Your guide to the California governor candidates' views on housing and homelessness - BERITAJA

Albert Michael By: Albert Michael - Friday, 01 May 2026 17:00:00 • 10 min read
Your guide to the California governor candidates' views on housing and homelessness - BERITAJA

Your guide to the California governor candidates' views on housing and homelessness - BERITAJA is one of the most discussed topics today. In this article, you will find a clear explanation, key facts, and the latest updates related to this topic, presented in a concise and easy-to-understand way. Read more news on Beritaja.

May 1, 2026 3 AM PT

  • Eight gubernatorial candidates connection competing visions connected really to adsress California’s lodging affordability and homelessness crises, but mostly work together connected the request to trim reddish portion to velocity the building of housing.
  • Some candidates person based on much must beryllium done to unit bum group to judge services, including supplier treatment.
  • The starring Republican candidate, Steve Hilton, wants to make it easier to build caller suburbs to reside affordability, while the Democratic candidates thin to support boosting the number of homes successful existing cities.

1

The precocious costs of housing successful California and the related homelessness crisis are immoderate of the about pressing issues facing the state.

As such, the candidates for politician person rolled retired a assortment of proposals, which activity to build much housing, supply much affordability for Californians and get group disconnected the streets.

Some plans besides telephone for caller ways to reside intelligence wellness and supplier addiction problems, 2 issues that besides lend to the state’s homelessness crisis.

2

Who are the candidates?

The gubernatorial superior is simply a crowded one, pinch the main candidates being 2 Republicans and six Democrats. The apical two, sloppy of statement affiliation, beforehand to November’s wide election.

The Republicans are Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and blimpish commentator Steve Hilton.

The Democrats are erstwhile California Atty. Gen and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San José Mayor Matt Mahan, erstwhile Congresswoman Katie Porter, billionaire hedge money laminitis and biology activistic Tom Steyer, authorities Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and erstwhile Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Here are the candidates’ views connected lodging and homelessness:

3

Xavier Becerra

Gubernatorial campaigner Xavier Becerra waves to the crowd.

Xavier Becerra, erstwhile U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, astatine the California Governor Candidate Forum.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Like different candidates, Becerra says California needs to build much homes to make the authorities much affordable. It’s a stance economists mostly work together with, pointing to a mismatch betwixt proviso and request arsenic a main driver of the lodging crisis.

On his run website, Becerra says he’ll boost building by cutting “unnecessary reddish tape” and “speeding up approvals for projects that meet affordability and biology standards.”

Becerra proposes to require cities and counties to o.k. aliases contradict building permits wrong 90 days, loosening definite regulations for infill projects and reforming building defect laws to promote much building of entry-level condos.

Becerra besides wants to fortify tenant eviction protections and limit investor purchases of homes to make judge “growth doesn’t push group out.”

On homelessness, Becerra wants to found a $150-million yearly homelessness prevention money that would thief group successful high-risk neighborhoods salary rent and conflict eviction aliases foreclosure.

4

Chad Bianco

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a GOP campaigner for governor, tours Skid Row.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Bianco’s run vows to region “government-created barriers” it says person made lodging unaffordable and frankincense contributed to the homelessness situation and “taken distant the economical state of Californians.”

Bianco wants to velocity support of lodging projects, extremity “overregulation of our building industry” and destruct the California Environmental Protection Act, which has been praised for preserving the situation but criticized for stymieing needed lodging development, astatine times for questionable biology reasons.

Bianco vowed to “oppose immoderate effort to weaken Prop. 13,” which holds spot taxes debased for longtime spot owners, including those of commercialized buildings successful summation to homes.

On homelessness, Bianco wants cities to clear encampments utilizing powerfulness they gained from a 2024 Supreme Court decision, nonstop much resources toward intelligence wellness clinicians and constituent maltreatment curen and unit group to judge supplier curen “when necessary.”

5

Steve Hilton

Conservative commentator and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Hilton.

Conservative commentator and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Hilton announces his run for California politician astatine the Pier Plaza successful Huntington Beach.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Like different candidates, Hilton says California must build much to reside its affordability crisis.

But dissimilar others, he proposes that authorities do much to promote the building of caller suburbs and says policymakers person focused excessively overmuch connected supporting new, infill lodging successful existing cities.

Hilton says building outward would springiness families much options for the single-family homes they crave and relieve value unit connected cities.

Among his proposals is to betterment the California Environmental Quality Act to alteration only authorities prosecutors to sue, frankincense blocking the expertise of backstage individuals and organizations to extremity aliases hold caller lodging development.

He wants to make it easier to money infrastructure to alteration caller cities to beryllium built, trim building fees and velocity up the building support process. Hilton has based on rent power reduces the inducement for builders to build and says “restructuring aliases eliminating” it would amended affordability.

When it comes to policies to combat the homelessness crisis, Hilton wants to build acold much comparatively low-cost group shelters alternatively of focusing connected imperishable lodging units that are often highly costly to create.

He has called for passing and enforcing anticamping laws and making it easier to money ample intelligence wellness institutions and perpetrate group to them against their will if they person terrible issues.

6

Matt Mahan

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

San José Mayor Matt Mahan speaks during a California politician campaigner forum astatine Skirball Cultural Center.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Mahan says the precocious costs of lodging is pushing Californians retired of the authorities and is the main driver of homelessness.

To reside these issues, Mahan wants to little improvement fees for infill lodging and extremity cities from passing “exorbitant income aliases transportation taxes connected caller infill housing” for illustration Los Angeles’ Measure ULA, which a UCLA-Rand Corp. study recovered reduced flat building successful the city.

Mahan wants to instruction that cities process permits successful little than 30 days and if they fail, let developers to usage “properly qualified and licensed third-party planners and building inspectors to reappraisal permits instead.”

Another connection is to make “building California homes successful California factories a centerpiece of the state’s business strategy.” Building this measurement could beryllium cheaper than building connected site, and Mahan would support the creation of modular lodging factories by providing incentives for their construction.

Mahan besides wants to betterment a law, Senate Bill 800, which he says makes it excessively risky for developers to build condominiums that service arsenic introduction into location ownership, and supply much down costs assistance.

When it comes to homelessness, Mahan wants to get group wrong quickly by providing much interim beds that could beryllium built cheaper and quicker than constructing imperishable housing, and proposes to make tweaks to authorities lodging rule to push cities to build specified interim shelters.

He besides says fines aliases jailhouse clip for sleeping connected the streets is sadistic if there’s nary connection of shelter, but supports specified penalties for group who repeatably diminution disposable housing.

Mahan besides wants to make the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention assistance imperishable and money it astatine $1 cardinal a year.

7

Katie Porter

Former United States Representative Katie Porter.

Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter addresses the crowd astatine the California Democratic Party State Convention successful San Francisco.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Porter wants to promote the building of much “housing of each types” to amended affordability.

On her website, Porter promises to “push the national authorities to put successful California’s lodging challenges” and says her management would “greenlight innovative building strategies, shred unnecessary reddish tape, and create incentives to build the lodging that our system and communities need.”

On homelessness, a run spokesperson said Porter is “particularly willing successful doing much on” interim housing, emergency rental assistance and accelerated rehousing.

8

Tom Steyer

Billionaire Tom Steyer.

Tom Steyer speaks during a California politician campaigner forum astatine Skirball Cultural Center.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Steyer vowed to instrumentality a assortment of policies that he says would consequence successful the building of 1 cardinal caller homes complete 4 years.

Steyer would do this successful portion by reworking the analyzable affordable lodging finance strategy to amended usage nationalist money and pull much backstage capital, while uncovering ways to adhd lodging connected nationalist lands.

He wants to adjacent a spot taxation “loophole” successful Proposition 13 for business and commercialized spot owners that would raise much money and lessen the request for cities to complaint developers fees that thrust up the costs of housing.

Steyer pledged to make it harder for ample corporations to bargain up the state’s lodging banal and to promote cheaper methods of building homes, successful portion by committing a definite number of state-funded projects to utilizing factory-built housing. Steyer’s run says doing truthful would alteration the upstart mill location manufacture to make superior investments that it could usage to grow its beingness successful the larger, backstage market.

When it comes to tenants, Steyer wants to grow the authorities renter’s taxation in installments and sphere its rent power model that he says balances the request for much building and protection of tenants.

On homelessness, Steyer wants to grow interim lodging options pinch services, arguing the authorities has focused excessively overmuch connected building imperishable lodging for the bum that is excessively costly and takes excessively agelong to open.

9

Tony Thurmond

Gubernatorial campaigner Tony Thurmond.

Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, astatine the California Governor Candidate Forum.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Thurmond wants to build 2 cardinal caller homes for “working Californians,” successful ample portion by encouraging schoolhouse districts to build connected 75,000 acres of surplus onshore that they own. His connection says those homes would beryllium unfastened to not only teachers but besides nurses, firefighters and families successful the district.

Thurmond says he’s exploring bringing backmost redevelopment agencies successful immoderate shape to support much building and wants to summation the number of bum lodging units pinch intelligence wellness and constituent maltreatment services.

10

Antonio Villaraigosa

Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaks during a California politician campaigner forum astatine Skirball Cultural Center.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Villaraigosa says California’s affordability problem “ultimately boils down to proviso and demand” and is supportive of caller authorities laws for illustration Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 79 that overrode section zoning restrictions to let for denser housing.

To promote moreover much construction, Villaraigosa calls for reducing improvement fees and reforming CEQA to velocity lodging development, peculiarly for infill housing.

Other proposals see $10 cardinal successful bonds to build mixed-income lodging connected underutilized nationalist lands, limits connected investor purchases of single-family homes and an description of down costs and different types of owe assistance.

On homelessness, Villaraigosa wants to double the state’s finance successful Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Homekey programme to build an further 10,000 units of imperishable supportive lodging complete 5 years. He besides wants to put much successful interim lodging and grow mandatory curen programs.

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Andrew Khouri covers homelessness for the Los Angeles Times. Before coming to The Times, he wrote about commercialized existent property for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. He holds a master’s grade successful publicity from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and graduated from the University of San Diego pinch a grade successful history.

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