Sparks fly as San Jose mayor fends off opponents on left and right in primary debate – The Mercury News

The first major televised debate between California’s gubernatorial candidates on Tuesday saw the race’s new entrant — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan — drawing fire from both ends of the political spectrum.

For much of the two-hour debate broadcast on KTVU in the Bay Area and KTTV in Los Angeles that featured half a dozen Democrats and one Republican, the candidates stuck to their talking points and ignored their opponents. Mahan was identified by name by two of his rivals on stage.

But afterward, Melissa Michelson, a professor of political science at Menlo College, told TV interviewers that she felt “Matt Mahan did very well in the interview.”

Steve Hilton, a Republican in the interview, said he was surprised that Mahan, who often criticizes Gov. Current Gavin Newsom, has given him credit in recent comments for his efforts to deal with homelessness.

The mayor noted that Hilton visited him in San Jose last month “to see what’s working” and said, “I don’t know what changed last week, but it seems like (the fact) that I jumped into this race. In fact, that’s what’s wrong with our politics.”

The mayor also fended off criticism from billionaire businessman and Democratic Alliance environmental activist Tom Steyer, who has been vocal about other billionaires and corporations needing to pay their fair share of taxes. Mahan, who comes from the tech industry, has been critical of the proposed tax on state billionaires, which he says will drive high-paying jobs out of California.

“Right now the chief technology officers are afraid of the idea of ​​paying their fair share. Right now they’re supporting Matt, that’s where they’re at,” Steyer said. “Who am I with? I have nurses, I have bus drivers, I have restaurant workers, I have security guards.”

Mahan responded that he supports closing tax loopholes for the wealthy but that the proposed wealth tax would hurt the state and said that “our politics have been made too easy” by conservatives on both sides of the aisle and he deserves real answers, not easy answers.

Some of the biggest names in the race were absent from the debate stage: Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former Democrat Katie Porter, and Democrat Eric Swalwell. Organizers said all three arguments were accounted for. Swalwell’s campaign said he chose to stay in Washington, DC to vote against funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Hilton called Bianco a “RINO” — which stands for “Republican In Name Only” — and criticized him for not appearing in the debate “to confront these Democrats or his record.”

“Chad Bianco has more baggage than LAX,” Hilton said.

Experts interviewed later by the moderators differed on the extent to which non-participants would be harmed by it. Jasmyne Cannick, a representative of the Democratic Party in Los Angeles, said it will have some effect. Michelson, however, noted that the candidates are all leading in the polls and can’t jump.

Democrats are so popular in California that they outnumber Republicans 2 to 1 in voter registration. But the six other Democrats on stage struggled to separate themselves from the pack as they criticized the Trump administration and promised to make California more affordable.

“Everyone’s job was to isolate themselves,” Michelson said after the debate. “In the end they were trying to answer that question … and a lot of them talked about being ready to go on day one, this is not a training ground, you have to be a fighter, but if you all say the same thing, you don’t differentiate yourself.”

Other Democrats in the debate are former health secretary and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former County Executive Betty Yee and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Michelson said Mahan, who jumped into the race less than a week ago, had a “very different perspective” from Democrats, delivering a message that seemed to resonate with viewers.

“He’s got a real shot,” Michelson said of the mayor who will need recognition in a state where half of all voters live hundreds of miles from the city he leads.

The debate came as the candidates reported on their latest campaign fundraisers. Steyer, who spent $27 million on the race last year, aired several ads before and during the televised debate.

Debate remains open amid the mudslinging in a race that has seen several attack ads. Yee closed by calling himself “the oldest person in the room.” Villaraigosa said he is “a proven problem solver.” Thurmond talked about his struggle with poverty in his youth. Becerra talked about his experience as attorney general taking over the Trump administration and said the governor’s office is “a place where you have to fight.”