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LOS ANGELES () — California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer outlined his positions on taxes, health care, homelessness and his approach to the Trump administration during an interview with Eyewitness News.
“I’m not worried about the billionaires leaving. I’m worried about the businesses leaving,” Steyer told Eyewitness News.
Steyer is a billionaire who wants billionaires to pay their fair share. He said California would not lose its competitive edge even if billionaires leave to shield their private wealth.
He also addressed a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax that has not yet made the ballot.
“In theory, I support it, and I’m going to wait and see what happens before I decide specifically if there is a wealth tax on the ballot,” he said.
Steyer wants a special election to rewrite Proposition 13’s tax limits for commercial properties.
“Large businesses that own huge office buildings and huge malls have been getting a tax loophole for over 40 years that makes no sense,” Steyer said.
He added that the state remains an excellent place to start and grow companies but said controlling housing and health care costs plays a role.
“If we can control housing costs, and if we can control health care costs, that is going to make this a much easier place to do business,” Steyer said.
Eyewitness News asked Steyer about his support for single-payer health care – a shift from his stance in 2020 when he ran for president.
“I came at this with the predisposition to think that the private sector could drive down costs, that as we introduced information technology and efficiency that would drive down costs,” Steyer said. “Didn’t happen. The exact opposite has happened.
“In fact, what we’ve seen is continued escalation of health care costs. They’re eating up every family in this state, every business in this and we can see that single-payer, where it’s instituted, provides at least as good health care, or better, at half the cost.”
Steyer said candidates should acknowledge when their views evolve.
“The truth is, if you’re wrong, it’s way better to admit it and move on,” he said, adding criticism of President Donald Trump.
“What we see with Donald Trump is someone who never admits he’s wrong. He’s wrong almost every single day, all the time, and every time he refuses to admit that, he digs a bigger hole for himself.”
He also said he would take a different approach than Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in the race regarding the Trump administration, arguing legal challenges alone are insufficient.
“They all say the same thing, which is, ‘I am going to sue them,'” Steyer said. “… You may have noticed this is a criminal administration. They don’t obey the law. That’s the whole point.”
He said he would pursue lawsuits but also emphasized organizing.
“Do I think we can win a bunch of lawsuits? Absolutely. And will I sue them and will Rob Bonta as the attorney general sue them under every possible statute? Absolutely,” Steyer said. “And we’ll try to hold them accountable.
“But the way that we’ll actually beat the Trump administration is by channeling the Civil Rights Movement and channeling what people did in Minnesota. And what does that look like? It looks like being very organized, looks like showing up on the street, but it also means presenting a completely different vision of the future and who we are.”
On homelessness, Steyer said most people who become unhoused do not begin with serious mental health conditions, so his goal is to keep people off the street in the first place.
“I am absolutely behind getting people off the street into something that is good for them,” he said.
When asked what happens if people refuse services, Steyer responded, “We’re going to have to be able to provide something that they do want to do and in effect, we’re gonna have to retake our streets.”
Steyer has already invested $67 million of his own money into his campaign. When he ran for president in 2020, he spent nearly $200 million of his personal fortune.
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