Let me preface this by saying this was a difficult choice for me because I think billionaires are a cancer.
Our top Democrats in this race are Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra. Porter is polling third amongst the Dems and doesn’t, in my opinion, have any shot at making it to the general election. She’s been down in several polls now.
(You can view the latest polls for the Governor’s race here: CA Governor’s Race Polls Tracker. Check the “Sponsor” column to make sure it’s a reputable poll.)
If my choice is between Steyer and Becerra, I’m choosing Steyer.
I don’t necessarily trust Steyer. (I don’t trust Becerra either.) What I do trust is that the people and political action committees trying to defeat him–by making large donations to his opponents, or funding independent expenditure committees against him–are spooked for a legitimate reason. Who are those people and PACs? In this case, it’s a big list of my enemies: power companies (SCE, PG&E, etc.), oil companies, people who benefit from California’s high housing costs (the California Apartment Association, National Apartment Association PAC, Realtors PAC), insurance companies, police officer unions (which attempt to defeat any attempts to police the police), and California’s billionaire Zionist “pistachio barons” (the Resnicks).
Why is Steyer a threat to them?
He’s endorsed by several labor unions (CNA, CTA, IATSE, SEIU, etc.)–which businesses aren’t a fan of.
(Source: Tom Steyer – Endorsements)
He’s endorsed by several environmental groups and leaders (Sierra Club, NRDC, Bill McKibben). Greenpeace gives him an A rating. (Becerra received a D.)
(Source: Greenpeace – Both party frontrunners in CA Governor’s race failing climate voters)
He’s endorsed by Our Revolution, CAIR, and Courage California.
He supports passing single payer healthcare in California. (He said, “I will die on this hill,” at a press conference with the California Nurses Association.)
KQED says, “Tom Steyer’s crusade against California’s electric utilities, including a plan to slash rates and lower profits, may explain why PG&E is spending a record amount in a governor’s race.” PG&E has spend more than $12 million to oppose him. Steyer has pledged to appoint regulators who will reduce the utilities’ guaranteed profits.
In response to the merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, Steyer said, “As governor, I will do everything in my power to stop mega-mergers and protect creative freedom.”
(Source: X – Tom Steyer)
The Santa Barbara Independent, in their endorsement of Steyer, says, “Since 2010, he’s been putting his money where his mouth was on behalf of common sense progressive causes.” This includes fighting for environmental causes and fighting to plug a loophole that gives companies a tax break for relocating the headquarters out of state.
In addition to all of that, Steyer is proposing a new jobs guarantee for workers displaced by artificial intelligence.
(Source: There’s a Long-Shot Proposal to Protect California Workers From AI)
He’s against AIPAC.
“I stand firm on my position on AIPAC. They’re cheering on Trump and Netanyahu, they’re attacking progressive Democrats every chance they get. We do not have the same interests. They remain a dark money organization that has pushed us very hard in the wrong direction and we should stop listening to them. They should not be part of this conversation. Every Democrat should say no to their money.”
(Source: TrackAIPAC)
On the other hand, Xavier Becerra has committed to passing a bill to increase oil drilling in California. His campaign has received the maximum contribution from Chevron Corporation of $39,200.
(See also: The L.A. Times: Xavier Becerra shows that his loyalty lies with fossil fuels)
He’s supported by police unions, who are refusing to release misconduct records.
(Source: CalMatters – Can progressives trust Xavier Becerra to police the police?)
One of the biggest red flags for me is that California’s evil billionaires, the Resnicks, have given his campaign the max each ($78,400).
Mother Jones magazine says, “they are now thought to consume more of the state’s water than any other family, farm, or company. They control more of it in some years than what’s used by the residents of Los Angeles and the entire San Francisco Bay Area combined.”
Perfect Union says, “They took Californian taxpayers’ water and sold it back to them– both literally as the water supply, and also to grow expensive food like gourmet pistachios and pomegranate juice. They converted the peoples’ water into products many can’t afford […] They lobby for increased tensions with Iran to keep embargos on superior Iranian pistachios. Their giant crops lead to monocultures which kills important pollinators. They siphon taxpayer dollars into the charter schools they own, set up to train children to work on their farms. And of course, like any company of this size, they exploit their workers.”
(Source: Perfect Union – How This Billionaire Couple Stole California’s Water Supply)
The Canary says, “In 1994, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, a billionaire couple, gained control over a significant portion of California’s water resources through a series of secretive meetings. This maneuver allowed them to build a business empire – and at times, sell water back to the public, a resource largely funded by taxpayers.”
(Source: LA wildfires raise serious questions about who controls California’s water. So, meet the Resnicks.)
Wonderful Nurseries allegedly coerced workers into revoking their support for unionization.
(Source: LA wildfires raise serious questions about who controls California’s water. So, meet the Resnicks.)
The Canary also reports: “Through their foundation, the Resnicks have donated substantial sums annually to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), primarily via the American Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces. Between 2015 and 2022, their contributions amounted to approximately $2.4 million.”
And, “Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent US sanctions against Iran, Iran’s pistachio industry faced significant barriers in global trade. These sanctions enabled the Resnicks to establish and expand their pistachio business in California, eventually surpassing Iran’s production.”
(Source: LA wildfires raise serious questions about who controls California’s water. So, meet the Resnicks.)
What angers me the most about Xavier Becerra, though, is how the Department of Health and Human Services handled the Covid pandemic under his leadership. There were something like 800,000 deaths while he was head of HHS?
We can argue about what power he did or didn’t have, whether the so-called “lockdowns” should’ve been extended (It was a shutdown, not a lockdown. No one was locked in their home. The term “lockdown” originated with right-wingers.), whether the reduction of the recommended isolation period (at the behest of Delta) from 10 days to 5 days was irresponsible… whatever.
Let’s talk instead about messaging, which would’ve been an easy thing to do and would’ve saved lives. People weren’t given honest, comprehensive information about masks (cloth masks, vs. surgical masks, vs. KN95 masks, vs. N95 masks), Long Covid, and what Covid does to the body after the acute illness has passed. They weren’t given information about the increase in heart attacks and strokes. Or dental problems. They weren’t given updated information about the accuracy of the Covid tests (For example: even a very faint line counts, sometimes tests aren’t accurate until you’re fully symptomatic, sometimes it’s more effective to swab your mouth AND nose, etc.) They weren’t educated about air purifiers and ventilation. (Most air purifiers are NOT very effective at moving viruses from the air, especially not on the lower, quieter settings or in large spaces.)
Politicians chose to push a “vax and relax,” “back to normal” strategy that encouraged people to get back to work and back to shopping, and they decided that educating people about the risks Covid continues to pose, ways to mitigate those risks, and the limitations of the vaccines would keep people at home, scared.
(For those of you who don’t know me: I am very much pro-vaccine, but the Covid vaccines’ effectiveness decreases after approximately three months, you have to get a new one every 6-12 months–They are NOT “one and done” like some other common vaccines, because Covid is a rapidly mutating virus–and they are better at reducing the severity and duration of your illness than they are at preventing you from catching and spreading Covid. A LOT of people don’t know this, which is a part of how we ended up with anti-vaxxers. If people were required to get a vaccine that doesn’t appear, to them, to work, it looks like it was just a big pharma handout.)
I sat and watched one horrifying study after another come out in the science journals, warning us about the damage Covid does to the body, while everyone went to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts and got sick. Some of those people will now be disabled for the rest of their life. Or they’re dead. Or they got sick, and then they got someone else sick, and that person will never be the same. People have lost everything. They’ve lost their jobs, and then they lost their homes, and they lost their spouses, who took their children. I don’t know how many of these people have taken their own lives, but the number of posts I’ve seen in the Long Covid support groups that are, essentially, suicide notes is heartbreaking.
And all of this? It was gasoline on the fire that became “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA). The anti-vaxxer, pro-eugenics movement has been growing for a decade or so now, but the HHS’ and Biden administration’s messaging failures on Covid gave it the opportunity of a lifetime. Beccera and Biden bear a lot of responsibility for RFK Jr. now being in charge of the nation’s health. The HHS and CDC failed us. We needed honest, accurate information, not, “Keep calm and get back to normal to help prop up the commercial real estate market.”
They left a void, and wellness grifters selling supplements and ivermectin and “spike protein detoxes” were happy to fill it. The grifters were happy to tell people that all of the new health problems they have were not due to their repeat Covid infections wreaking havoc on their bodies but were, instead, due to the mRNA vaccines. If you’ve lost your health and livelihood due to what you believe is an “experimental vaccine” pushed on you by your government to funnel taxpayer money to pharmaceutical companies, will you ever again trust the members of that political party? These people will be unreachable for a lifetime, no matter how badly they are screwed by Trump and RFK Jr.
Becerra’s failures killed people and rolled out the red carpet for MAHA and everyone has given him a pass. He isn’t even asked questions about it.
I was willing to keep my mouth shut about my issues with Becerra if it turned out he was the best option. He isn’t the best option.
I wish California had someone like Zohran Mamdani, but it’s a big, expensive state for progressive candidates to run in. The fundraising hurdles make it impossible for most. This is why, unfortunately, our best hope is a candidate who can fund his own campaign.
With Xavier Beccera, our quality of life will continue to get worse. It will probably happen slowly, like a slow leak–whereas the Republican candidates will take a wrecking ball to our state–but every year will be a little bit shittier and more expensive than the one before it. It will be politics as usual–bending to the demands of California’s most powerful business interests. A steady, predictable decline. With Tom Steyer, we at least have an opportunity to shake things up, to dream of a better future. Whether the legislature will go along with the things he wants to do, we don’t know. But wouldn’t it be nice to feel some relief, to feel like there are brighter days ahead?
I’m voting for Tom Steyer and encouraging you to do the same.