Takeaways from The Bee’s endorsement interview with CA governor candidate Tony Thurmond

The Sacramento Bee’s Editorial Board interviewed all the major candidates running for governor to determine who would get the board’s endorsement. Each of the candidates vying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom for the state’s top office shared their vision for leading California.

Here is what gubernatorial candidate Tony Thurmond had to say.

The Bee also is publishing videos and key points from the board’s interviews with six other candidates: Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer, Katie Porter and Antonio Villaraigosa.

Why run?

Thurmond, the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is running to become California’s next governor because there is no bigger challenge than the affordability crisis, he says. He argues California needs a governor who can address housing, homelessness, and the cost-of-living crisis.

“We need a governor who can push back on this administration…and I’ve been doing that through the courts, securing $6 billion that was illegally impounded…for our schools,” he says.

Thurmond also says the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement policies disrupt the state’s agricultural, hospitality, construction and educational sectors, and the next governor needs to be willing and able to push back against the federal administration. “Bottom line, if you want to do business in California, and you want to have any California support or subsidy, you have to take care of Californians,” he says.

What’s his platform?

Thurmond’s run for governor emphasizes a big affordability plan anchored by housing, homelessness and healthcare.

He says he would enact policies to enable developers in California to build more than two million housing units over the next three to four years. He says he would do this by urging development on surplus public land, including school district property; creating down-payment assistance and monthly tax-credit programs; and working to get state leaders to take out a $10 billion bond to build affordable housing.

On the topic of homelessness, he says California needs to change the paradigm by taking a stronger oversight role and being held more accountable for spending of public funds to prevent homelessness. To avoid giving away housing units, Thurmond says: “We have to insist that every program that provides some form of housing, whether it’s tiny homes or converted hotels, has to require the participants to engage in mental health, substance abuse programs.”

Thurmond supports single-payer healthcare and defends Medi-Cal and Medicaid as an essential need for low-income and undocumented residents. The state needs a system focused on “patients, more than profits,” he says.

What he says sets him apart from the rest of the pack?

When asked directly why he should be at the top of a crowded field, Thurmond says the choice should come down to: “Experience, a vision, and a lived experience to serve the state.”

He wants voters to know about his experiences living off of public assistance, working minimum wage jobs (in industries like fast food and the United Parcel Service) and caring for his elderly parents, and highlighting the state’s lack of a program for long-term healthcare insurance.

“That lived experience means something, and I’m fighting for those same Californians who are struggling to make ends meet,” he says.

Thurmond endorses the proposed Billionaire Tax Act, because “working people, middle-class people, can’t pay anymore,” and argues that affordability relief needs either new revenue or a rebalanced tax structure that does not further impact typical households.

Thurmond says he has served California for 18 years as a city council member, school board member and state legislator twice, and is proud of the state’s accomplishments, such as universal meals for children, free preschool for every four-year-old and funding for arts education and mental health programs.

“But we need to go beyond that,” he says.

California’s primary election is on Tuesday, June 2. Be sure to check out The Bee’s Voter Guide for key information and the Editorial Board’s other endorsements before the big day.

This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Takeaways from The Bee’s endorsement interview with CA governor candidate Tony Thurmond."