Tom Steyer Launches Run for California Governor, Pledging to Tackle Affordability Crisis

In Launch Video, Steyer Highlights Long Record of Taking on Corporate Interests to Deliver for Californians

Steyer: “Sacramento politicians are afraid to change up this system. I’m not.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, Tom Steyer announced his candidacy for governor of California – pledging in a video to tackle the number one problem facing residents of the state: they can't afford to live in California. 

“I’m Tom Steyer. I wanted to build a business here. Now, it’s worth billions of dollars. And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California. 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.  Every day I was judged by numbers. So let’s get down to brass tacks. Californians deserve a life they can afford. But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living.  We need to get back to basics. And that means making corporations pay their fair share again.” WATCH THE FULL LAUNCH VIDEO HERE.

Steyer has a history of making things happen in government – when the usual politicians, and the usual way of doing things, couldn’t get it done. Steyer has led winning California ballot proposition campaigns that have raised billions of dollars from large corporations for Californians’ health care and public schools – without Californians having to pay a cent: 

Defeated Big Oil: Steyer led the successful campaign to defeat Proposition 23, a 2010 ballot initiative backed by Texas oil companies that sought to roll back California’s signature clean air and climate law. As co-chair of the No on 23 campaign, he contributed more than $5 million to the effort and helped to unite business leaders, environmental organizations, and policymakers to protect California’s clean energy standards. 

Closed a corporate tax loophole for out-of-state companies: In 2012, Steyer was the leading sponsor of Proposition 39, which closed a corporate tax loophole to support energy-efficiency upgrades to California schools. The program has saved schools $66.3 million annually in energy costs and created more than 19,000 clean energy jobs across California.

Took on Big Tobacco to fund health care: Steyer co-chaired the campaign in support of Proposition 56, the 2016 initiative that raised the state’s tobacco tax by $2 per pack to fund health care programs, Medi-Cal, and tobacco-use prevention. He contributed more than $11 million to the campaign and helped lead a broad coalition of health care workers, educators, and public safety officials to counter the influence of major tobacco companies. The measure passed by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, marking California’s first tobacco tax increase in nearly two decades. Following its passage, cigarette sales dropped sharply - with smoking rates falling by 50% between 2016 and 2023. The program also sent more than 1 billion per year in new revenue to Medi-Cal.

When elected, Steyer is pledging to build on this record of success by lowering costs for Californians and taking on corporations that aren’t paying their fair share by closing offshore and property tax loopholes, including:

• Lower electric bills by 25% by ending utility monopolies. California electricity prices are double the national average.  To bring down prices, Steyer will require that everyone in the state be able to choose their electricity provider, bringing needed competition into the system. 
• Build a million homes in 4 years by speeding up permitting, reducing unnecessary taxes and fees on building, using modern technology to bring down construction costs, and holding cities and counties accountable for building enough affordable housing for people to live.
• Make pre-school and community college free by closing corporate tax loopholes. Steyer will close the commercial property and offshore corporate tax loopholes and reinvest much of this revenue into California’s education system – extending free public education to all Californians from three years old through community college. California has been stuck in the middle of national educational rankings for a quarter of a century – Steyer’s goal is to bring the state’s schools into the top 10 in the country.
• Ban corporate PAC money from California elections. This includes contributions from utility companies, as part of Steyer’s commitment to driving down energy costs. 

For more information about Tom Steyer's campaign for California Governor, visit TomSteyer.com. The transcript for his launch video, “Back to Basics,” follows: 

The richest people in America think that they earned everything themselves.

Bullshit, man. That’s so ridiculous. 

There’s a reason everybody comes here to start businesses. 

Because this is the place that invents the future.

I never want to lose that spark. 

I’m Tom Steyer. 

I wanted to build a business here. Now, it’s worth billions of dollars.

And I walked away from it. 

Because I wanted to give back to California. 

I’ve taken on the 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. 

Every day I was judged by numbers.

So let’s get down to brass tacks.

Californians deserve a life they can afford.

But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living. 

We need to get back to basics. 

And that means making corporations pay their fair share again. 

Californians deserve a top ten education state. 

They deserve to be able to afford to live in a decent house.

I will launch the largest drive to build homes that you can afford in the history of California. 

We have the second-highest electricity rates in the country. 

If we break up the monopolistic power of utilities, we’re going to unleash a complete wave of innovation. 

And drop our sky-high energy prices. 

This is about disrupting the way people think. 

So we can get a completely different—and much better—outcome for the people of California.

I’m saying we have a broken government. It’s been bought by corporations and my question is: Who do you think is going to change that? 

Sacramento politicians are afraid to change up this system. I’m not. 

They’re going to hate this. 

Bring it on. 

I’m Tom Steyer. 

And I’m running for governor.