I Have Some Questions for the Democrats Who Want to Run California
5/12/20261 hr 32 min
On Friday, I moderated a forum with the top Democratic candidates for California governor, focusing on the state’s housing crisis.
California’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, came into office in 2019 promising to build millions of homes. And in the years since, dozens of pro-housing laws have passed, designed to cut red tape and spur more construction. And yet the number of homes being built in California is basically the same as when he took office, and the state’s housing crisis remains, arguably, the worst in the country. So I wanted to know what the next governor would do about it.
We taped this at the Calvin Simmons Theater in Oakland, Calif. The candidates on the stage were Xavier Becerra, a former attorney general of California and health and human services secretary under President Joe Biden; Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose and a tech entrepreneur; Katie Porter, a former U.S. representative; Tom Steyer, a former San Francisco hedge fund manager, a climate activist and a philanthropist; and Antonio Villaraigosa, a former mayor of Los Angeles and speaker of the California State Assembly. This panel was recorded live. The Times did not fact-check candidates’ remarks.
Mentioned:
“Cost to Build Multifamily Housing in California More Than Twice as High as in Texas” by RAND
“What Worries Me Most About ‘Abundance’” with Derek Thompson and Marc Dunkelman, The Ezra Klein Show
Book Recommendations:
The Hour of the Predator by Giuliano da Empoli
Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Why Nothing Works by Marc J. Dunkelman
Ours Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu, Marie Cascione, Kristin Lin and Marina King. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our recording engineer is Johnny Simon. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Michelle Harris, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Argus HD.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJuliet0:00
Hi, I'm Juliet from New York Times Games, and I'm here talking to fans about our games. So you play New York Times Games?
Speaker 10:06
Yes.
Juliet0:06
Do you have a favorite?
Speaker 10:07
Connections. It just scratches an itch in my brain. It's really out-of-the-box thinking with that game. I play with my husband every night.
Juliet0:13
Aw.
Speaker 10:14
I refuse to let him play it without me. He will always get the purple first, and I always get, like, the fun ones that he doesn't think about.
Juliet0:21
I love that it's, like, a real-life connection- Yes ... while you guys play Connections.
Speaker 10:24
Yes.
Juliet0:24
Very sweet.
Speaker 10:25
I promise I didn't plan that.
Juliet0:26
[laughs] [laughs] You can play all New York Times Games at nytimes.com/games or on our app.
Ezra Klein· Host0:32
On Friday, I moderated a forum with the top five Democratic candidates for governor in California, we invited the Republicans too, but they didn't show up, on housing costs and housing affordability and what can actually be done about it. I think if you're in California particularly, but even if you're not, seeing how the Democrats running to lead the largest state in the nation with arguably the worst housing crisis in the nation, seeing and hearing how they're thinking about actually trying to solve it is really, really instructive for where our politics might be going. Enjoy.
Speaker 31:11
[gentle music] It is my total honor and privilege to introduce to you Mr. Ezra Klein and the candidates who are participating in this event.