The problem with the April 28 debate among eight candidates for California governor: It was almost useless for voters figuring out what to do in the June 2 primary. The debate was held at Pomona College just before ballots are mailed April 30 in Los Angeles County and May 4 elsewhere.
The first problem: The criteria for selection, according to the college, were that a candidate must be listed on the ballot with at least 1% support in both the Emerson College and Los Angeles Times/UC Berkeley polls. Only Republicans and Democrats made the cut. The lowest was Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond at 1%.
But what about third parties? Candidates like Ramsey Robinson of the Peace and Freedom Party and Libertarian Tom Woodard are on the ballot. But since voters passed the awful top-two system in 2010, no third party has made it to the November general election, meaning they have vanished from public discourse. How undemocratic.
The top-two primary system also cheats voters by pushing all candidates onto one primary ballot. Yet the debate showed a clear differentiation between the parties. Republicans Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (who should answer my emails for an interview) clearly advanced different policies from the six Democrats, and should have had their own debate.
Democrats also should have enjoyed their own tussle because it’s almost certain one of them will get elected in November. Let’s just cover the top three from the Emerson poll released April 16: Billionaire fossil fuel investor Tom Steyer, former federal Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Rep. Katie Porter.
Then there was the debate format, with 45-second responses at most allowed, and lightning rounds of only yes/no answers. That produced a jumble of verbiage difficult for voters to decipher.
And left unasked was what to do about the state’s fiscal crisis. The Legislative Analyst’s Office warned on January 12 to “expect the state to face multiyear deficits, with estimates ranging from $20 billion to $35 billion annually.” Since that date, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has soared from $59 a barrel to $105 on April 29.
The CBS debate moderators did ask about the affordability crisis hitting all Californians. But the main thing a governor does is craft the state budget to pay for all the state programs. No money, no programs. When the subprime meltdown hit in 2008, the state budget was slashed from $103 billion in fiscal 2007-08 to $91 billion the next year. In 2009, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed through the Legislature a $13 billion tax increase.
In our editorial board interviews with local officials, they’re well aware the burgeoning economic crisis means higher costs for fuel and school lunches. Why weren’t the gubernatorial candidates queried on that?
As to the actual debate, there was an aura of unreality among the Democrats. Porter said, “I’ve advocated for policies for free child care… and free UCs,” meaning no tuition for state colleges and universities. Steyer pushed for single-payer health care. But a 2022 LAO study found Assembly Bill 1400, a single-payer plan by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, would cost between $494 billion and $552 billion a year.
Becerra played it smartest by pushing a strong anti-Trump theme. He said if Trump had not cut “a trillion dollars out of the Medicaid program, which is called Medi-Cal here, we wouldn’t be facing 3 million Californians losing their health insurance.” That followed his new anti-Trump TV ad.
Republicans Hilton and Bianco made some good points lost in the chatter. Bianco blamed the spate of wildfires on “failed environmental policies that do not allow the clearing of brush.” He’s right about that.
On the affordability crisis, Hilton called for ending the 2017 gas tax increase, currently 61.2 cents a gallon. And he pointed out the state’s roads are in bad condition because it costs so much more to fix them. According to a March 19 study by the Reason Foundation, California ranked 49th among the states for road cost-effectiveness and condition.
But, overall, there was too much noise in the debate and not enough substance.
The next debate is May 5 on CNN. Let’s hope it’s better.
John Seiler is on the SCNG Editorial Board