Democratic California gubernatorial candidates attend labor union conference
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Seven Democratic candidates vying to replace Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) gathered in downtown Sacramento Monday to address union members at a labor union conference.
A packed ballroom filled with labor unions from across California, eagerly listening to seven Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Toni Atkins, Xavier Becerra, Eleni Kounalakis, Katie Porter, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa and Betty Yee, answering questions on how they would run the state of California.
"I will always stand with labor. Look, I've worked with two very different governors. Many speakers and pro-tems to get things done in this state," Atkins said.
A hot topic discussed was addressing the state's housing crisis.
"We have to expand unionized labor in building housing in the state of California," Kounalakis shared.
Becerra added, "We're going to have to have public private partnerships.The private sector can't do it by itself. When we get in, we can make some of those demands to make sure it's done the right way."
"I built more housing than the two mayors before me. 12 years in a row," Villaraigosa said.
"We need to have an emphasis on workforce housing," Yee added.
"We have to make sure that the people who build the housing get paid prevailing wage," Thurmond expressed.
"We lower the cost and we do not do that on the backs of workers. We do that by making it possible to build the housing faster, by permitting things faster," Porter remarked.
Preston Romero with the Log Cabin Republicans of Sacramento says the two Republican candidates running for governor, Steve Hilton and Sheriff Chad Bianco, aren't absent from these conversations.
"I don't think that either candidates, Mr. Hilton or Sheriff Bianco, are absent from this conversation, nor Republicans absent from this conversation altogether.
Many registered Republicans throughout California in the country are blue collar, hard working union members and very proud of both being union members and Republicans. So we are very active on these issues."
Preston Romero, Log Cabin Republicans of Sacramento
Despite party lines, union workers, like Shelley Kessler, say they just want them to have conversations with them.
"They need to be able to actually do what they've said. So if they're willing to do that, we will hold them accountable. And it's important to us that they actually follow through on the commitment that they're making," Kessler explained.
