests to truck drivers? And if not, would you as governor push back against the Trump administration on this policy? You

have 60 seconds. I would definitely push back on the Trump administration on again, a reckless policy. I would make sure that that officer understands that he cannot discriminate against any driver without having a basis to do so. I understood a little bit of what that individual was trying to say. I couldn't see the signs but it certainly sounded like he was trying to describe what that particular sign was trying to represent. And so we have to be very careful that we're not profiling

consumers in California, drivers in California. It is against the law and our police officers while they try to do the best job of keeping safety have to understand they have to abide by the rules and treat everyone, every motorist, the same way. And so if that officer had some basis to be qualified, let's take a look at that.

But let's not find that people are being discriminated against because of what they look like. Is that officer asking everyone he pulls over to explain those road signs? Or is he asking only people who look like me?

And if he's doing that, then he's violating the law.

proficiency tests? As far as I know, the Academy does not train CHP officers to be giving English proficiency exams. So that officer has some explaining to do.

Mr. Becerra, thank you. Mr. Bianco, you are the only law enforcement officer on the stage tonight. Should this type of roadside testing become standard practice across California? And what should happen to drivers if they do fail?

You have 60 seconds.

Well, we have to, first off, acknowledge that we actually do have rules and we actually do have laws. And if they are not abiding by those laws, and California is giving them driver's licenses when they do not qualify for those driver's licenses, and we're sending them out onto the streets,

we also have seen several horrific accidents that were attributed to people that did not understand English or that did not, could not comprehend the road signs or the street signs that they were supposed to be abiding by.

So we don't know the context of this. This is what's super important, especially in law enforcement. You have to know the entire context of this entire stop and this entire video, not just the small section. But if he is verifying whether or not

someone can read signs, my guess is he was stopped for violating a sign and he's trying to verify that he could. And let's stop with this whole racism thing and racial profiling and all of this garbage. We have to get over this. You either violated the law or you didn't. End of story.

End of story. Consequences for bad behavior.

Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Hilton, would you require full compliance with the federal language standards for truck drivers?

You have 60 seconds.

So I've discussed this with someone called Marcus Coleman from Bakersfield. His beautiful daughter Delilah was put into a coma by someone driving a truck, an illegal immigrant, didn't speak English, and his daughter now disabled for life. That's what we're dealing with here. It is completely ridiculous that we have people driving on our roads who can't understand road signs and can't speak English. So, yes, of course, and I've discussed this with my friend Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, we will not be issuing commercial driver licenses

when I'm governor to people who are illegally here and who don't speak English. That is obvious common sense.

Mr. Hilton, thank you. Frank. Mr. Steyer, where do you draw the line on this? Should language proficiency for truckers be strictly enforced even if it means that some of them will probably lose their jobs? You have 60 seconds. Look, I

agree with what was said, which is we don't know the context of this stop. But what I can say is this racial profiling is illegal. And in fact, picking on people based on the color of their skin in the state of California is illegal. I have a program for ice that involves prosecuting them for racial profiling, prosecuting them for violence against Californians and the supervisors, studying, you know, investigating

their detention centers, having legal defense funds for people who have been kidnapped and put in those detention centers, and a Know Your Rights PR campaign. Listen, what we're talking about here is whether police officers and the criminal justice system treats people fairly based on the color of their skin. I will say this.

Donald Trump posted against me last week because I said ICE has to obey the law in California. The head of ICE posted against me. But I'm not going to step back because the truth is racial profiling is illegal. Violence is illegal and we need the governor of California needs to stand up for Californian citizens every time.

Mr. Steyer, thank you. Ms. Porter, same question. Do you believe that English proficiency, language proficiency should be strictly enforced for truck drivers? You have 60 seconds.

I would absolutely fight the Trump administration because the job of the California governor is to protect Californians and right now that includes protecting them from Donald Trump. Protecting Californians also includes enforcing traffic laws and we've seen sometimes a need for oversight in California. For example, we have seen that the Department of Motor Vehicles was not enforcing rules around DUIs and drivers who had convictions for that. I am stunned that Mr. Bianco would say to black and brown Californians and immigrants who are being terrorized and racially profiled that you

have to get over racism. It's not something that you get over. It's something that you fight. And if he doesn't understand the importance of that, has no business Representing a state with the diversity of California miss Porter. Thank you very much. Mr. Bianco. I'll give you 15 seconds to respond

Yeah, again, that's not even close to what I said What I said is we're Californians and I'm speaking for them, especially from law enforcement when I deal with persons of color every single day Californians are absolutely sick and tired of our politicians making race the basis of everything. It is not. And this racial divide that they are pushing between law enforcement and the public or Democrat and Republican absolutely has to stop. And I'm telling you,

we are sick of it. Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Mahan, as a mayor of a city in which 42% of the residents are foreign-born, do you believe that English proficiency tests for truckers are necessary? You have 60 seconds.

No, Frank, the right answer here is clearly to hold the DMV accountable for ensuring that every driver on our roadway meets the qualifications for the license that they have. That's the appropriate entity to do this. And as the mayor of not only one of the most diverse big cities in the country, but the safest big city in the country, let me tell you what creates real public safety.

It's rooted in trust. When people trust the law enforcement officers who serve the community, it means that residents are more likely to report crime, to serve as witnesses, to provide evidence. We made San Jose the safest big city in the country by building that trust between law enforcement in the

community that they serve. That will be my priority as governor, but we should never lower the standard that agencies like the DMV enforce as governor. I will also ensure that every state agency lives up to its responsibility.

Clarification, English proficiency, 15 seconds. Exams?

The DMV has exams and it's not about whether or not you speak English. I represent one of the most diverse cities and the safest city. What the DMV is responsible for doing is not testing how good your English is, it's whether or not you're a safe driver who understands the rules.

All right, Mr. Mahan, thank you, Nikki.

This is another round where you will all be getting the same question. We're asking for a yes or no answer here. If you do not finish in the top two on June 2nd, will you endorse your party's nominee? Mr. Steyer, we will start with you. Yes or no?

Yes. Do you want me to go to elaborate or is it just

yes? Yes or no? Yes. I said yes. Thank you, Mr. Steyer. Ms. Porter. Absolutely. Yes. We, I guess we're going to, we are going to let you elaborate. So I'll go back to you, Mr.

Steyer. I'll give you 15 seconds. Let me put it to you this way. If there's a Republican that Republican will be supported by and also supporting Donald Trump. Donald Trump is raising our gas prices. Donald Trump is kicking one to three million people off. Medi-Cal Donald Trump is he is trying to punish California every way he can. And the people who are supporting him are also supporting ICE.

That is an organ, a legal organization that is terrorizing and victimizing. How can I support that?

Every Democrat is better. Ms. Porter, I know that you said yes. Your response.

Yes, absolutely. And I have a track record of supporting other Democrats. Mr. Steyer likes to talk about his giving pledge, but what he's done with his own money is more give me an opportunity to be the governor I think it's really important that we support other Democrats. I've can I've campaigned for other people in purple seats I've raised money for other people

I was a successful fundraiser and a successful campaigner and I've used that to beat Donald Trump everywhere We can and I would do the same thing in this order. Miss Porter, thank you. Mr. Mahan, we'll come to you. If you don't finish in the top two on June 2nd, will you endorse your party's nominee?

You have 15 seconds.

Well, we don't have party primaries, but assuming there's a Democrat and a Republican, I'll endorse the Democrat, but I will make very clear to them and everyone else that the best resistance to Donald Trump is delivering results in people's lives, just as I've done as the mayor of the third largest city in the state where we're building thousands of homes.

Mr. Mayhem, thank you.

We've reduced crime and reduced homelessness.

Mr. Mayhem, thank you. Mr. Becerra, same question to you.

What we need is the best person who can fight those who are attacking California, like Donald Trump. Someone who's actually taken on Donald Trump, not just fought, but won. Not someone And I'm not saying that he's not a good candidate. He's a good candidate. He's a good candidate. He's not someone who just fought but won. Not someone who just wants to

fight to do more for housing but has and can improve the lives of so many people.

Has fought for better health

care. I will support that democrat in the runoff. I'm hoping I'm the one that's there. In the top two on June 2nd, will you endorse your party's nominee? 15 seconds.

The only person, people who are hurting California are Democrats. It is not Donald Trump. They keep saying Donald Trump because Democrat policies are a dismal failure in California. They have nothing to point to. If, I'm not going to support my opponent

because it's going to be he and I going to November.

So. So.

OK. Thank you very much. Mr. Hilton, if you do not finish in the top two on June 2, will you endorse your party's nominee?

Yes, yes I will. Because we've had 16 years of one party rule by these Democrats. It's given us the highest poverty rate, the highest unemployment rate, the highest cost of living in America. It is obviously, desperately time for change in California.

It's time for some balance in our system. We have to elect a Republican as governor this year.

Thank you very much.

Now we are going to go to our closing statements, but that does not mean the debate is over. We will continue to be live on our last half hour of our digital channels and on YouTube. To get there quickly, just scan the QR code on your left side of your screen. Mr. Mahan, we will begin with you. Closing statements, you have 30 seconds. Thanks, Nikki. I'm running for governor because

Californians deserve better. We deserve a government that is accountable for delivering results in people's lives. As mayor of the third largest city in the state, I've delivered the biggest decreases in crime and homelessness. We have thousands of homes under construction. I know what it looks like to take on the establishment within my own party to make government deliver

results for working people. We don't need MAGA, but we also don't need more of the same. That's why I'm offering something different.

Mr. Mahan, thank you. Ms. Porter, you have 30 seconds.

California, this election is about who you can trust to fight for you. One candidate is a billionaire who got rich off polluters and ice prisons and is now using that money to fund his election. Another candidate for nearly 40 years cashed corporate checks and then lacked the courage to take them on. I'm not like

them. I have never taken corporate money. That's why I have always stood firm against Donald Trump and special interests. I'm like you, a mom fighting for a better future for California.

Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Becerra, you have 30 seconds.

California is going through a crisis and we need someone who knows how to govern California. Miss Porter, thank you. Mr. Becerra, you have 30 seconds. California is going through a crisis and we need someone who knows how to govern in crisis, not someone who's going to need training wheels the moment they walk into the governor's office. This is a time to have someone who's actually fought those crises, whether it's the man-made crisis coming from Washington, D.C., or whether it's the cost of living crisis that we face here at home. We need someone who's actually fought and won. Beat back Donald Trump to save the Affordable Care Act all the way to the Supreme Court.

Beat back Donald Trump in preserving the DACA program for DREAMers. Been able to do that and win for the people.

Mr. Becerra, thank you. Mr. Bianco, you have 30 seconds.

We have all heard their platform now. It's more taxes and a complete, complete lack of responsibility. I have 33 years of dealing with the consequences of their poor decisions and of their poor policies in the Democrat agenda for the last 33 years. I am running for California's because California do, Californians do deserve better. They deserve someone with honesty, transparency, integrity, and most importantly, proven leadership. If you want the status quo, keep the status quo. If you

want a better California, I'm asking for your vote.

Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Steyer, you have 30 seconds.

The people raising the cost for Californians don't want me to be governor. I'm the change agent here and they don't want change. And in politics, it's pretty easy to figure out who you are by seeing who opposes you and who supports you. Let me tell you who opposes me. The oil companies, PG&E, the realtors, the drug companies, Donald Trump, and the head of ICE.

Let me tell you who supports me. Progressives, environmentalists, organized labor, including teachers and nurses. None of these people are fighting anybody else. under the guise of a corporate system that is basically a system that is designed to subsidize labor including teachers and nurses.

None of these people are fighting anybody else of these

no one else on this stage is having these corporate

specialists oppose them. They want to stop me. Mr. Hilton closing statements you have 30 seconds. We obviously need change in in California, the system is not working. I'm the only one here who has never run for office before. I'm not part of this system. These Democrats can't get it done.

Matt Mahan talks about his record in San Jose. Actually homelessness and crime are going up. Javier Becerra talks about his time in government. He thought it was a good idea to put masks on two-year-olds. We need real change in California. We need to think different. We need to vote different. My plan to make our state CalAffordable is

real and serious and we can get it done if we just vote differently this year.

Mr. Hilton, thank you.

All right, with that, that wraps up the first hour of our debate tonight. We want to thank all of the candidates, first of all, for being here. We hope you will join us for another half hour of the debate, including your viewer questions. We're streaming live on your local Nextdoor Stations Plus channel. You can also watch it by scanning the QR code on your screen. We will see you right back here on your digital channel in two and a half minutes. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us on your digital plus channel.

We want to continue with the next question, and it's this one. The median home price in California right now is $900,000.

This is the question. What is your plan to lower the cost of housing? Mr. Mahan, we're going to start with you. You have 60 seconds.

Thanks, Nikki. In San Jose, we were approving thousands of housing units, 20,000 housing units over the last seven years or so that weren't getting built. I led us through a process of looking at the data and recognizing that we in government

are often in the way. We did hard things. We sped up permitting. We've used new technology to make it easier to apply. And most importantly, we reduced one-time fees that look good on paper, but we're blocking the very thing we need, housing and opportunity for people.

We now have thousands of new units under construction. That's a template for the state. That's how we'll move forward. I know what's at stake. I grew up in a household that was paycheck to paycheck. I remember my family and my parents arguing about how to make the mortgage payment.

Solving this problem is the most fundamental way to expand economic opportunity and upward mobility in California, and I will get the job done.

Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Becerra, same question to you. What is your plan to lower the cost of housing? You have 60 seconds.

Well, we have to give those who build the homes the incentive to do so. That means streamlining the regulations and the fees that make it impossible to believe that they can make these projects pencil out. Once we do that, we want to build smart. We want to build in the places where it makes sense. Buy transportation so it's easy to get to and from work. Make it so that we don't have commutes that are hour and a half long.

We want to make sure that we help those who want to buy a house get in a house. Most Californians who are renting are essentially paying monthly, a monthly mortgage except it's called rent. I would convert them into homeowners by helping them with their down payment. We have down payment assistance programs where we will expand the opportunity for a renter to become a homeowner. And the next thing I will do is in the first 100 days, I will make sure that we get all those

projects that are essentially shovel ready, ready to go. And there are some 40,000 housing units that are shovel ready. They just need a little kick over the finish line. I would make sure we do that, whether it's the small tranche of money they need or getting rid of some of the licensing requirements they need.

Mr. Becerra, thank you. Mr. Bianco, same question to you.

What is your plan to lower the cost of housing? You have 60 seconds. We're going to all be honest about the problem. The problem is California state government. California state government created this housing problem. It is not that we can't afford a house, it's that builders can't afford to build a house because of the over excessive regulations

on our building industry, along with every other business and industry in California. On day one, I remove all of those regulations from our building industry that will allow as much as a third, sometimes more depending on location, a third of the price of a home to be removed off of that $900,000 price tag

just by getting rid of the government red tape. Instead of three to five years, it's going to take three to five months to build a house. We will encourage our builders to build. When we take the restrictions away, builders build homes. We do not have a land problem in California.

We have a management problem. We have a government problem that we absolute must take away. The restrictions, the big ones, all the regulations, but CEQA, Coastal Commission, CARB, all of those on our building and building industry will be removed.

Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Hilton, same question to you. You have 60 seconds.

Well if San Jose is the template for housing affordability in California, God help us, it was just rated the least affordable city for housing in the world. That is completely the wrong answer. The right answer is my plan, which was the first plan that I put forward in this campaign. Number one, we have to end this outrageous hidden tax on housing.

They call it impact fees. It can add up to 20% to the cost of a home. Secondly, we have to reduce the extreme environmental regulations that make it three or four times as expensive to build the exact same home in California as in neighboring states. Number three, we have to end the exploitative union lawsuits that are filed to block housing

that extract project labor agreements that make the cost so much higher. And number four, we have to end the war on single family homes so that we can build the housing we need for young families. We need more starter homes in California.

Mr. Hilton, thank you. Mr. Mahan, I'll give you 15 seconds to respond to Mr. Hilton.

Thanks. San Jose has been the most expensive city in the country since before I was born because of all the jobs created there. I know that because my parents had to move 50 miles away, even though my mom grew up there, just to afford to buy a home. What I did as mayor, though,

was take ownership of the problem, unlike all the talk you're hearing on this stage. We reduced fees, sped up permitting, and now we have thousands of homes under construction.

Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Steyer, same question to you. plan to lower the cost of housing? You have 60 seconds. Look, the biggest problem in California is that Californians can't afford to live here.

And the number one problem there is housing. And I've seen people who have full time jobs who are still having to live in their car. But if we're going to solve the housing problem, and I've said we'll build a million units, it's not a silver bullet the way some of these people are suggesting it's silver buckshot. Yes, we have to shorten permitting and make it less expensive. We made a first step on it last year, we'll make more. Two, we have to redo zoning so that we build denser

and around public transportation. Three, we need to actually drop the cost per square foot of building. There are ways to do it. Industrial construction away from site and then putting it together on the site

drops the cost per square foot by a third. And lastly, one of the biggest reasons it's hard to build houses here is the cities and counties don't want it because they can't afford to take care of the people who are in the houses. I've said on day one, I'll call for a special election

to close a corporate tax loophole. That will fund it. That will get the cities and counties on our side. The realtors are mad at me, they're fighting me, but that's the only way we drive down housing costs

for the people of California. Mr. Steyer, thank you. Ms. Porter, same question to you. What is your plan to lower the cost of housing? You have 60 seconds.

Housing is personal to me. I've sat across from thousands of Californians who are facing eviction or foreclosure. of California for three years under then Attorney General, now Vice President, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and I held the big banks feet to the fire for predatory lending. I've also questioned CEOs of big banks about how the slice, the huge slice that housing takes out of their paycheck. Housing has been my number one issue since I launched this race and I have the

deepest background in housing policy of any candidate on this stage. The key is to build faster. If we build at the same speed in California, as states like Colorado, we could take 10 or 20% off the cost of housing. That's real money back in families' pockets. It's not a couple bucks, it's hundreds of dollars.

I just wanna comment, Mr. Becerra, you have all these lovely plans, but there are never any numbers, any revenue plan, any details, anything that pushes on the status quo. It's just all due, but the how, the why, the how much, it's all missing.

Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Becerra, I'll give you 15 seconds to respond to Ms. Porter's comments.

It's very rich to hear from someone who's never had to actually run a government. I have had to balance four budgets over the course of my time as Secretary of Health and Human Services, a budget, by the way, that was larger than the budget of the state of California. When I was Attorney General of the state of California, I had to fight whether it was a corporate attempt to try to take advantage of Californians or whether it was the Trump administration.

I got in and I filed lawsuits. They weren't frivolous lawsuits. I won most of my cases because I knew how to put down the details and the facts. So it's easy to say you haven't done this. It's easier to prove that you actually have.

May I respond?

Mr. Becerra, Ms. Porter, we have to move on. We have a lot of questions that our viewers have for us next, and Frank is going to move on to those because we have a lot to cover in little time. We want to turn to some viewer questions that we assigned

at random to each of you in a random draw. Mr. Becerra, we're actually going to begin with you. Ashley from Paris wants to know what is one specific cost, gas, groceries, utilities, child care, that you will lower in your first year and exactly how will you do it you have 30 seconds.

Actually one of the things that I will do immediately is I will freeze utility rates and I will freeze home insurance policy premiums because I believe it is time that Californians had an understanding of why so many of them are paying so much for both of those charges that they have when they have a home. It is time for us to get behind the curtain and understand why these industries are charging Californians so much

and in some cases dropping Californians from their insurance policy without explanation, charging twice as much. It is time for us to freeze those so Californians benefit.

Mr. Becerra, thank you. Mr. Bianco, you get the next question. This is Greg from Placerville who wants to know, what is your position on automatic license plate readers, flock safety systems, and broader issues of mass surveillance? You have 30 seconds.

So I'm a huge proponent of flock camera systems and not flock, but the type, the ALPRs for law enforcement they have been a game-changer for law enforcement it's not about the there's the misconception I want to ensure him we don't know you're driving the car from those license plate readers they read license plates that's it and we are able to find criminals who use vehicles for that. Mr. Bianco thank you

Mr. Hilton you get the next. This is Carlos from Los Angeles who wants to know, what are you gonna do for California schools? You have 30 seconds.

It's an absolute scandal that we have just under half of our students can read at grade level. For math, it's 35%. Here's the plan. We're gonna learn from what works in other states and around the world. The best way to teach kids to read, phonics.

We're going to have that in every school. The most important thing is that you learn to read by the end of third grade. Just as Mississippi has done, we're going to make sure, we're going to give you help over the summer if you can't, but if you don't meet the test, you repeat the grade, and then you can move forward and we're going to hold teachers and schools accountable for their performance. Thank you very much.

Nikki. Mr. Stier, Sophia from Folsom wants to know what is your stance on

remote work? You have 30 seconds. So remote work is enabling people not to make these huge commutes and it's very it is a way for us to save money. It is a way to keep people off the roads So I am a supporter of remote work period but let me say this as someone who has run lots of organization in lots of Teams there's reasons to be in the office that involve human interaction that involve mentoring that involve the growth of young people So when you're running an organization, yes, you have to take into account costs, but more than that you have to account for the human growth of a culture and a team.

Mr. Steyer, thank you. Ms. Porter, Toby from Costa Mesa wants to know, do you agree with schools not notifying parents if their child identifies as a different gender? You have 30 seconds.

It is between a parent and a child when a child chooses to have that conversation. The job of our educators is to teach, to teach them to read by third grade. That is a really important benchmark, to help them make the jump from Algebra 1 to Algebra 2, which opens the door to higher paying jobs. These are conversations for kids and parents to have with each other and their healthcare providers.

This is not a role for schools to be policing personal decisions.

Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Mahan, John Carlo from Los Angeles asks this. How would you communicate with Donald Trump if he attacks you directly or policies valued in California? You have 30 seconds.

Well, just as I've done as mayor of San Jose when the Trump administration threatens California's people, our funding, our values, I'll fight back. We'll use the courts in San Jose. We've sued this administration over a dozen times. We funded legal services for our immigrant neighbors. We have used every tool at our disposal. But I will also find ways to invite federal agencies to help us rebuild LA, reduce fire risk.

We need a partnership and we need to find common ground with this administration on

certain issues. Mr. Mahan, thank you.

Frank. We'd like to move on to our next question. Many Californians cannot get home insurance anymore or their premiums have skyrocketed. Insurance companies blame wildfire risk and catastrophic losses. Many have left the state. California's FairPlan, a last resort option, is being swamped and is becoming a crisis for the state. Mr. Bianco, this round begins

with you. What is your plan to attract private insurance companies back to California? You have 60 seconds.

Again, we're gonna be honest about the problem. The problem is our California state government, is our California state regulations that are affecting the insurance companies. Various regulations affecting the insurance companies, but particularly, they told us why they were leaving.

They told Governor Newsom for five years in a row that they were going to leave if he did not change the environmental policies and protections that prevented our fire agencies from creating defensible space around our homes, our cities, and our buildings. They told him they were going to lose cities and they couldn't afford to cover it, so they were going to have to leave. So the answer is remove the regulations, let the fire agencies create that defensible space. We are being absolutely controlled by environmental activism in this state that runs every single

regulatory board. And as governor, I will remove that special interest from California state government.

Mr. Bianco, thank you for that. Mr. Hilton, what is your plan to attract private insurance companies back to California? You have 60 seconds.

We have to be clear about why they left. They left because of Democrat policies and wrongheaded regulation. Now, some of those mistakes have been corrected. The ability for insurance companies to price in future risk, the ability of insurance companies to account for reinsurance costs. But we still have wrong regulation.

And this is the three-point plan that I've announced to fix this absolutely massive problem that is crushing so many families across California. Number one, we've got to get people off the fare plan. It was designed for about 100,000 people. Now you've got over 600,000. We've got to work proactively to get those people

onto commercial insurance. Number two, we have to stick to the regulatory framework that was in the original proposition that set up the insurance department. 60 days to approve rate changes. Sometimes now it's over a year.

And number three, we have to stop these nuisance lawsuits often filed by private equity from out of state that are increasing

the cost of insurance. All right Mr. Hilton thank you Mr. Steyer what is your plan to attract private insurance companies back to California you have 60

seconds. Well skyrocketing home insurance is one of the huge problems facing California homeowners and it's a result of catastrophic fires and houses being burnt down and therefore insurance companies wanting to get paid for that risk. What California needs to do is reduce that risk. We need to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. What does that look like?

On a macro basis, it looks like controlled burns, reducing dry timber. On a micro basis, it means hardening houses, keeping vegetation five feet away, and other things. We can reduce the risk of houses burning and catastrophic fire by 90%. The point is gonna be, at that point, we need the insurance companies

to start writing home insurance based on the reduced risk. And it's the job of the governor to insist that they take into account the reduced risk. Insurance companies are lazy. They like to drive by a house and make a decision. When we're hardening houses and reducing risk by 90%, the governor's job is to make sure

that they do the work that they take into account and that housing insurance goes way down.

Mr. Steyer, thank you.

Nikki? Ms. Porter, what is your plan to attract private insurance companies back to California? You have 60 seconds.

First, I just want to acknowledge that so many who have been affected by wildfires have not received the federal aid that California deserves from the federal government because of Donald Trump. I also want to say as a consumer protection advocate, I would absolutely hold insurers' feet to the fire to make sure they pay out damages when homes have been burned. I think the solution is to have more insurance companies and more competition, but they're going to do that when we have reduced wildfire risk. We cannot afford to not act to reduce

wildfire risk. We all lose, families who lose their homes more than than others when we face these kinds of catastrophic wildfires. So fighting climate change is in fighting wildfire risk is ultimately how you reduce the number of people who are forced onto a fair plan that is unstable and not financially sustainable for taxpayers. Ms Porter, thank you. Mr Mahan, same question to you. What is your plan to attract private insurance companies back to California?

You have 60 seconds.

Well, Nikki, I've walked through the Palisades and Altadena with families who have lost everything, and I've seen firsthand what's broken. As governor, I will take responsibility for ensuring that we better manage our public lands. We have to reduce the fire risk at the edge of our urban areas so we're not putting homeowners at risk. And when you have those catastrophic fires,

it pushes up costs for everyone. We need to bring the private insurance market back, force them to compete with one another on value, allow them to appropriately price risk. And when they play games, as we've heard in some cases of switching adjusters and dragging out the process of paying out claims they must be held

accountable by the state and I'll make sure we do that. Mr. Mahan thank you. Mr.

Becerra what is your plan to attract private insurance companies back to the state of California? You have 60 seconds. I won't be as lenient as some of the

responses you've heard. I believe that it's time that we get behind the curtain and find out how these insurance companies are operating because there are still people in Altadena and Pacific Palisades who have not been paid on their claims from back in January 2025. That is ridiculous. Every month they paid their premiums. Some people had never filed a claim yet they when they finally filed this claim for these wildfires, they still can't get an answer to the question, how much they get and when they'll get it. That is

not right. We should hold their feet to the fire. I'll make sure that we take on all the issues of wildfire mitigation. Sure, you have to harden your home. We have to make sure we don't have developers building in high-risk areas. We'll do all those things, but first and foremost insurers owe those consumers, those rate pay, I'm sorry, those pay people who paid their premiums responses. They paid their premiums, they are owed a response on their claims. It's ridiculous that people have had to wait more than a year. That is not the way you treat a customer. Mr. Becerra, thank you. Frank. We're gonna

move on to our next topic and that is social media and our children. A California jury found Meta and Google negligent, ordering them to pay damages for designing addictive social media that contributed to mental health issues. Would you support a law that bans social media usage for kids under 16 years of age? This is going to go to each one of you. Mr. Hilton, you will go first. You have 30 seconds.

So as the father of two teenage children, I know this issue very well. But actually it's an issue that I've been thinking about and advocating on for many, many years. Eleven years ago, in my book, More Human, 2015, that was published, I made the argument that it's not just the apps, it's not just the platforms, it's the screens themselves,

and that we should set a social norm that children under 16 should not have a smartphone. That is my position now. I think that every parent in their heart knows that it's wrong. Kids do not need smartphones, and we shouldn't allow it.

So just to clarify, though, on the social media side, yes or no banning it for kids under 16?

I think it misses the point, honestly. I think that we've got to get to the heart of the problem, and that's the devices and the screens.

All right, Mr. Hilton, thank you. Mr. Steyer, would you support a law that bans social media usage for kids under 16 years of age? You have 30 seconds.

Yes, I would. I've said that publicly. I think it's been clear for a long time that young people have significant mental health issues as a result of social media. And we have counted on the companies to police themselves, and that has definitely failed. And let me say that as AI is here,

artificial intelligence, that is something else which very much threatens the safety and health of our children. And it's going to be that is something which absolutely threatens them. And young people are addicted to their artificial intelligent friends more than

their real friends. And so we are going to have to regulate these companies and have the courage to

do it.

Mr. Stier, thank you.

Ms.

Porter, would you support a law that bans social media usage for kids under 16? You have 30 seconds.

Yeah.

As a mom of three teenagers, I will say that every kid is different. I definitely have a kid, I won't name him here, who's doing a good job with moderating social media, using it occasionally and in ways that have been helpful. I have another kid who's constantly told to put her device down and when needed, I take it away.

I do think we need to hold companies accountable when their products produce harm. If they're producing addiction, if they're failing to moderate inappropriate conduct, then we absolutely should hold them accountable. But those problems affect both kids particularly but also adults.

And just to clarify, and forgive me if I missed it, but hold accountable or ban the usage for kids under 16?

I would not ban under 16. I might consider a different ban, but I also want to recognize that as a parent, there's an opportunity for families to make choices and have conversations about technology that these kids will see their whole lives.

Ms. Porter, thank you. Mr. Mahan, would you support a law that bans social media usage for kids under 16 years of age? You have 30 seconds.

What I would do is require parental consent for children under 16 to be able to use social media. I would also ban cell phone use during the academic day in public schools all the way through high school. I think it's destructive to give kids products that their brains aren't fully developed

and able to use safely. And so I would put those restrictions in place. I think parents should have ultimate control in this situation. I'm raising my wife and I are raising two little kids. They're eight and six years old. We limit screen time.

Mr. Mayhans, same clarification. You say require parental consent. Are you yes or no on banning it under the age of 16?

The reason I would require parental consent under 16 is that there are lots of educational tools that may have social components that might connect students. There could be applications that make sense, but parents should have control over those decisions.

Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Becerra, would you support a law that bans social media usage for kids under 16? 30 seconds.

Addiction is dangerous. Yes, I would absolutely work with legislators to make sure we can enact such a law. Kids have died as a result of their use of social media. Kids are going into this spiral downhill where they're not doing anything but playing with their phone. It is time for us to act. And I will tell you as a former

attorney general, I will enforce that law to make sure we are able to manage our children's development over the lifespan. And what I will tell you is this, we also have to help those families that are trying to manage their kids' use of these types of devices. Mr. Becerra, thank you.

Mr. Bianco, would you support a law that bans social media usage for kids under 16?

You have 30 seconds.

No, that's up to their parents. I think it's interesting that drugs create mental illness, too. And yet, California Democrats have made drugs legal in California. But now we're going to ban social media because it creates a mental health issue for kids under 16. We know it creates mental health issues for adults.

Social media is not a good thing for us to be spending 12 hours a day on, but it is up to parents what they want to do with their kids. It's not up to the government to tell them what their kids are going to do.

And I agree, there are far too many educational benefits to these platforms than there are dangers, but it's up to parents.

All right, Mr. Bianco, thank you.

Vicky?

Time's winding down. So as we like to say in TV, we're gonna switch gears and ask a bit of a lighter question so people watching can get to know you on more of a personal level. Keep your answers a bit short here,

but since we're on a streaming platform now, we want to know, what was the last streaming show that you watched? Mr. Steyer, we'll start with you. I think the

last streaming show I saw was probably Marshalls. Marshalls, streaming show?

Marshalls, okay. Yeah. Miss Porter, last streaming show that you watched? I took a lot of heat from my kids for this, but I was watching Heated Rivalry. Okay. Mr. Porter, thank you. Mr. Mahan, last streaming show that you watched? It's the one with Kerry Russell. I think it's called The Diplomat or something. The Diplomat. Yeah, it's pretty good. Mr. Mahan, thank you. Mr. Becerra, last

streaming show that you watched? I wish I could tell you that I have time to watch streaming shows. I can't tell you that I'm much of a TV watcher. All right, Mr. Becerra, thank you. Mr. Bianco, last streaming show that you watched?

I don't stream and I don't watch TV.

Okay, Mr. Bianco, thank you. Mr. Hilton, last streaming show that you watched?

In the middle of it right now is Reacher. One of my sons really enjoys that, probably more than the rest of us in the family,

but it's been good fun to watch together. Mr. Hilton, thank you. Thanks to all of you. Thanks to our candidates for being here this evening and we want to say that. Oh, I'm sorry. Did we not did we not ask someone? Yes. Okay. We're ready to go. I thought we missed someone. We're going to make sure we know what you're streaming. That wraps up our debate for tonight. We want to invite you to stay tuned for the spin room that's happening right here in the studio live after the break. So stay tuned for that.

And we want to remind everyone at home, ballots for the California primary election, they start going out very soon on May 4th. And of course, election day is on June 2nd.

We thank you for watching. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪