Xavier Becerra is being deliberately vague — and he’s fine with that.
While his Republican rival in the governor’s race, Steve Hilton, has staked out bold promises like $3-a-gallon gasoline and slashing electricity bills in half, Becerra has taken a far more cautious approach to the campaign trail, according to reporting from CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.
Ask Becerra about California’s housing shortage, and he’ll tell you the state needs to build more. Ask him how many homes he’d actually deliver as governor, and the specifics fall away. On healthcare spending, he says he’d root out administrative waste and fraud in public programs — but offers no details on how. And when pressed on whether he’d stick with the state’s mandate to phase out new gas-powered car sales, his answer amounts to: it depends.
Political observers say the strategy tracks with California’s electoral math. With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans by roughly two to one statewide, Becerra “doesn’t have an incentive to go out on a limb,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College.
This isn’t a new pattern for Becerra. As California’s attorney general seven years ago, he made one of the more controversial calls of his tenure when he declined to release police misconduct records that a new state transparency law required him to disclose. He said at the time he wanted judicial guidance on whether the law applied retroactively — a decision that drew a lawsuit from news organizations and ultimately a court order forcing him to hand over the records.
Becerra doesn’t see his cautious style as a weakness. He says he won’t back a policy “unless I know what I’m voting for completely,” and argues that voters looking to understand where he really stands should simply examine his record.
He points to his time as President Joe Biden’s health secretary as an example. Biden made clear before nominating him that he opposed single-payer healthcare — a policy Becerra had championed for years. Becerra accepted the terms and instead focused his efforts on expanding Medicaid enrollment.
“Just because I didn’t get single-payer, doesn’t mean I’m not a progressive, and just because I didn’t fight for single-payer doesn’t mean I am establishment,” Becerra said. “At this stage of my life, at this stage of my career, I just want to get things done.”
Read the full story at calmatters.org.
OTHER STORIES YOU SHOULD KNOW
What will California’s new plastics law cost you?
Plastic producers are pushing back hard against a state law designed to curb plastic waste, arguing it will hit Californians’ wallets far harder than regulators have projected.
As CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde reports, the 2022 law requires plastic producers to cut packaging and food-service waste by 25% and ensure their products can be recycled or composted by 2032. The state’s recycling agency, CalRecycle, estimated the law would cost about $21 billion to carry out — roughly $190 a year per California household.
But an industry coalition that includes the California Restaurant Association and the California League of Food Producers says that estimate relies on overly optimistic assumptions. Their own projection puts the cost as high as $58 billion, or nearly $948 a year per household. This week, two dozen state lawmakers sent a letter urging legislative leaders to delay parts of the law by two years.
Supporters of the measure are pushing back against any delay.
“This 11th-hour Hail Mary (by plastic producers) is only trying to maintain status quo and avoid due responsibility, throwing years of good-faith negotiations, and affordability and sustainability improvements out the window,” said state Sen. Ben Allen, an El Segundo Democrat who authored the law.
Will Newsom sign the so-called “Nick Shirley” bill?
A contentious measure aimed at shielding immigration service providers from harassment is now headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, after clearing the Legislature this week largely along party lines despite fierce Republican opposition.
The bill would let people who provide legal help, healthcare, counseling or other services to immigrants qualify for a state privacy program that removes their home addresses from public databases.
Republican lawmakers argue the measure would make it harder for journalists to investigate fraud or mismanagement at nonprofit organizations. Critics have nicknamed it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” referencing the conservative YouTube personality who last year alleged widespread fraud at child care centers in Minneapolis.
Assemblymember Mia Bonta, an Oakland Democrat who authored the bill, said she and her staff have received death threats over the legislation. Fighting back emotion during floor remarks, she said the measure “fundamentally is about freedom from fear.”
“Right now, our immigrant service providers are living in fear because of the work that they do,” Bonta said. “That is an intolerable consequence to the fear-mongering that happens right now. … This is a very scary time.”
CALIFORNIA VOICES
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters argues Californians shouldn’t have to dig for information on which cases the state Department of Justice has lost — and that the state should regularly publish updated data on lawsuit outcomes and costs.
CalMatters contributor Jim Newton writes that former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa deserves credit for improvements to the city’s public transit system, which performed well during the World Cup — but faces an even tougher test with the Olympics on the horizon.
OTHER THINGS WORTH YOUR TIME
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Rob Bonta says David Ellison is “desperate” and “grasping at straws” — The Hollywood Reporter
California Democrats rally opposition to voter ID measure, calling it a Trump-led effort — The Sacramento Bee
After a bruising loss in Michigan, AIPAC turns to California for a win — The Washington Post
Ruling renews scrutiny of tactic used to make Trump loyalist LA’s top federal prosecutor — Los Angeles Times
A California official helped a company pitching data centers. His daughter works there — San Francisco Chronicle
Why did Flock get a private investigator license? — The San Francisco Standard
Trump’s visa policies are not deterring international students from California universities — EdSource
Stockton city council candidate arrested on suspicion of election fraud — Stocktonia
Original source: CalMatters
