Meet the 4 leading candidates for California lt. governor Share Shares Copy Link Copy Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT THIS RACE. >> WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING? MIKE: ELENI KOUNALAKIS IS A FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY, A DEMOCRAT, AND A BUSINESSWOMAN. >> I HAVEN’T RUN FOR ELECTED OFFICE, BUT I HAVE SERVED IN A VERY HIGH-LEVEL POSITION AS A UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR. I RAN AN EMBASSY IN BUDAPEST OF ALMOST 400 PEOPLE. MIKE: KEEPING A SHARP EYE ON HIGHER EDUCATION IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE JOB, NO MATTER WHO WINS. THE LT. GOVERNOR SITS ON THE BOARD OF REGENTS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSIT >> THE COST TO OUR KIDS TO ATTEND CSU AND UC IS REALLY OUT OF CONTROL. AND IF ELECTED, MY MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY IN TERMS OF POLICY IS GOING TO BE TO OPPOSE TUITION HIKES AT CSU AND THE UC, AND FIND WAYS TO BRING THE COSTS DOWN TO OUR STUDENTS. MIKE: ATTORNEY JEFF BLEICH, ANOTHER DEMOCRAT, IS ALSO MAKING HIS FIRST RUN FOR ELECTED OFFICE. HE SERVED AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA, AND HAS EXPERIENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION. >> I’VE ALSO SERVED ON THE CAL STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD FOR SIX YEARS, AND WAS CHAIR OF THE BOARD FOR A YEAR, AND WAS VICE-CHAIR FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. MIKE: THE LT. GOVERNOR ALSO PLAYS THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC SPA PLUG FOR THE STATE, CHAIRING THE COMMISSION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SOMETHING BLEICH CONSIDERS TO BE HIS STRONG SUIT. >> WE ALSO HAVE TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT ECONOMY, WHICH IS WITH AUTOMATION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. AND WE JUST HAVEN’T HAD ENOUGH CONVERSATION ON HOW YOU WORK ON THAT. MIKE: FOR REPUBLICAN BUSINESSMAN COLE HARRIS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A KEY REASON WHY HE’S CAMPAIGNING FOR LT. GOVERNOR. IT’S ALSO HIS FIRST RUN FOR ELECTED OFFICE. >> ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS WHAT I DO EVERY DAY IN MY BUSINESS. SO THE ONE THING I GET TO DO IS WRITE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR CALIFORNIA. MIKE: HARRIS SAYS HE WANTS TO MAKE CALIFORNIA MORE BUSINESS FRIENDLY. >> WE NEED SOMEBODY IN THERE WITH REAL BUSINESS ACUMEN THAT’S GOING TO SAY HEY, THIS IS A LOGICAL CHOICE. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING. AND I BELIEVE I’M THE GUY TO DO THAT. MIKE: THE ONLY STATE LAWMAKER IN THIS RACE IS DR. ED HERNANDEZ, A DEMOCRAT WHO IS TERMED OUT AFTER EIGHT YEARS IN THE SENATE AND FOUR IN THE ASSEMBLY. >> I’M THE ONLY CANDIDATE IN THIS RACE THAT HAS ELECTED EXPERIENCE IN THE LEGISLATURE. MIKE: HERNANDEZ SAYS HIS UNDERSTANDING OF GOVERNMENT AND HOW IT WORKS MAKES HIM BEST QUALIFIED TO GO TO BAT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS. >> WHY NOT HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE ARE GOING TO BRING ADDITIONAL MONEY IN, IN COLLABORATION, IN PARTNERSHIP, WITH BUSINESS, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE NOT ONLY DECREASE TUITION, BUT GET TO GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Submit Privacy Notice<doc-sep>Welcome to your guide to the 2018 California governor’s race. The general election is Nov. 6. Campaigning is underway for the June 5 primary, and these are the best-known candidates in the race, in alphabetical order. The candidates profiled have met certain criteria, including: previous election to public office; at least 5% support from likely voters in an independent, established public opinion poll; or demonstrated fundraising ability. Travis Allen Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press ) Advertisement Top jobs: Three-term Republican assemblyman from Orange County, first elected in 2012. Biggest controversy: Widely criticized for claiming that a recent California law would “legalize” child prostitution. Particulars: Allen, 44, lives in Huntington Beach with his wife, Arielle, and their 8-year-old daughter. He is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach. As a member of the California Legislature’s Republican minority, Allen has earned a reputation as an outspoken conservative who invites controversy. Allen proudly boasts of voting for Trump in 2016. He came under fire in December after writing an opinion article in the Washington Examiner with the headline “California Democrats legalize childhood prostitution” — an allegation that created a national stir. Travis was referring to a new law that decriminalized prostitution for minors, allowing law enforcement officers to treat minors as victims of sex trafficking rather than offenders. Several news outlets declared Allen’s allegation an outright falsehood. In May, Allen launched a drive for a ballot measure to repeal new gas taxes and vehicle fees, which polls show are unpopular with Californians. The increases, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in April, would raise $5.2 billion annually for road repairs and mass transit. He has made the repeal effort a central theme of his campaign. Allen grew up in Chula Vista, where his father worked as an attorney and his mother served on the school board. Allen, an avid surfer, earned a degree in economics at Cal State Long Beach. He worked as a financial advisor for A.G. Edwards & Sons before launching his own firm. Advertisement Allen said he decided to run for the Assembly after watching friends, family members and clients move out of California because of rising taxes and the declining business climate he said was caused by Democratic policies. Video and analysis from the May 8 debate » Sign up for the Essential Politics newsletter » John Chiang State Treasurer John Chiang (Irfan Kahn / Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement Top jobs: Elected state treasurer in 2014 after two terms as state controller. Biggest splash: Docked state legislators’ pay for failing to pass a balanced budget on time. Family tragedy: Chiang’s sister, Joyce, a government lawyer in Washington, was murdered in 1999. Particulars: Chiang, 55, lives in Torrance. He graduated from the University of South Florida and Georgetown University Law Center. He is in the midst of a divorce proceeding and is separated from his wife. Advertisement Chiang, a Democrat, has been elected to statewide office three times: twice as controller and once as treasurer in 2014. The eldest son of Taiwanese immigrants, Chiang grew up in Chicago and New York and moved west after earning his law degree. He worked for then-state Controller Gray Davis and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer. In 1998, he won a seat on the state Board of Equalization, which oversees the collection of tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. It was his first time in elected office. As controller, Chiang made headlines in 2011 when he decided to withhold state lawmakers’ pay after they failed to produce a balanced spending plan by the June 15 deadline. Two years earlier, Chiang also made news by refusing an order by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to furlough state workers three days a month amid the state budget crisis. The courts ultimately overruled Chiang, but his action made him a hero to organized labor. Advertisement FOR THE RECORD Jan. 28: This article previously stated incorrectly that Chiang is divorced. New poll finds a volatile race for second place » John Cox John Cox (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement Top jobs: Attorney and certified public accountant in Chicago. Biggest splash: Cox, a Republican, in 2003 ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in Illinois against Barack Obama. Particulars: Cox, 62, lives in Rancho Santa Fe and is married with four children. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago and earned a law degree at Chicago Kent College at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Cox, a Rancho Santa Fe venture capitalist, announced his gubernatorial bid in early March of 2017. Cox has contributed millions of his own money to fund his campaign. Advertisement Cox did not vote for President Trump in the 2016 election but now says he backs the president 100%. Trump returned the favor with an endorsement late in the primary race that appeared to elevate Cox’s status. The Republican several years ago unsuccessfully pushed a ballot initiative to overhaul Sacramento by establishing a “neighborhood legislature,” which would add 12,000 “citizen legislators” elected in neighborhoods to the 80 Assembly members and 40 senators who currently make up the California Legislature. News about the race for governor » Delaine Eastin Delaine Eastin (Delaine For Governor ) Advertisement Top jobs: California superintendent of public instruction from 1995 to 2003. She served in the Assembly from 1986 to 1994, including as chairwoman of the Education Committee. Biggest splash: The only woman elected as California superintendent of public instruction. Particulars: Eastin, 70, lives in Davis. She earned a bachelor’s degree at UC Davis and a master’s degree at UC Santa Barbara. She is a Democrat. Eastin, a Democrat, began her career in politics as councilwoman in Union City on the east side of the San Francisco Bay and later served two terms as the state’s superintendent of public instruction. During her tenure, she was a vocal advocate for the state’s class-size reduction law. Advertisement Eastin has been out of elected office since 2003. She is chairwoman of the board of Educate Our State, a nonprofit organization that advocates for California schools. She is also chairwoman of ClosetheGapCA, a political group that focused on electing more women to the Legislature in 2016. Eastin said she believes that public school funding is no longer a top priority among politicians in Sacramento. She criticized them for failing to provide additional money for preschool and failing to adopt full-day kindergarten. Behind the candidates: explore the money in the gubernatorial campaign » Gavin Newsom Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images ) Advertisement Top jobs: California’s lieutenant governor since 2011. Mayor of San Francisco for two terms, from 2004 to 2011. Biggest splash: Newsom, a Democrat, created a national firestorm as San Francisco mayor in 2004 when he ordered the city to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Baggage: While mayor, he had an affair with his campaign manager’s wife. Particulars: Newsom, 50, lives in Marin County with his wife and four children. He is a graduate of Santa Clara University. Advertisement He launched his campaign for governor in February 2015. Since announcing his bid, Newsom proposed a statewide initiative to toughen California gun laws and threw his support behind another measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Both initiatives were passed by state voters in the 2016 general election. Newsom ran for governor in the 2010 election but dropped out of the race after the entry of Democratic rival Jerry Brown, who went on to win. He ran for the lower-profile lieutenant governor’s office instead and is now serving his second term. Newsom gained national attention as mayor of San Francisco in 2004 when he directed the city to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. That was a catalyst for a nationwide political wrangle over the issue that ended when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of gays to marry in 2015. Advertisement As mayor, Newsom also helped launch the country’s first universal healthcare initiative. Newsom has proposed the adoption of a universal healthcare program for California. Amanda Renteria Amanda Renteria (Amanda Renteria ) Top job: Political director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign for president.<doc-sep>LOS ANGELES — In most elections, the primary is the season for partisanship and appealing to the party’s most ideological voters. Candidates slide to the center — appealing, in theory, to a broader electorate with a more moderate message — as they shift into a general election. But even before most of the votes were counted, two of the candidates running to be the next governor of California — Gavin Newsom, the Democratic lieutenant governor, and John Cox, a Republican businessman — made clear that they were inclined to stay in their ideological corners. If Mr. Newsom and Mr. Cox continue down this road, the election for governor is going to offer as stark an ideological choice as voters are going to find in just about any ballot booth in the country: on health care, taxes, immigration, government spending and President Trump. And it comes at a time when California has become the center of Democratic resistance to Republican policies, and after eight years in which the current governor, Jerry Brown, has struck a decidedly more moderate tone in governing. [Go here for full results from California’s primary.] Celebrating on Tuesday night, Mr. Newsom offered a sweeping view of what he wants California’s government to achieve: guaranteed health care for all, a “Marshall Plan” to build affordable housing and an end to childhood poverty.<doc-sep>
On Tuesday, California voters will finally go to the polls to decide a gubernatorial primary in which 27 candidates are battling to replace retiring Gov. Jerry Brown. The primary is a “top two” primary, meaning that the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the general election. Currently, two of the three top-polling candidates—the two leading Democrats in the race—are men who have admitted to extramarital affairs while in office. As the rest of the country cheers what looks like a wave of women running for, and winning, political office, California’s very male gubernatorial field stands out, particularly for its front-runners’ past behavior. The leading candidate, lieutenant governor and former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, had an affair with his appointments secretary while separating from his wife in 2005. Ruby Rippey Gibney, the secretary, was married to Newsom’s campaign manager at the time. Newsom moved on to then-19-year-old “model and restaurant hostess” Brittanie Mountz; she was a registered Republican and he was more than twice her age. Newsom recently told the New York Times that “Dating is not a term I would use” to describe his relationship with Mountz, “but friendship, yes.” He was re-elected in a landslide in 2007. Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, is currently running in third, behind Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. In 2007, during his tenure as mayor, Villaraigosa had an affair with TV news anchor Mirthala Salinas and his wife filed for divorce. A New Yorker profile published around the same time reported that he’d also cheated on her with the wife of a friend while Villaraigosa’s wife was fighting cancer. At the time of Newsom’s affair and relationship with Mountz, political analysts wondered whether it would hamper his ambitions within the Democratic Party. So far, it hasn’t. Rippey Gibney said recently she wouldn’t lump her affair with Newsom in with kinds of behaviors the #MeToo movement is calling into question: “Yes, I was a subordinate but I was also a free-thinking, 33-year-old, adult married woman & mother,” she wrote on Facebook in February. “Also happened to have an unfortunate inclination toward drinking-to-excess and self-destruction.” But some of Newsom’s opponents have wielded his indiscretions against him. In March, Amanda Renteria, called for Newsom to resign from his post as lieutenant governor in light of both relationships. Renteria insisted that even a consensual sexual relationship between a mayor and his employee isn’t completely benign. “Workplace impacts of this type of behavior has real implications on the lives of everyone in the office,” she tweeted. “The more power you have, the more responsibility you have to ensure a positive culture where everyone is empowered.” Villaraigosa, who has a much better chance than Renteria of advancing in Tuesday’s primary, has chosen shade over outright attack in his mentions of Newsom’s relationship history. When asked if he thought his own affair hurt his chances in the gubernatorial race, Villaraigosa told the New York Times that he doesn’t think people “see the connection” between his romantic exploits and his political work—“because in my case, it wasn’t somebody working for me and it wasn’t a 19-year-old.” But Villaraigosa’s affair still had a detrimental impact on his partner’s work, in large part because of his stature. He stayed in office, while Salinas’ career at Telemundo came to a premature end. Villaraigosa’s career may meet its end on Tuesday, but Newsom appears almost certain to advance. Progressives in San Francisco forgave him his moral transgressions in 2009 when they re-elected him as mayor, and he’s been a popular figure ever since. Historically, the country has been forgiving of politicians who cheat on their spouses with underlings, inappropriately young women, or both—as Bill Clinton reminded us on Monday, two-thirds of Americans wanted him to stay in office at the time of his impeachment trial. Skeptics of the #MeToo movement have worried that the movement could ruin a man’s career over an office dalliance. A Newsom win would suggest that California voters’ views on the issue haven’t changed much at all.