APRIL 19, 2026
Five of California’s Democratic gubernatorial candidates — Tom Steyer, Betty Yee, Anthony Villaraigosa, Tony Thurmond and Xavier Becerra — engaged with community members at the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Gubernatorial Candidates Forum in Los Angeles’ Koreatown on Saturday, April 18.
The Korean American Democratic Committee (KADC) and the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) organized the event. Weeks before the forum, KADC and CAUSE compiled nine questions on the most pressing issues facing Californians, drawn from a survey of 40 civic partner organizations.
Community members from Asian American organizations and businesses asked each candidate questions on topics ranging from the economy and affordability to voting rights and immigration. Candidates spoke in a randomized order and had 90 seconds to respond to each question.
Aqui Soriano Versoza, director of the Pilipino Workers Center, asked the candidates to address the “rising costs of housing, healthcare and everyday living expenses” in California, as well as the impact of wage theft — particularly on immigrant workers.
Tom Steyer
Steyer, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist who has not previously held elected office, has built his gubernatorial campaign around economic reform, targeting corporate monopolies and the affordability pressures squeezing California renters and ratepayers.
“I would have rent be deductible the way mortgage interest would be deductible,” Steyer said. “I am for taking away the electric monopoly power. I am for single-payer healthcare.”
Xavier Becerra
Becerra served as California’s attorney general from 2017 to 2021, when he was appointed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. He drew on his record of addressing worker protections and the state’s affordability crisis.
“When I was attorney general, I created a worker’s rights bureau,” Becerra said. “In my first 120 days, I will declare a state of emergency for rising utility rates.”
Betty Yee
Yee served as California’s state controller from 2015 to 2023, overseeing the state’s finances and payroll systems. She argued that California has failed to adequately enforce its own labor laws, leaving wage theft largely unchecked.
“The reason that employers get by with this is because they know the state of California is not looking,” Yee said. “And by the time legal measures are pursued, the wages are long gone.”
Yee also addressed the housing crisis, calling for the restoration of California’s redevelopment program — a financing tool dissolved by the Legislature in 2012 — as a way to expand what can be built across the state.
“With respect to housing, one thing I want to bring back is redevelopment,” Yee said. “It expands what we can build.”
Tony Thurmond
Thurmond has served as California’s superintendent of public instruction since 2019. He drew on his personal experience as a former low-income worker to frame his economic platform and contrast himself with the current federal administration.
“While Trump is off giving his billionaire friends their tax credits, I’m going to do the opposite — give relief to all Californians for the rising cost of gas and groceries,” Thurmond said.
Thurmond also outlined a housing proposal centered on converting surplus government-owned land into residential development.
“My plan is to build 2 million properties in this state using the surplus property that exists,” Thurmond said.
Anthony Villaraigosa
Villaraigosa served as mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013, overseeing a period of significant downtown housing growth. He pointed to that record as proof he could deliver on housing production as governor.
“If you want to address the housing crisis, you have to build more,” Villaraigosa said.
“When I was mayor, downtown Los Angeles had 20,000 units. By the time I left, it was 60,000,” he said.
After the forum concluded, Esther Kim, president of the Korean American Democratic Committee, reflected on the significance of the event in a post-event press release.
“AANHPI Californians are voters, workers, business owners and leaders. We belong and we matter,” Kim said. “The individual we elect as California’s governor must make sure we have a seat at the table that we deserve and have earned. Genuine engagement, through meaningful inclusion, is what our communities require.”