Katie Porter entered the 2026 race for governor this week and has asked to meet with GFC, which we will do. Among the questions we will have for her and other candidates for governor are the following:
1. General Fund expenditures per Capita have risen 65% since Governor Newsom took office. Do you think public services have improved since then? If not, why not and what would you do to get more value for taxpayer funds?
2. Taxpayers are providing California public schools with $115 billion this year, most of which will go to ~600,000 employees. Are students getting adequate services from California’s public schools? If not, why not and what would you do to improve schools?
3. Does the state need 436,000 employees? If not, where would you cut?
4. Do you support extending the Proposition 55 temporary income tax?
5. Recently the Newsom Administration disclosed serious cost overruns at Medi-Cal. From where in the General Fund should the Legislature and governor take the funds to cover the increased costs?
6. Are you concerned that Governor Newsom is forecasting negative budget reserves by the time the next governor takes office in 2027? If not, why not and if so, what should the next governor do to address that problem?
We’ll have more questions but those are a good start. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a respite from the performative politics of our current governor, you might take a look at San Jose where Mayor Matt Mahan is once again challenging the establishment for the benefit of constituents, most recently proposing to tie pay raises for city leaders to outcomes for residents and to require homeless people to accept shelter. California needs more like him.
