"Californians can't afford to live in California anymore, and there are corporate special interests that are driving up those costs and making it impossible for Californians to meet their bills at the end of the month."
For Tom Steyer, California's challenges can be traced back to a single problem: concentrated corporate power. The businessman, climate advocate, and gubernatorial candidate argues that rising housing costs, expensive healthcare, soaring utility bills, and economic inequality are not inevitable outcomes of living in a large state. Instead, he says they are the result of political systems that favor powerful interests over working families.
Steyer entered the governor's race positioning himself as an outsider willing to confront industries that he believes have shaped state policy for decades. Throughout the discussion, he repeatedly described himself as the "change candidate," contrasting his platform with both Republican opponents and Democratic rivals whom he says are too closely aligned with corporate interests.
His campaign centers on several ambitious promises: building one million affordable homes, creating a single-payer healthcare system, lowering electricity costs by 25 percent, and expanding economic opportunities for working Californians. He argues that these goals are achievable if state leaders are willing to challenge entrenched interests.
"The corporations want nothing to change," Steyer said. "I am the change candidate."
Immigration emerged as one of the strongest points of contrast between Steyer and federal policy.
Calling immigrants essential to California's economy and identity, Steyer argued that immigrant communities have been unfairly targeted by federal enforcement efforts. He went further than many candidates, describing Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a "criminal organization" and expressing support for abolishing the agency altogether.
While acknowledging that a governor cannot eliminate a federal agency, Steyer said California should aggressively prosecute unlawful conduct by federal immigration officers operating within the state. He pledged to pursue cases involving racial profiling, excessive force, and other violations of California law. He also called for expanded legal defense programs for immigrants facing detention or deportation proceedings.
"The job of the governor of California is to stand between violence, terror, racial profiling, and the people of California," he said.
Healthcare was another central theme.
Steyer reiterated his support for a single-payer healthcare system, arguing that healthcare should be treated as a right rather than a privilege. He pointed to rising medical costs as one of the primary drivers of financial insecurity for families, businesses, and government agencies alike.
"If healthcare is going to be a right and we're going to deliver it, we're going to have to make a structural change," he said.
While acknowledging the complexity of implementing a statewide single-payer system, including the need for federal waivers, Steyer argued that California can no longer sustain a healthcare model in which costs continue to rise faster than inflation. He also pledged to confront pharmaceutical companies over drug pricing, accusing the industry of using its political influence to preserve excessive profits at the expense of patients.
Questions about his personal wealth and campaign spending also surfaced repeatedly.
Steyer, a billionaire who has spent heavily on political campaigns, rejected criticism that he is attempting to buy public office. Instead, he argued that his independence from corporate donors allows him to advocate for policies that other candidates avoid.
"I have no conflicts," he said. "I'm not taking money from anyone. I can just worry about fighting for working Californians."
He also pointed to previous political efforts, including campaigns that generated billions of dollars for education and healthcare programs, voter registration initiatives that brought more than one million young Californians into the electoral process, and a nonprofit community bank he helped establish that has financed thousands of affordable housing units.
Steyer faced questions regarding past investments in fossil fuel companies and private prison operators, issues that have drawn criticism throughout his political career.
He acknowledged those investments as mistakes and said he later spent years supporting criminal justice reform efforts, including bail reform, sentencing reform, and programs focused on rehabilitation rather than incarceration. He cited endorsements from criminal justice advocates as evidence of that work.
"I made a mistake," Steyer said. "I admitted it, but I also did a U-turn."
Environmental policy remains one of the areas where Steyer is best known.
A longtime climate activist, he argued that California can pursue aggressive environmental goals while reducing costs for consumers. He proposed restructuring utility regulation to encourage competition and lower electricity prices, while also supporting a windfall profits tax on oil companies that he says have benefited from global instability and market disruptions.
"We need to deploy clean energy because it's a lot cheaper," he said.
Steyer also emphasized environmental justice, arguing that pollution has historically been concentrated in Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other underserved communities. He said those communities should play a central role in shaping environmental policy moving forward.
The conversation extended beyond climate policy into broader questions of economic equity. Steyer voiced strong support for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, arguing that structural racism continues to shape access to education, capital, business opportunities, and public contracts.
"When there has been structural racism and structural injustice, it has to be intentionally called out and intentionally addressed," he said.
Throughout the discussion, Steyer consistently returned to the idea that California's economy produces enormous wealth but distributes it unevenly. He argued that the state's future depends on ensuring that prosperity reaches working families rather than remaining concentrated among corporations and the wealthy.
"We are not sharing the prosperity," he said. "We have the highest poverty rate in the United States of America."
For Steyer, the governor's race ultimately comes down to whether Californians believe the state's problems require fundamental change or incremental adjustments. His campaign is built on the argument that housing, healthcare, energy, and economic opportunity have become increasingly unaffordable because powerful interests benefit from the status quo. Whether voters agree with that diagnosis may determine whether they embrace the sweeping changes he says are necessary to restore the California dream.
