Tom Steyer announces run for California governor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Billionaire activist Tom Steyer announced Wednesday that he is running for California governor.

In a video announcement, Steyer, 60, pledged to tackle housing inequality across the state, calling it the biggest problem Californians face.

What he's saying:

"Californians deserve a life they can afford. But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living," he said. "We need to get back to basics. And that means making corporations pay their fair share again."

Who is Tom Steyer?

What we know:

Steyer, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, is the co-founder of Galvanize Climate Solutions and founder of the progressive advocacy group NextGen America.

Before turning his focus to politics and environmental issues, he founded the hedge fund Farallon Capital.

Steyer said he walked away from his multibillion-dollar business to "give back to California" by confronting large corporations that he said have exploited the state and its residents.

"I’ve taken on out-of-state corporations that refused to pay their California taxes. I’ve taken on the oil companies. I’ve taken on the tobacco companies. We’ve raised billions of dollars for California citizens, without charging California citizens a nickel," he said.

Steyer led the 2010 campaign to defeat Proposition 23, a measure backed by Texas oil companies that sought to roll back California’s clean air and climate law.

"When the legislature couldn't get it done, I got it done with propositions and put billions of dollars into education and health care for Californians," he told KTVU in an interview.

He also co-chaired the campaign supporting Proposition 56 in 2016, which raised the state’s tobacco tax by $2 per pack to fund health care programs, Medi-Cal, and tobacco-use prevention efforts. He also got behind efforts to impeach Trump and most recently, California's Prop 50 redistricting push. 

Campaign promises

What's next:

Steyer said that if elected, he would work to lower electricity bills by 25%, build one million homes in four years by expediting permitting and cutting unnecessary taxes and fees, and hold cities accountable for developing affordable housing.

"Permitting is really hard, regulation's really hard, zoning is really hard," he said. "Let's address those, but let's do it in a place where there's already an existing footprint of buildings."

Steyer also said he wants to increase investment in public schools and expand free education to all preschool and community college students.

"My pledge is that we're going to have free public schooling from 3-years-old through community college. That means we're going to have to put more money into the system," he said.

And on immigration, Steyer pledged to fight for a pathway to citizenship for California immigrants.

"Immigrants to California are important, hardworking members of our society, and that's how I will treat them," he said.

Crowded field of candidates

Steyer now joins a crowded field of candidates in a race that has no clear frontrunner, after former Vice-President Kamala Harris and California Senator Alex Padilla announced they did not intend to run.

University of San Francisco Public Affairs professor Patrick Murphy said Steyer's entry into the field dramatically changes the gubernatorial race.

"Up to now, that field of Democrats, we were talking maybe single digits of a few millions of dollars that they've raised, which is great. But to run in California, we know, takes a lot of money," Murphy said. "Steyer spent $13 million on Prop 50 alone, just out of his pocket."

He added, "I wish I could say that money doesn't matter, but it does. So his megaphone is going to be much bigger right now."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.