Seven Candidates Clash in California Governor Debate Hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52

California’s governor’s race intensified as seven candidates clashed during a debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 on Wednesday, May 6, ahead of the June 2 primary election.

The Skirball Cultural Center debate featured Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton and Democrats Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer and Antonio Villaraigosa, moderated by NBCLA’s Colleen Williams and Conan Nolan and Telemundo LA’s Enrique Chiabra.

CBS News

On housing and zoning, Hilton argued for simplifying regulations and stopping “hidden taxes” on building, while Bianco said builders can’t afford to build due to “excessive regulations” and pointed to the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA.

Mahan said the state needs to intervene if cities don’t do their job, and Becerra said he would expand down payment assistance programs, with Villaraigosa also in support of down payment assistance.

In the same debate, Porter said under her leadership Californians would have a 5% down payment on their homes and “not 20,” while Redfin was cited as saying a 20% down payment “is standard, if you can afford it.”

The candidates also fought over California’s insurance crisis, with Becerra repeating his plan to call for a freeze on insurance rates while Porter warned that “We can’t afford to freeze rates because what will happen is every insurer remaining in the state will leave.”

Villaraigosa said, “The notion that we would freeze insurance rates — one, the governor can’t do that, two, it’s just going to make it worse,” as the debate turned to whether a rate freeze could worsen insurer departures.

CNN

Consumer Watchdog’s Litigation Director Will Pletcher said the “new Insurance Commissioner — who has the direct power to order a moratorium on rate increases,” and the next Governor will need time to “wrestle the insurance industry back under control,” adding that “A regulatory freeze will help stabilize the insurance market until they do so.”

On homelessness, Steyer said it’s critical to keep people from getting to the point of being homeless through rental assistance and emergency interim housing, while Bianco said homelessness is “about drug and alcohol addiction” and “mental illness.”

Porter said the cause of homelessness is the cost of housing, and Hilton said the law must be enforced when it comes to homelessness, while Spencer Pratt was mentioned as the former reality TV star running for Los Angeles mayor.

As the debate grew sharper, Katie Porter said she couldn’t believe that on a stage with “30 minutes of interrupting and bickering and name-calling and shouting and disrespect” anyone would want to talk about her temperament.

Porter also tied her temperament argument to her own record, saying “Californians can decide for themselves about my temperament based on what they’ve seen here tonight,” as the CNN debate pushed personal exchanges.

On the California Billionaire Tax Act, the stage split remained stark, with the initiative seeking to impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires in California and only Tom Steyer saying he would vote for it if it reached the November ballot.

Mahan attacked rivals by saying, “We do not need the leadership that MAGA candidates on the stage are offering that's divisive,” while Becerra faced questions about his record and responded by saying, “I continue to be for Medicare for all.”

In the same CNN debate, Bianco argued that sanctuary policy has led to the state becoming less safe, saying, “I want Mr. Villaraigosa to tell the mother of the 14-year-old in my county that is dead because of an illegal immigrant,” and he also said, “This is not about homes. This is about mental health treatment, drug and alcohol treatment.”