I Have Some Questions for the Democrats Who Want to Run California

168 snips

May 12, 2026

Guest

Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor focused on big-city governance. Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor and ex-tech founder pushing pro-housing local reforms. Katie Porter, policy-focused former congresswoman on tenant protections. Xavier Becerra, ex-attorney general and HHS secretary with litigation experience. Tom Steyer, philanthropist and climate activist funding housing initiatives. They debate construction costs, permitting delays, modular housing, enforcement vs local control, and interim solutions.

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ADVICE

Standardize Permits To Cut Months Off Projects

Speed matters: permitting delays materially increase costs, so standardize and limit last-minute add-ons.
Katie Porter supports a uniform statewide permit and caps on late changes to shave months off multifamily timelines.

INSIGHT

Affordable Projects Face Unique Delay And Finance Friction

Affordable housing costs more because projects face extra delays, financing complexity and community resistance.
Katie Porter recommends consolidated funding and state-provided land to avoid piecemeal finance that stalls projects.

ADVICE

Cap Fees And Make Approvals Ministerial

Cap local impact fees and impose state turnaround standards to make projects pencil.
Matt Mahan made San Jose approvals ministerial and cut fees two thirds, which produced thousands of homes beginning construction.

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On Friday, I moderated a forum with the top Democratic candidates for California governor, focusing on the state’s housing crisis.

California’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, came into office in 2019 promising to build millions of homes. And in the years since, dozens of pro-housing laws have passed, designed to cut red tape and spur more construction. And yet the number of homes being built in California is basically the same as when he took office, and the state’s housing crisis remains, arguably, the worst in the country. So I wanted to know what the next governor would do about it.

We taped this at the Calvin Simmons Theater in Oakland, Calif. The candidates on the stage were Xavier Becerra, a former attorney general of California and health and human services secretary under President Joe Biden; Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose and a tech entrepreneur; Katie Porter, a former U.S. representative; Tom Steyer, a former San Francisco hedge fund manager, a climate activist and a philanthropist; and Antonio Villaraigosa, a former mayor of Los Angeles and speaker of the California State Assembly. This panel was recorded live. The Times did not fact-check candidates’ remarks.

Mentioned:

“Cost to Build Multifamily Housing in California More Than Twice as High as in Texas” by RAND

“What Worries Me Most About ‘Abundance’” with Derek Thompson and Marc Dunkelman, The Ezra Klein Show

Book Recommendations:

The Hour of the Predator by Giuliano da Empoli

Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Why Nothing Works by Marc J. Dunkelman

Ours Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu, Marie Cascione, Kristin Lin and Marina King. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our recording engineer is Johnny Simon. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Michelle Harris, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Argus HD.

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