Leading contenders for CA governor meet for final debate before votes are counted

SAN FRANCISCO () — The leading contenders in the race for California governor gathered for a debate Thursday for the sixth and final time before votes are counted.

The televised debate took place in San Francisco where the seven candidates tried to win over undecided voters before the June 2 primary. This comes as mail voting is already underway.

The candidates held nothing back Thursday night in an all-out fight to become one of the top two moving on to the November election.

Democrat Katie Porter kicked off the debate asking Californians to pick a candidate they trust.

“When you fill out your ballot, I want you to think of one word: trust,” she said. “Who can you trust to fight for your family, to look out for your best interests?”

For over an hour, the top seven contenders vowed to tackle issues impacting the state. The first issue up for debate was one many Californians struggle with: affordability.

“I am the person who will tax the billionaires, like me, and the big corporations so we can afford to make the changes, so we can pay for healthcare, so we can pay for great education,” said Democrat Tom Steyer.

Fellow Democrat Matt Mahan fired back, saying that “the answer is to put more money into people’s pockets, by bringing down costs. Tom Steyer’s structural change sounds to me more like socialism.”

Republican Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, shifted the blame on the other candidates present.

“We are in this position because every single person up here and the policy decisions and the policy directions that they have supported throughout their careers,” Bianco said.

“You’re listening to 30 years of more tax, regulation and free stuff. And you think that the cost of living is going to go down? You think the cost of health insurance is going to go down? That is why all of these costs are going up,” he added.

Constituents also heard the candidates’ ideas to tackle homelessness and the housing shortage.

Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa reminded voters of his time as Los Angeles mayor for this topic.

“When I was mayor of Los Angeles, I built more market rate, work force, affordable and homeless housing in eight years, in the middle of a recession, than they did in the 12 years before me,” Villaraigosa said.

Meanwhile, Republican Steve Hilton proposed developing more of the state.

“We need to build outwards, not just upwards with apartment buildings shoved into suburban neighborhoods,” Hilton said. “Do you know only 6% of our land is developed in California?”

The debate came the same day as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty in a scheme to steal campaign money from Democrat Xavier Becerra.

The former health secretary distanced himself from the case.

“The U.S. attorney has said no candidate, including me, has been implicated in this case,” Becerra said.

Porter was quick to fire back at him, saying, “You know that does not preclude an indictment from being issued against you.”

In a twist, the candidates were asked to endorse each other.

They were asked: “If your name does not appear on the November ballot, which candidate on stage would you consider voting for and why?”

All of the candidates stuck to party lines as they hope it’s them, or at least their party, who makes it to the governor’s mansion.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by June 2. Ballots returned to a secure ballot drop box must be deposited by 8 p.m. on primary day.