CALIFORNIA — In case you missed it, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer sat down with Pod Save America to discuss his housing agenda. The interview included Steyer's plans to build more housing, lower costs for Californians, and his support from YIMBY movement. And they discussed the special interests spending big against Steyer and his change agenda, including the California Association of Realtors. 

The episode aired this morning ahead of Steyer’s participation in the California Gubernatorial Candidates Housing Forum, moderated by Ezra Klein.

The following are excerpts from Steyer’s conversation on Pod Save America:

On how to encourage localities to build more houses:

“Cities and counties used to rely on real estate taxes, local real estate taxes. But nowadays they're relying very much on the state to send them money. So when the state says, “we want you to permit 20,000 houses here and build them,” they have been relying on the state to send them the money… In some parts of California, the fee to build a house is up 20 percent the cost to build the house, which is amazing… And it's not like these are wicked people who are somehow trying to rip people off. They are literally terrified that they're going to put themselves in a position where they cannot take care of people, they cannot educate people… I understand one size doesn’t fit all, but the truth is we need to build houses.”

Steyer on how to hold cities accountable for building more housing:

“You’re asking, ‘do you order them to do it or you work with them to do it?’ And, of course, the answer is, both. It’s got to be a relationship, something where you collaborate and work together… The YIMBY people have endorsed me. But the truth is, the reason there's a YIMBY movement is because there's a very strong NIMBY movement.”

On the irony of you're someone who's saying, “I'm going to build a million houses,” yet corporate real estate interests are spending to defeat him:

“The realtors are much more worried about the fact that I am going to protect renters from spikes in cost and I am going to push against landlords when I think they are being abusive.”

[...]

“I am going to raise taxes on billionaires and big companies. But do I think that I'm the person in straits who understands business by far the best? Yes. When I've taken on these corporate special interests, I've done it on behalf of working people.”

On the role of a governor in lowering the cost of housing:

“In terms of housing, when you talk about all the different agencies permitting, [they are] overlapping, contradictory, expensive, time consuming. The big thing about housing is it takes a really long time to get it done. I think it's better to simplify and actually coordinate so that the people who are at the end of the decision tree get faster, clearer decisions that are not contradictory. That's a management test.”

Listen to the full Pod Save America episode here, and watch the livestreamed housing forum here.

###