The Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s “Shared Prosperity” town hall made its fourth stop in Riverside County
PALM SPRINGS — Yesterday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer drew a standing-room-only crowd at his “Shared Prosperity” town hall in Palm Springs. Steyer engaged directly with Californians and took questions about their concerns for the future of the state. He shared his plan to deliver real results, from lowering everyday costs to expanding affordability and building a system that works better for the people it serves.
On getting someone new in the governor’s office:
“I think it's time for us to start taking a fresh eye to the problems that have been here for a long time. I don't think everybody understands that this is urgent, that people are suffering, and that we need to act on it.”
On what separates him from his fellow candidates:
“There are going to be funded interests who are going to hate me, and they're going to run independent expenditures against me… I don’t have utilities on my side, I definitely don’t have oil companies or insurance companies on my side…. But to be fair, we will have teachers and nurses and custodians and bus drivers and home care workers and health care workers.”
On ensuring free, fair, and open elections:
“We are going to be in conflict with the president who hates California, who hates freedom, who hates democracy, and who hates it for succeeding. So we're going to have to be organized, we're going to have to be vocal, we're going to have to show up, and we are not going to accept this as normal.”
On what the governor can do to address climate change:
“The polluter pays… that's the only way to stop these guys… We can't think about anything environmental substantively unless we think about environmental justice.”
On fighting back against Trump:
"“[Trump] is going to continue to attack our democracy, and we're going to have to stand up to him in every way possible, including suing, including confrontations in terms of going into the street and exercising our right to organize and protest… We are the democracy-loving, freedom-loving, competitive, decent people who run a state with shared prosperity, where we succeed and bring everybody along…”"
On leaving the business world:
“I was in a situation where the determinations were about money and not about values, and I was describing the way my family feels about the meaning of life and a meaningful life, and I realized that's why I left my company… You have to believe in redemption and change.”
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