¶ Jon Slavet joins the Chuck ToddCast
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¶ Why enter politics and run for governor of California?
I've been covering politics now, going back to nineteen ninety two.
More elusive.
Things to find in American politics is a calif Moderate and I say that part of it is the system. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to create a system that would then incentivize the Center to be the governing force of California politics. Of course, center depends on where you sit. Those from outside of California may look at a Gavenuwommer in Nancy Pelosi and say they're liberal. Those that live in San Francisco would say they're centrist, So some of it is
sometimes perspective. My guest today is John Slavitt, and he intrigues me because he's trying to do what arguably nobody other than Arnold Schwarzenegger has been able to do, which is essentially owned the center lane in a California gubernatorial race and pull this off. We have seen many attempt and he also has a background in Silicon Valley. This is also in theory should be a strength and in practice in the past has been a bit of a
hurdle himself. So I'm very intrigued why I invited him on the podcast, because I think the California governor's race is so wide open, and I think we still don't know all the candidates that are going to be running, filing deadline still a couple months away. But John Slavit is a I think he described himself at one point a lifelong Democrat now becoming a Republican, but really trying to see if there is a center lane to straddle.
So let's have that conversation. John, Welcome to the podcast.
Thank you, Chuck. Nice to see you.
So let me start Well, first of all, let me
¶ It's fraught & dangerous to run for office in this political climate
just start with why are you doing this? Why politics? And when was the first time you ever thought you'd get into politics?
Well, first time I ever thought i'd get into politics and really seriously decided to run a few months ago. I've been interested in politics. I've been a student of politics. I've been a bit of a political and news junkie for a long long time. I started my career actually in media. I came to California at Third Right Sorry Scene, which was sort of an early tech meeta company. Well it was. I didn't work for see Ed, but I worked for a company that joint ventured with them, so
you got it partially right. I worked for the founder of the entertainment a guy named Yarroman used to be Lee Masters. He was the former CEO of NPR before
¶ National politics get attention, state & local more impactful
the current CEO. So I came out to California to work for the founders of Wired magazine nineteen ninety five, prior to the Internet actually being a thing. So interested in politics, interested in media for a long long time. But I'd say that becoming a civic entrepreneur, which I've done the last year with my own podcast really gave me access to people in the state, Republicans, Democrats, independence activists.
I mean, I've had journalists like you on my podcast, to Alex Michaelson that really got me underneath the issues out in the state, traveling the state every week and talking about what ails the state, and my passion initially was to create a forum to have serious conversations about problem solution in California. I'd say it was death by a thousand cuts to decide to run, because you know, it's it's a fraught time to actually run for something.
It's it's crazy, it's dangerous on multiple levels and difficult, and.
Its reputationally damaging to you even even no matter if you do everything correctly.
And that's not.
Fair, but it's just the way Paul could be. It's becomes so huge holistic.
Sure, I have my eyes wide open, but I'd say that it was death by a thousand cuts, Chuck. There wasn't one thing. It was many things. And in California, I think the challenge, like many states, is civic engagement, right,
¶ Serious lack of attention to local politics in California
just the number of people who actually care. I think in California right now, unfortunately, there are more people who care about national politics, and some of those fights, you know, the Newsom Trump fight, right, so much energy, but it doesn't actually have anything to do with what's ailing the state. And then people care about some of their local stuff. But the reality is what happens at the state level has a bigger impact on people's lives than anything else.
It's true in every state.
And I'll tell you an example of sort of that frustration you're expressing about the lack of interest in state civics. I was when I first started as political director at NBC. I was and even before then, when I was at the Hotline, I was really excited about getting to know all the political reporters at all the NBC local affiliates just around the country, and I thought, boy, what a powerful I had my own thought of what this could be.
And then you come to find out there are like there were like ten local news stations in the country that bother to have a full time political reporter, let alone a political producer, And in fact, I believe there was only one in the state of California. And Kevin Riggs I think was his name at KCRA in Sacramento
¶ There's a ton of interest in California from people outside it
was sort of a Soccermano being the state capital, that would make sense. But I remember, you know, you've got you got my buddy Colin Conan Nolan down in LA who you know, and you you brought up like Michaelson. But it is shocking to me the and this is
look we have. Local media is now in a different place because of the whole media disruption, But even before sort of media disruption of legacy media in general and linear television, there was always a lack of interest in local in state politics in California.
It's always been nationalized.
And I didn't know if that was because of how poorly we on the East Coast report on the West coast. You know, I've never understood that. But how long have you lived in California and how long have you experienced that?
Well? Actually, I was going to say, we've got the California Post about about to launch, right New York Posts California Post.
I mean, so an East Coast news. You know, I'm not I'm skeptic.
Look, I'm skeptical that it's going to help teach people about what's happening in California. I think it's just going to be page six for California. But we'll find out, right, well.
We'll find out. I think I think that maybe it instigates some good trouble to borrow a phrase, and we need more good trouble in California. I've been here thirty years, so I moved here to follow, you know, my California dream. Sure,
¶ NDA's should not be allowed in taxpayer funded projects
as I mentioned, to work for the founders of Wired magazine. And you know, I've worked in three different sectors in California. Uh and and had five kids along the way. And to answer your question in terms of just California, do people care? You know, why isn't more California state coverage a thing? I think it's becoming more of a thing.
And I think that if I look at my own podcast upwards, if half our audience is outside of California and depends on the episode, so there's just a ton of interest in California, as you know, from outside California looking in. If we could replicate that with the passion and interest of people inside CALIFORNI we want to get involved to change the state will do great. But I
think it's actually happening. I think that Ashley Zavala, who is an amazing local reporter and Sacramento is becoming iconic for actually pressing elected officials to get to the bottom of issues. For instance, the California State Capital. You may be familiar with this boondoggle that's happened where there's a renovation project going on in the state capitol. So elected officials is going to have a better home to work in, which is fine. It was supposed to cost a few
hundred million. Now apparently it's over a billion and two thousand people under NDA on the projects of people are actually can't muffle to actually talk about it. So there's a ton to talk about. In California. We have the most interesting opportunity and interesting people and it's a shame
¶ Major government discussions need more transparency in CA
there's not more coverage.
Can pet peeve of.
You brought up NDAs and Donald Trump does this in the federal government level.
You just brought it up there.
If taxpayer dollars are involved, the NDA should be illegal. I mean, I don't understand. I mean, I just think it should pure and simple. If the if you are getting compensated by federal tax any taxpayer, state or federal right the government, you.
Shouldn't be able to hide an audit from the public
¶ Unions raise $1B in CA and spend $300 on political donations
in any form.
Well, you bring up a good point. There's there's an assemblyman named Joe Patterson who's in the California State Assembly, who I had in my podcast a while ago, and he actually is the number one, I guess instigator for transparency, and he created legislation to ban the use of NDAs with elected officials in California when they're you know, discussing debating important issues for the state. Knewso signed it to his credit. So there is some movement for transparency in California.
But it's not retroactive. It's not like it's un sealing every NDA sign.
Oh look, I get that, and I understand. Look, you've been in business. You know that you can't have every meeting in public in the sometimes you need to have.
¶ Why seek Trump's endorsement after not voting for him 3x?
Space to make a decision. But eventually there.
Should be available to the public, right, Like I think you can agree, Okay, you know within a year, it should be public within you know, a reasonable period of time. I mean, I understand the need for some discretion, not secrecy, discretion, but like I assume common sense that actually create better legislation on that.
I'll say one other thing on this, and then I'm sure you're going to go lots of places that you want to go in this conversation. But I've said a few times now since I announced for governor that I would do the major negotiations with third parties with lights on and cameras rolling. I think that there should be much more transparency on the major discussions that the governor and team have with counterparties. One of the biggest examples is with the very powerful unions in California that exert
such huge influence. You know, public sector unions in California. They raise about a billion dollars in dues and they're donating three hundred million dollars in California annually to buy, sell, and trade politicians. And mostly what they've done is cow Democrats who are so afraid to oppose them, you know, in legislation. And so I would actually have these counterparties
¶ Trump is good as a disrupter but not as a builder
across the table, put my priorities on the table and show it.
Let me let's talk about your political evolution, because you talk about yourself as a lifelong Democrat. You say you've never voted for Donald Trump. Now you want his endorsement. What has he done now that has convinced you? Do you think it was a mistake that you didn't vote for him the first three times.
Well, let me say this, you're correct and what you said so far. You know, Republicans in California have been very cute about the Trump endorsement. I think Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, the other two serious Republicans in the race who we can talk about, they've said different things about endorsed by Trump. I think Chad Bianca said, well,
¶ Where do you agree with Trump on policy?
I accept it in private, so that's all just weird cuteness. Yeah, President of the United States wants to endorse the Republican running. You accept the endorsement, But I think it's unlikely Trump endorses me because I'm the only Republican who's going to call balls and strikes about where I agree and disagree. And we can get into that. But if Trump endorsed me, it would be because he endorses where I agree and where I have very independent minded ideas that may be at odds with his ideas.
¶ HUD's new policy prioritizes temporary, not permanent housing
You know, I had Steve Klubeck on here about nine months ago before he dropped that, and while while your personalities might be different, he was sort of preaching the same thing.
Well, and he had his own way. Yeah, he had his own way.
I mean, you know, and I get this with Trump, right, there's always parts of Trump You're like, you know, he doesn't know how to build something, but he was correct to knock something down, right, Like I've always thought that, you know, Trump, the disruptor is the necessity, but he may himself not have any good answers on what to put in after you've done the disruption, right, And I think that's always been I think that's the struggle that change agents, whether they're on the left or the right,
who want to take some of Trump right, but but not be associated with all of Trump. That is that sort of where your head is.
At, Well take some of Trump, Listen. I think we
¶ Permanent housing for homeless costs $1M per unit in CA
have to focus on policy. So I mean, for instance, uh, you know, there are there are many areas on policy where I agree, but I think I have a much better.
Uh like what is tell me what he's doing and style?
Well, listen, I'm gonna I'm going to use a California frame here, Chuck, because I'm running in California. Should I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna, you know, go global and judge every single and going on.
By the way, I don't think the governor of California needs to have a position on NATO right now.
Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, listen, there are lots of policies that will positively impact California that people may not know about. So, for instance, under Trump, HUD actually came out with a radical new policy on homelessness and funding for homelessness. This is a national policy, but will dramatically impact California in a positive way. I think since they announced it, they've kind of pulled it back and are tweaking it, but just on homelessness. As you know,
as everyone knows, we lead the nation to homelessness. Twenty five percent of the nation's homeless, one hundred and ninety thousand of our brothers and sisters basically living and dying on the street. It's a total moral tragedy. And what HUD said under Trump is that they're going to totally flip the script on the way that funding for homelessness is granted to states. To date, the way it's been done,
and this is a part of democratic ideology. In many states and also in California, funding for homeless blessness has
¶ The priority should be getting homeless into temp housing ASAP
been targeted at what's called permanent housing. Permanent housing is generally a affordable housing unit in an apartment building. The problem is in California that takes ten years to build and cost a million dollars. We can get into why it's insane. The Trump administration flipped that and said, listen, instead of eighty percent of the money going to long term permanent housing, eighty percent of the money should go
to temporary housing. And I want to give credit to Mayor Matt Mahon, who's a Democrat moderate in San Jose, who I really like because he's actually working with Dignity Moves, the founder of which is an advisor to me. Dignity Moves is the number one organization in California deploying the tiny home communities. And you've probably seen these in various states, and other states have done this really well, particularly Texas
in Houston and Austin. But essentially, you get a crane and you drop in a small unit that locks from the inside, and you do one hundred and one hundred and fifty these on a site. Usually the land is donated
¶ Could you have been as successful in a state other than CA?
by a wealthy landowner who can get a tax right off for leasing that land to the city for a dollar a year, can write off the taxes, and then you bring in the services that are needed in that site at mental health, services, security, et cetera, and you triage people who actually can live in a tiny home versus need the mental health system, which unfortunately is more
than half of our homeless in California. And the reason that that is opposed by what I would call the homeless industrial complex in California is the set of incentives for the structures and then nonprofits in California to serve that population are very much oriented to building long term permanent housing. But what we need is to get people off the street tomorrow, chuck. Because in California, day one,
a homeless person seventeen percent or mentally ill. By day thirty, thirty five percent or mentally ill because they have to get on a drug to stay awake, to not get raped or robbed or beaten or stolen from. So that's an example where Trump has it completely right. He just came out with another policy on real estate that I really agree with what's kind of progressive, which is to
¶ California's great weather masks many of its problems
ban the huge funds from buying up all the single family homes. That's another example. You know, there are many others I think that I think that being generally pro business is a good thing. And in California. California has an inferiority complex about being pro business.
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¶ Tech doesn't suffer from regulatory issues like other industries
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¶ Middle & lower income California's are suffering, rich doing great
slash chuck. So let me ask you about that, because I vacillate about California myself, and I sort of I would align myself with the times. It feels overly bureaucratic at times, and at the end of the day though it's still the best. It seems to be a great place to build a business, still seems a great place to find a workforce. So you've been a very successful entrepreneur. Do you think you could have been as successful in another state was there was California. You've you've had all
your success in California. You know the state must be doing something right. What are they doing right that you think has helped you succeed?
That's a great question. Well, I did do it in California, so I can't speak to whether I could have done it anywhere else. I mean, I've done it in California. I have California to thank for lots of things, including my kids and you know, my professional life. So I'm hugely grateful to California, and despite all of our problems, I wouldn't live anywhere else. You know. I think anyone who says, though that they've not considered moving out of the state is lying, because even I have, everyone has.
But you know, I want to make my life here and help turn the state around. So I'm staying to your point. I made an analogy the other day that that sunshine is to California like old spices to many men's under arms. It's basically just it's covered up all the bad.
I think if deltorizes everything else is what you're saying.
You know, if we had. If we had the year round weather of Seattle in Portland, we would have lost half our people. So so yes, people love living here. We have an amazing climate, we have I think the most talented people, industry, geography, to we have all of it.
It's a great university system.
A great use I mean for both the system right for by the way, I think sometimes the UC system is a bit overrated. I say this versus the cal State. You know that aspect. I mean that is affordable first gen. I mean, that's an impressive state university system as well well.
¶ Half of California's work for small businesses that are overtaxed
And we have we have Pat Brown to thank for a lot of these things, you know, Jerry's dad, who was I think, by all accounts a great, great governor, and I would give that praise. But here's the problem. Shock. I think when you work in the tech sector or certain aspects of the real estate sector, like I did, you have great advantages because because you're not in tech, for an instance, we don't suffer in tech from a lot of the regulations that impact other real world because you're.
Still I mean, you're still a youthful industry. In that there was a lot of exemptions given to the tech industry by the state legislature right for years in order to help the tech inducess.
Yes, quite unfettered, and mostly for good reasons. And if you've got people in capital, you know you can you know you can thrive. Having said that, there are many tech companies that are moving out of California for different reasons. But here's the thing. California is a tale of two worlds. If you have money and you work in certain industries, you're doing great. But if you are working poor, working class, middle class, the people we need to focus on you
are hurting in California. And if you look.
You're describing, you just describe the economy for the entire country. I mean, this is the current. This is why everybody, this is why the polling shows that people hate this economy because it does feel as if the halves are surviving and in some cases thriving, but they have not to have like there's no rung on the ladder to even grab right now.
Well, it's very tough. And again speaking for California, if you look at all the metrics that matter, I mean, despite the fact that we've got sunshine, Hollywood beaches and you can you know, you can go skiing, you know, in the morning one day and being on the beach
in the afternoon on the same day. In California, again, if you're in the seventy three percent of people in the middle working class that think the state's going in the wrong direction, which is what our polling shows and is just sort of common sense, the reason is, and it's in the headlines every day because California is in the bottom of every metric that matters, despite the fact
that we're the world's fourth largest economy. So if I hear another person in California who's elected say that we're
¶ Where will you find the money to fund your proposals?
the fourth largest economy, my head's going to explode. Because education outcomes number one in poverty, number one in homelessness, number one in energy costs, number one in housing costs. There are reasons why, chuck, which we can get into. So it's really a tale of two world worlds in California.
So let's let's talk about that. What you're an advocate of the flat tax.
How do not, actually, I've not actually advocated for a
¶ California should scrap the high speed rail to nowhere
flat tax?
You haven't, Okay, how would you describe your advocation of a It sounds like a flatter tax is what you're looking for.
Well, I've not Actually, I've not actually spoken about tax policy overtly yet. But my view is that if you look at California, you know, we've got the highest marginal rate in the country at thirteen point three percent. And the reality is that in California, half of our people work for small to medium sized companies. The national average a little bit bigger, California a little little smaller because we have such what such huge companies operating out of California
as well, it sort of reduces the average. But half of our people work in small businesses, and small businesses of the engine of that you know, middle class upward mobility, uh, and small businesses that are over taxed and overregulated can't can't grow. That's the story of California right now. So I think that we need a tax holiday for small
¶ Jon would declare an affordability emergency on day 1
businesses for several years. Well I'm not going to put out the specifics now we're thinking about it, but I think I think if you are a small business under one hundred people, again, for which employ fifty percent of California residents, I think we should dramatically reduce your taxes over the next few years to get things moving again.
Where do you find Look, I'm.
You know, the the Gray Davis's governorship sort of imploded in part because of this massive deficit at the time that had happened, and you know, obviously Enrun was a part of it as well, but there was this budget deficit that seemed impossible to fix in some ways. That was Arnold Schwarzenegger's entire goal was to try to figure out how to fix this. And then Jerry Brown sort of, you know, became sort of more of a centrist compared
to the rest of his party, and that happened. Where do you find the revenue that is going to be lost because being the fourth largest state, that's a huge budget and it is not easy to balance.
Yeah, well, listen, here are the facts. When Newsom was elected seven years ago, the budget for the state of California annually, annually lose two hundred billion dollars. Today, at sixty percent higher, it's three hundred and twenty two billion dollars.
That all co Is that all since COVID How much of that through sort of COVID North.
¶ California's healthcare costs $160B, Medicare fraud is 10-15%
It's been it's been a it's been a steady increase year after year. Chuck, it's not it's not been sort of a one year massive pickup. So we've grown sixty percent in our state budget since since twenty nineteen, and we're worse off for it. So, you know, I think that the story of California is that more money doesn't mean less problems. It's actually been more money, more problems. That that's a line from a great, great song too. So so where do we find Where do we find
the money? Listen, there are so many projects, chuck, and I'll throw out a few that are bad ideas that we should stop doing. And there are a whole set of taxes that as governor I would also put the kebaj on. So here are a couple of the bad ideas. The train to Nowhere, the pejorative for the high speed rail project that was really kicked off, you know, sort of Newsome has has really promoted. We've spent sixteen billion dollars,
We've not laid any track. The project is now budget one hundred and thirty five billion dollars started it I think thirty forty billion dollars and is a complete boondoggle. I mean, by the time that project would come to fruition, we'll have flying taxis. Let me ask you that should there should it be one example.
I agree that that boom, that thing has just been.
¶ AI can be used to root out waste, fraud and abuse in state budget
There are many other there's been.
In a perfect world, Is there high speed rail from laed to San Francisco.
In a perfect world? In a perfect world, Chuck, I'm not sure I can speak to a perfect world. All right?
How about in your version of California after two terms, would you like to create the conditions that would allow for it to happen? Or is it just something that government can't afford to do these days?
I think I think that twenty twenty seven January firefighting. I mean twenty twenty seven January, it's a full court press to just stabilize California. Stabilize the budget, stop the bleeding, a series of executive orders, and work with the legislature to work off of a affordability emergency and enact policies to actually bring down costs on energy, on gas, on housing, a whole range of things that we can talk about.
I think for twenty forty seven, I think California needs a strategic plan to actually lead in a bunch of areas, including energy, infrastructure, including a plan for water because we're hopefully grow as a population, including growth for technology, and doing all the things to restore the dream for the next generation of kids who are basically moving out of California. The high speed rail project is not in the top few for me.
I got you, how are there enough of these projects
¶ Californians pay huge taxes on fuel & energy
that you think you can save a significant you know a lot of times these projects. I've done this a long time and I'm not trying to pick on you. You can have some high profile projects, but they actually don't add up to it isn't enough money to do some of the cuts that you're going to want to do. Do you think there's enough money there in project cuts to pull this off?
Well, I think I think there's enough if you look at several areas and it's not. It's not just one. I mean, if you look at the number one line item in the California budget, not surprisingly is healthcare. Okay, so it's about one hundred and sixty billion dollars. I mean, it's larger than the annual budget of the City of New York. Okay, the next line item.
Remember, General Motors is a healthcare company that makes cars. Right, this is health The cost of health care is a is a problem on every level of government or business.
It's the largest right.
Just like our federal government is a is a healthcare organization with an army. So California is not that different. One hundred and sixty billion on healthcare. It's estimated by the federal government. And this is not just you know, this is well before Trump that Medicare fraud is at least ten to fifteen percent. Okay, So we suffer from
that in California as well. So out of that one hundred and sixty billion, thirty billion of which comes from the California State General Fund, one hundred and thirty billion of which comes from the Feds. There's a huge amount
¶ Why run as a Republican and not an independent?
of fraud which we should get to the bottom of.
Now.
I know that this is a common talking point, but it's a it's a real issa fraud an abuse.
My friend, I've heard waste, fraud and abuse as a phrase. I'm sure phrase going back to New Cambridge.
Of course, of course, and it's a real.
Bill Clinton in fairness they would say right of and advocated it, of.
Course, And it's real. And with AI, with all of the huge some of the risk of AI, we have a real opportunity to sick the right models on our state budget and really get to the bottom of what's going on. And actually I'm going to be putting out some policy and some suggestions on exactly how we do that. So I think healthcare is a big area. We've mentioned the trained and nowhere. The train to nowhere right now is about one hundred and twenty billion over the next
fifteen years. Because we've spent We've spent sixteen it's going to cost over one hundred and thirty It's a huge amount of money. It's ten to fifteen billion a year. The next area is climate taxes chuck, So it's called cap and invest Now in California, cap and trade is what it used to be called. Most citizens don't understand what it means. It's been about thirty three billion in taxes on California residents over the last number of years. And so the way it works is, if you produced
energy in California, you get taxed. So if you emit right, carbon emissions get taxed in California uniquely. So if you
¶ We should be way beyond the same-sex marriage debate
produce electricity, you refine petroleum, for gas, you name it. Those taxes end up getting passed along to the consumer. So the energy producers have to have to mark up their prices to the California customer, they don't eat it. They mark it up just like it's like a tariff. And so in California, our average gas if you're at ninety one unleaded, if you drive a gas powered car, you're paying five dollars. If you're lucky, maybe five to fifty six dollars in a ritzy town. If you're in
eighty nine unleaded, you're paying four four fifty. Right, my mom in Boston pays to eighty nine and north of Boston, and so that dollar and a half extra is pure tax. And we also have a custom fuel mix, two seasons
¶ Abortion is settled law in California
of a custom fuel mix that our refiners have to refine, which is state impost. Northern State does this check. None of the other forty nine states have a custom fuel mix. So all of these things, they're taxes and they get imposed on our citizens and we can and those there are many examples. We've also, Chuck, we've added fifty thousand full time workers in California over the News administration. So
we started at about two hundred and ten thousand. Now we're about two hundred and sixty thousand full time workers in California, not including contractors. We're spending huge amounts of money on people in the keyboard economy when we have technology that can help do the work. I'm not saying I would mass fire people, okay, but when people come to the point where they're going to leave the workforce or not performing, we shouldn't backfill that role. We should
actually start reducing the size of the state government. It's insane.
Let's talk about your political identity. Why aren't you running as an independent? You've not really made a case to me that you're a Republican. And I don't mean that as a pejorative or anything, but sort of where today's Republican look for good or for bad. Both parties to me are defined more by their bases to a large majority of people than they are by their differences.
Right, I grew up in a world.
I think one of our problems is that there's no we don't have ideological diversity within the two parties like we did when you and I were growing up. There
¶ Why Jon was against Prop 50 in California
were conservative Democrats, liberal Democrats, there were liberal Republicans and conservative Republicans. You know, let me ask the social questions, because ultimately that has been the distinguishing characteristic of the California Republican over the years, sort of a low tax, you know, fiscal conservative, but social liberal.
Is that how you would.
Describe yourself, I'd say that I'm a radical moderate marriage I'm quoting. I'm quoting Dan Schneur when I said.
I love that. I know Dan a little bit.
I was once kind of uh, somebody called me a radical centrist and I said thank you, and they didn't mean it as a as a compliment. But where are you on the on the sort of those you know, those those sure, those those key social issues that you know, for some people become non starters, right guns, abortion, same sex marriage.
Okay, let's see same sex marriage. People should marry who
¶ Gerrymandering is terrible for democracy
they love. I mean, I think that's uh. I think we're way beyond that.
I hope.
And actually, in my experience, Chuck, the Republicans that I meet, and I actually went to my first two state conventions March in September. I had never gone to a convention of any party, and the people I met were very accepting of of people gay, straight, It doesn't matter. Listen on the subject of abortion, you know, deeply personal and moral issue. I have very strong, personally held beliefs, but we have settled law in California which which I would
strongly support. Women have reproductive freedom in California. I would support that because it's the law. Uh. And I have many friends in the pro life community who have very
strong convictions. What the governor in California can do on that subject is focus on where we can all agree, which is which I think is parental notification if a child, you know, under each child is pregnant, counseling and support for healthy outcomes, safe pregnancy, adoption, if if if a kid is you know can be led down that path. But I support women's rights under the law. In terms of guns, I'm a gun owner. I sport shoot. I
support Second Amendment rights. I think that California has these Rickst gun laws on the books and they are enforced. I know that as a gun owner going through the process of owning and training, and you thik.
Their good laws. Would you get rid of any of them? Are you comfortable with what's on the books?
Uh? I think that's an area where the majority of
¶ Running as independent isn't effective, people identify w/parties
Californians support the laws that are on the books.
You worded that very much like the politician John Well.
I think it's I think it's I have I have personal beliefs, but as an elected official, you've got it. You've got you you sorry, right hand, you take another. I appreciate that.
I always remind people were in a representative democracy, right that ultimately that was the design that our founders had, which is you know, and there's a fine line, and let me ask you, you know, can you is there an issue where you would go against the majority in your state?
And is any issue? Yeah, an issue where I'd go against the majority of my state. Well, listen, I'll give you one. It's very present and just happened Prop fifty. So participating, Yeah, Prop fifty past overwhelming. I was sixty five percent. So when Prop fifty was bubbling, I came out very strongly against it on my podcast as a no on fifty, meaning against the Jerry manderin just permit me,
I'll speak for one minute on this. We actually did a documentary called the Big Rig, and we put that out on State of Gold and I interviewed, I sat down with twenty different leaders across the state, experts and redistricting and politicians, you name it. And it was a classic example of what to me was a power grab in the name of fighting Trump, and I opposed what happened in Texas. You know, some Republicans say, oh, well,
¶ The race will be a Trump referendum, how does a Republican win?
Texas is different to me de facto, when the majority party bludgeons the minority party to death, it's bad Texas started then California. By the way, the Democrats that were pro Prop fifty raised one hundred and twenty million dollars, spent a little bit more than the majority of it, but have that money in the coffers to do what they want to do for the next campaign. And we
spawned all kinds of bad behavior across the country. Thankfully, there are some Republican legislators, legislatures and leaders resisting doing that as well. I think it's bad for democracy. And so that's an example where I came out and made my case, which is counter to what most people in California think. But how will democrats feel when Republicans take control of the state, which will happen at some point in California, hopefully soon. How will Republicans treat Democrats in California?
And I think we should be a shining beacon of a constitutional, functioning democracy in California, not a hack job.
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¶ Polls show half of CA will vote for the "right kind" of Republican
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That California Democrats.
Made, Okay, I understood the political argument. The problem I
¶ CA has had plenty of billionaires run & fail to win elections
had is, I, if you believe voters are being disenfranchised in Texas, why is the answer to disenfranchised voters in another state?
Right?
The principle of it sort of bothered me.
And I understand that everything you know, unfortunately too much of politics as a zero sum game to people. Right, you know, so and so wins, then we lose, we lose, we win, then they lose, and it's like, you know, the law of unattended consequences always bite you always bite you in the you know where.
But let me ask you a question. Because you ask me why I'm not independent, I want to answer the question directly because it's a really good question. There actually is an independent running named Ethan Penner, who's a good, smart guy and got some interesting ideas. Just there's no independent party, Chuck, there's no independent.
Party, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Look, the beauty of the top two. Let me answer, though, was to make it so you didn't have to join a party.
Well, well, okay, but that's not the reality. I think. I think that people organize around parties still in America, and they organize around two parties. And I think it's a long way off before we have an independent party in California or in the nation. And there's a lot of things that need to happen right to set the stage for that. We have a lot of things to sort out, Chuck, don't we and our body politic before that can happen. But for me, I'm an old school Republican.
I describe myself more as a Reagan Republican, which is looking at government very skeptically and what is the role of government, What can government really be good at? Is an orientation around freedom and property rights. It's a respect for business being a prime engine of opportunity creation in society. It's those kinds of things. And I think if you look in California at where the better ideas are for turning the state around, it's more on the Republican side
than the Democrat side. And again, I'm not in this to bash Democrats. Most of my family or Democrats, they've all come out saying, John, how could you? How could you be a Republican? Trump? Trump? Trump? And what I tell them is put Trump aside. California's problems are not because of Trump. This is an own goal in California. So I'm a Republican really based on policy and philosophy.
Let's talk about though, the result of Prop fifty.
I actually didn't think it was going to be the
¶ Has Silicon Valley been regulated enough?
blowout at first, right, and then you saw I said, oh boy, this turned into a Trump referendum.
Right. And the minute it turned into a Trump referendum, it was over. Sure.
I'm just look, I'm just being honest with you. Campaign twenty twenty six in a blue state. You know, I don't see the path for any I say this. I don't know how a Republican wins statewide in this political environment with Donald Trump and the White House.
Why am I wrong?
Well, we'll see. I understand that skepticism. I think it's it's warranted, to be honest, and the truth is that the Republican Party in California historically, in the recent history, has not done itself the favors, you know, running on certain cultural issues versus running on policy, running.
By the identity crisis.
Right like, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the most successful Republican governor arguably since Ronald Reagan. And good luck finding a Republican that wants to emulate Arnold Schwarzenegger these days.
Well, yeah, because people have gone to their corners. And to be honest, though I love Arnold, I mean I love him as a guy, but there are certain policies that have led us in the wrong direction. I mentioned the climate regime is his policy, right, Well, he's the one who you know. I think he figured out early on he wanted to be known as a climate governor.
¶ AI boom has been critical for San Francisco's comeback
And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. We have the best environmental laws on the books of any state. We should enforce them. The environmental movement started here in the seventies. That was a good thing. The problem is it was perverted and hijacked in law to facto to block a lot of good things, a lot of growth and housing and energy production that we need while we figure out how to protect the environment. So I think it kind of got perverted unintentionally. But you ask, how
do you win? You know, they're credible polls chuck from from mid to late last year that showed that half of the state would vote for the right kind of Republican I.
Believe, and people always it's that I can always get you that poll result. Some people want to always want to come across as reasonable, but you know they do end up voting the same way that they vote seventy five percent of the time.
Well, we'll see. I think. I think in California it's darkest before the dawn. I think that if you my grammar research, we had lots of pulling the grammar research is so much frustration, so much disaffection. Yeah, and I think the way this is going to game out on the left or on the Democratic side, I really think the energy is more further left. I think it's more in the Katie Porter wing than than others, right, and there're different characters.
And I don't know where you go. I mean, it's funny you bring that up.
If Rick Caruso gets in this race, and I think a lot of people assume w'k Cruso is getting in this race. He's the former Republican now running as a Democrat.
¶ Would you ban social media for kids under 16?
Yeah, well so he's a very successful guy. Love his real estate projects as a consumer. But Chuck, that game has been played in California before we had we had, you know, someone named Whitman, we had someone named Huffington. We've had billionaires. That's not me. I mean, I get up early in the morning and I change diapers, and I do dishes and I drive kids to school. And yes, I've been successful, but I live in a nice neighborhood in a fairly regular house. And I'm not that guy.
I'm I'm in the world. Okay. I don't think a billionaire buys his or her way into the election in California. I don't think that's the California style, the California.
Way it worked, asked ALCHECKI.
And there's Alcheckie. Yeah, there there's Alcheckie, who was actually a friend of my dad's funny enough way back in the day.
Yeah.
But here's the thing I think that I think to your point, if you look at the Emerson polls, which are most often quoted and cited in California, last one showed thirty one percent undecided, the one before that forty four percent undecided, it's wide open. It's complete wide open, and I think people want something different. A lot of the Democrats are how did I put this politely, been in politics a long time.
Yeah, careers, yeah, no, no, no, no.
And the two Republicans who are running. I like them both as men. I like Steve and I like Chad. I've had them on my podcast, spen all the time with them. They're good men. I don't think either has the right background to turn the state around.
Let's I want to close with Silicon Valley, and it
¶ Would you ban phones in schools?
goes to what I think is going to be a struggle for you if you win, which is, on one hand, I think you want to make it easier to do business in California. On the other hand, I think there's a lot of people who think the tech companies have too much free ring right, and that actually, you know, while generally there might be too much red tape for the average person starting a small to mid size business.
I could argue there's not enough red tape and the enough guardrails with Silicon Valley given look at what social media did to society and now there's very few guardrails on AI. I struggle with this because I want to
¶ How do you convince CA voters the wealth tax is a bad idea?
see advancement and I also see, well, you can't trust them without some sort of minder there. Where are you on do you think Silicon Valley has been regulated enough?
Well? I think that California.
Gave away my bias there on that one.
I did, and it's part of it is to sort of spark a conversation for what it's worth.
But it is.
And I think I'm not alone here, right there's people that think there's too much regulation and big tech has too much power.
Yeah, well, big tech is also a huge driver for innovation, employment, wealth building, and God help us, and we need to keep that in California. There's a lot of movement outside of California. You can listen, you can run a tech company from anywhere in the world. You can run it from the mountains, you can run it from the beach, you can run it from anywhere. So California needs to remain the most welcoming and the most positive place for tech companies of all sizes to want to do business.
If you look at the AI business, Chuck, one of the singular reasons that Dan Lurie has been able to tell a comeback story in San Francisco is because of AI, because of the employment, because of the leases that have been signed in downtown to bring human beings back into the city to actually be a part of the tech base. So God bless AI and God blessed the tech industry.
California has passed AI legislation. California has been one of the states to pioneer passing legislation that provides some guardrails to AI that the rest of the nation is actually modeling. Of course, Trump now is threatening to have federal legislation that stomps down all of this regulation. We've got to find a happy medium. I do think they're legitimate concerns on on you know, for human beings and for kids
about technology and AI. But here's where I generally rest, Chuck, and I'll use the analogy of the big gulp in Bloomberg. You remember the Yeah, you remember that.
¶ How would you work in a bipartisan manner with Dem state house?
I allow that it's the Trump Health secretary that seems to be anti big Gulp these days.
I mean, I'm sort of like left his right right.
And I love that part. I love that part of rfk's agenda. I love getting rid of the red dye number eight, and I love copying more of what Europe does in a good way when it comes to our supply chain for food. I also believe in science, okay, and and and and and you know, in the right vaccine. So so I think there's a balance, Chuck. But I am I am an anti nanny state guy. I do not believe that the government should be telling the private sector and individual people how to do what they do
in general. But yes, some basic guardrails.
So let me.
I'm just let me throwing out there banning social media for under sixteen year olds.
Would you sign that legislation?
Well, listen, Australia did it. I think it's a joke because there are so many workarounds to get around that. Life So I think, to facto it's a joke. You can waive that kind of law round say you're doing something. At the end of the day, Chuck, it comes down to are parents involved in their kids' lives? So, for instance, my kids didn't have phones until they were thirteen, and the reason they got it is because they were taking
the train to school and needed a way to communicate. Okay, they but all their friends had phones starting at god knows what it. So I think parents need to get involved with their kids and parent them, and that's really where we should we should focus, as opposed to the government telling parents or children when to have technology.
Well, I hear you there, but we did put a age limit on smoking, and if we've decided this is bad, we think this is bad for mental health of young brains, and so it is. Is there any movement for you on that?
Again, here's the thing these A pack of cigarettes, okay, is readily accessible for any kid who can get someone to sneak it and buy it. And whatever number of bucks, I don't buy cigarettes. I'm not sure what they cost per pack these days. A piece of technology that we're talking about, an Apple watch or a phone, is a considered purchase for the vast majority of people in California. So it's not like kids are running around at a young age buying these technologies and putting them in their
palm or on their wrists. So I really think it comes down to parents being smart and involved.
Would you ban them in public schools?
Well, I think I don't believe in universal bands like this. I think it's a good idea, though. What certain school districts have started to do is say that you cannot have have your phone, uh, you know, in your hand or you know.
In my kids' school had pouches at the beginning of the class and you put your phone in your pouch and you weren't until you know, and then you sat down right.
It's like it's like it's what government officials do befo they go into a secure site.
So Skiff exactly.
I think these kinds of ideas are good. I think they they should be locally determined. I don't believe in the State of California imposing things like that on school districts or kids or parents.
Let me get you out of here on this. There's a wealth tax coming on the ballot. Huh, there certainly is. I imagine it. I know where you stand on this. It's probably going to be popular. So how do you convince somebody who says, yeah, but you know what, you don't pay enough taxes.
You guys have all the loopholes you have this or that.
It's it's tough being a defender of the quote wealthy on this right, we know the pitchforks have been sharpened, and the pitchforks are in both parties you and have. I mean, this is not a just on.
The left thing.
These this is this is the most interesting divide in America I think is this is this a bit of the on the socioeconomic front. Make the case to a working class person that the wealth tax is a bad idea.
Yeah, I'm against all new taxes, and in California, including this this this billionaire tax in California, which I know this happens in other states, huck. There is a hidden system of what are called special funds. So a county or the state will say, hey, we have a huge need, for example, a big beautiful bill cut healthcare spending. We want to initiate a new tax, a sales tax. It's a tenth of a percent. You're not going to notice it.
It's going to it's gonna accrue the county five hundred million dollars over the next four years, and we're going to use that money to pay for healthcare. What happens that money is raised and it is shifted into the general fund of the county or the state to be spent on anything. Chuck, this is the bait and switch that happens with taxpayers, and we're already over taxed. This
is like a slippery slope. It's lots of other ideas of taking more money from taxpayers giving it to government to spend on dumb shit or stuff that doesn't work. That's my argument.
If you get elected, you know you're going to be dealing with a democratic legislature, perhaps a super majority. But then again, if you get elected, I probably mean so, it wouldn't a super majority. I think this is assuming you make it into the top two. It's tough to be bipartisan these days.
How would you do it?
Well, you know, I'll give a quick anecdote from Willie Brown, who I sat down with from my podcast last July. This is prior to commute.
Nobody more fun to talk to. I think he's all the five. I think he's one of the five most accomplished politicians in the twentieth century.
I mean, maybe right.
The fact that he stayed Speaker of the House with the party change tell me another leader that could pull that off.
Well. Actually, he told the story that when he was elected speaker, more Republicans voted him in than Democrats, which you may know because you're such a student of politics.
Such a great story. A movie should be made about it. But anyways, it's a great story.
And there are plenty of areas of disagreement I might have with Willie Brown down in policies in California. But I asked him, what's the biggest lesson you learned when you were a mayor or the speaker? And he tugged his ear and he said, I listened, and he said, I was just as likely to have dinner into Larry, which is, you know, farm country here in California. As I was San Francisco, I spent time with people. I formed relationships with people, and I cut deals with people.
And to quote Jerry Brown, who I have plenty of policy disagreements with, he said, you know, if you want to make a canu goo straight, sometimes you paddle on the left and sometimes you paddle on the right. Okay, I'm quoting two Democrats. What I would say is that you got to be practical, you got to cut deals, but sometimes you stand on principle. Sometimes you use executive order, sometimes you use the bully pulpit, sometimes you negotiate. But
we've got to do it together, Chuck. There's only one way.
Well, I think we're all trying to figure out if pragmatism isn't it is allowed anymore in our politics, to say that it gets punished by the political basis, that's for sure.
Hey, John, it's good to get to know you.
I appreciate Thank you very much, Chuck,