Tom Steyer
Progressive
Democrat
N/A
California
Current Position: Founder of Farallon Capital
Running For: Governor
Policy Positions
Economic Policy
- For building one million homes over four years in California through streamlined permitting, zoning reform, and state investment
- For expanding First Look homeownership programs that give tenants and communities first right to buy properties before corporate investors
- For expanding the state Renter's Tax Credit to provide direct financial relief to renters
- For enforcing California's Tenant Protection Act including caps on excessive rent increases and just cause eviction standards
- For supporting local rent control ordinances within the current statewide framework
- For prioritizing bridge housing with stabilization services while maintaining Housing First approach for homeless individuals
- For closing the Trump Tax Loophole on commercial properties to generate $20 billion annually in new revenue
- For defending and expanding California's film tax credits to compete with other states and countries
- For cracking down on exorbitant ticket fees and price gouging by live entertainment monopolies
- For cutting electricity rates by 25 percent through utility reform and performance-based regulation
- For expanding public bond financing for utility projects instead of high-profit equity financing
- For doubling the tax on private jet fuel
- For tripling the state's EV tax credit to $600 million and launching a massive 'Cash for Clunkers' program for clean vehicle transitions
- For expanding California's strategic petroleum reserves for economic crises
Business & Labor
- For reforming Proposition 13 to ensure corporations pay their fair share in taxes
- For closing the Water's Edge tax loophole that allows multinational corporations to hide profits in offshore tax havens
- Against corporate mergers in entertainment industry, specifically opposing Warner Bros.-Paramount merger
- For reducing guaranteed utility profit rates and appointing regulators who prioritize ratepayers over utility lobbyists
- For expanding community choice aggregators to give consumers alternatives to utility monopolies
- For making data centers pay their own infrastructure costs and not burden household electricity bills
- For establishing legal caps on oil company profit margins and confiscating excess profits to return to Californians as rebates
- For investigating Big Oil's price gouging and potential collusion through official state investigations including subpoenaing internal corporate communications
- For cutting household electricity costs by 25 percent by adding competition and ending double-digit guaranteed returns to utility companies
- For reforming Proposition 13 to ensure corporations pay their fair share
- For creating a Golden State Sovereign Wealth Fund funded by a token tax on corporate AI use
- For requiring human oversight of AI systems with override capability, especially in critical areas like hospitals
- For partnering with labor to establish guardrails for AI use in workplaces regarding privacy, health, safety, and fairness
- For mandating that data centers ensure energy prices for families decrease
- For transitioning to statewide collective bargaining for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers
- For ending the exclusion of spouse and parent IHSS providers from Unemployment Insurance
- For expanding subsidized childcare access and paying providers the true cost of care
Health Care
- For single-payer healthcare system
- For single-payer healthcare system to provide universal coverage and reduce costs
- Against for-profit healthcare insurance companies; supports cutting out insurance middlemen
Education
- For providing universal free education from age 3 through community college
- For expanding UC and CSU enrollment capacity and making free school meals permanent
Environment
- For building distributed energy systems with batteries, rooftop solar, and microgrids to reduce reliance on vulnerable transmission lines
- For making climate polluters rather than taxpayers pay to address climate pollution effects
- For making advanced clean technologies like home batteries, rooftop solar, heat pumps, and EVs accessible to all Californians
- For defending California's climate laws including the California Air Resources Board, Cap & Trade, and climate disclosure laws
Civil Rights
- For protecting creators and performers from AI exploitation and ensuring they get paid for their work
- For banning social media for children under 16
- For requiring safety audits and age verification on social media platforms
Immigration & Foreign Affairs
- Against ICE operations; supports abolishing ICE at the federal level
- For granting the California Attorney General authority to criminally prosecute ICE agents and leadership for violent, illegal conduct
- For creating a special investigative unit to monitor ICE activities and detention facilities in California
Public Safety
- For legislation prohibiting law enforcement from profiling Californians based on race, ethnicity, language, occupation, or location