California needs different leadership. Why Tom Steyer stands out as Governor | Opinion
California, the world’s 4th-largest economy, isn’t just a fun fact we can brag about. It’s a state where billionaires and their corporations have taken over, leaving most residents with crumbs. We’re being held hostage by a political and economic system built for the few, not the many.
We’re in a hostage situation — and Californians need an inside man who can speak the language of the corporations, but who’s willing to break the system open for the rest of us.
Ironically, I truly believe that billionaire Tom Steyer is the interpreter we need, the one who will go into the room with these executives to protect the working class and create a California where wealth isn’t the difference between a comfortable life and an uncomfortable one.
Steyer’s people-first agenda is winning support from progressives who don’t give out endorsements lightly. When Our Revolution—the grassroots group founded by Bernie Sanders—endorsed Steyer, their statement caught my attention.
“Yes, Tom Steyer is a billionaire. But it matters what he is doing with that power: pushing for taxes on the wealthy, expanding universal programs, and dismantling corporate influence in our politics,” the organization said in its statement. “Unlike so many who accumulate wealth and then defend the status quo, Steyer is using his resources to challenge it. He’s not seeking power to protect his privilege — he’s using it to break the stranglehold of privilege on California’s future.”
We need people in California who will use their wealth and power to serve the working class. Steyer is doing just that.
Just take Steyer’s housing plan: it’s rooted in the idea that a home is more than property — it’s the foundation of community, stability, and opportunity. This isn’t just policy — it’s proof that Steyer brings both vision and common sense. Unlike candidates content to tinker around the edges or bow to special interests, Steyer is willing to challenge the very systems that hold California back. He’s not just talking about building more, but about making it truly affordable and accessible for working people.
With a proven record of financing thousands of affordable units through Beneficial State Bank, Steyer wants to streamline permitting, unlock public land, cut excessive developer fees by closing billionaire tax loopholes, and bring California’s legendary innovation to construction. His goal: build a million homes in four years, slash bureaucracy, and make the California Dream possible for families again. For families priced out of their neighborhoods, Steyer’s housing plan means the chance to stay and thrive.
That’s leadership that goes beyond slogans — it’s leadership California can count on. Again and again, those who know California’s struggles best — its workers, its unions, its progressive organizers—come back to the same conclusion: Steyer isn’t just talking about change, he’s working for it.
Why this billionaire makes sense
When California Federation of Labor Unions President Lorena Gonzalez got the call from Steyer that he was in San Diego and wanted to meet, she knew just the place to take him.
“I had him meet me at a really small union motel, almost, called the Handlery in San Diego, and there’s nothing fancy about it, and I had the waiter tell (Steyer) what he was concerned with, and (I saw) a man who’s not pretending to listen, he’s actually listening and trying to figure out how he can make people’s lives better.”
Because union support was fragmented among several Democrats, delegates couldn’t reach the two‑thirds threshold needed to endorse a single candidate. Instead, the federation settled on a compromise triple endorsement of Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, and Antonio Villaraigosa. They dropped their endorsement of Eric Swalwell after news broke of his sexual misconduct.
Gonzalez understands the irony of a union that has launched a campaign against billionaires endorsing a billion, but doesn’t believe that should disqualify Steyer.
“I am aware enough to know that there appears to be some hypocrisy in that argument… I don’t think billionaires should exist. That’s a policy failure. But does the simple fact that he’s a billionaire preclude him from being able to do all this? No,” Gonzalez said. “He has consistently been there on raising taxes and on a lot of the issues that matter to our members. His values have been consistent for the entire time I’ve known him.”
United Domestic Workers also endorsed Steyer on the premise that he was aligned with their mission to uplift the child care industry.
“He had a solid revenue plan to make sure that we are investing in programs such as (in-home support services) HS and our child care, our family child care providers, because these programs are only expected to exponentially grow. We are in a care crisis... And the fact that he was prepared to take some risks and go out on a limb and implement some of his ideas around bringing in revenue to the state of California,” UDW President Astrid Zuniga said on Wednesday. “We need something that can truly invest in California and our community’s most vulnerable, and he had a plan to do that.”
And ultimately, they felt that a change was needed.
“Everybody felt very comfortable in saying we are tired of the same lip service that we have constantly gotten from every legislator out there... and so having something different from the status quo was kind of appealing to us,” Zuniga said.
When the idea of a billionaire comes up, Zuniga looks beyond the money to the person behind it.
“The fact that he has a record of putting his time and energy and money behind good things for our communities, for our children, for the health care system... the fact that he was willing to take a tax on his money, even says a lot about a person’s character,” she said.
What both Gonzalez and Zuniga said is so important to why Steyer is considered my top candidate: he has not asked either union for money. What’s stopping someone, even a billionaire, from asking for more money? In the case of Steyer, he wants to let his money do the talking, so other people don’t have to foot the bill.
Since his campaign started, Steyer has said he’ll confront the billionaire tax loopholes that drain billions from California’s schools, healthcare, and infrastructure. And he’s not just promising—he’s delivered results: through Beneficial State Bank, he’s helped finance over 17,000 affordable housing units, and his proposals would raise $20 billion a year for public investment without raising taxes on working families. Where others see obstacles, Steyer sees opportunities for real, lasting change. He proposes closing corporate property tax breaks and shutting down the offshore schemes that let the biggest corporations dodge their fair share. It’s not about being safe. It’s about being right for this moment—and making California’s economy work for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
Californians deserve prosperity
I’m not here to claim that Steyer is perfect. No one who’s accumulated that much wealth has a spotless record — billionaires, by definition, have made decisions that won’t pass a moral test.
Steyer has been upfront about his past investments in fossil fuels and a private prison company that became CoreCivic. But that’s part of what sets him apart: he doesn’t pretend those chapters didn’t happen, and he’s willing to answer tough questions.
California’s challenges demand more than slogans and status quo thinking. When we don’t combat this status quo, we get more of the same: rising costs, stagnant wages, and a government that answers to wealth, not people. We need a governor who’s not afraid to break old systems and build something better. Tom Steyer’s vision is ambitious, but so is this state — and if we want the California Dream to survive, we need a leader with the courage and clarity to make it real.
Steyer isn’t the safe choice — he’s the right choice for a California that needs courage, honesty, and a new deal for its people.
This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "California needs different leadership. Why Tom Steyer stands out as Governor | Opinion."