Key takeaways from NBCLA’s gubernatorial forum on LBGTQ+ issues – NBC Los Angeles

Seven candidates vying to become the next governor of California participated in a nonpartisan forum Monday to discuss topics that affect the LGBTQ+ community. 

The candidates shared their proposals for health care, educational policies, public safety and homelessness. 

All participants were Democrats:

• Xavier Becerra – former California attorney general, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Katie Porter – former representative for California’s 47th District, current UC Irvine professor
• Eric Swalwell – Current representative for California’s 14th congressional district, former deputy district attorney for Alameda County
• Tony Thurmond – current state superintendent
• Tom Steyer – billionaire entrepreneur, environmentalist
• Antonio Villaraigosa – former Los Angeles mayor, former speaker of the State Assembly
• Betty Yee – former California state controller

Republican candidates Steve Hilton, conservative commentator, and Chad Bianco, Riverside County sheriff, did not accept the invitation to join the forum. 

Here are the key takeaways from the forum.

Self-grading with high marks

All seven candidates touted their records on LGBTQ+ issues, with many of them giving themselves an A or A+.

Xavier Becerra, who served in public office for decades, including leading the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said he has a “history that runs longer than anyone who’s running for governor” when it comes to being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

While Antonio Villaraigosa, former LA mayor, gave himself an A+, Katie Porter, UC Irvine professor and former congresswoman, said she does not believe in A pluses.

“I’m a pretty notoriously tough grader,” she said. “I think there’s always work to be done, but I would give myself an A.”

Disagreeing with Gov. Newsom

When asked about some Democratic leaders, including outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom, pushing the party to be “culturally normal on identity politics,” Katie Porter, one of the more progressive candidates, disagreed explicitly.

“I don’t think any elected leader gets to sit in judgement of what is normal,” Porter said. “To me, what is normal is somebody who is thriving, and everything in California, regardless of their gender identity or their sexual orientation, should have the ability to do that.”

Flipping the bird

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was not afraid to express his opposition to far-right activists during the forum.

Thurmon said when appearing at some school board meetings to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ students, he received verbal threats. He said he was once surrounded by several armed people who “intended to” throw him down on the face.

“I saluted those people as I walked out to the room,” Thurmond said while showing his middle finger.

He added the following day, he went back to Sacramento to help pass the the California Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act, also known as Assembly Bill 1955, which prohibits teachers and school staffers from revealing student’s gender identity to their parents without the teens’ consent. 

On Monday, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling, blocking California from enforcing the SAFETY Act.

2 Republicans in the run-off?

With the crowded field of Democratic hopefuls, some have predicted it’s entirely possible that two Republican candidates will end up moving forward to the November runoff.

Among the recent polls, the February survey by the Public Policy Institute of California noted the top five candidates were Steve Hilton, Katie Porter, Chad Bianco, Tom Steyer and Eric Swalwell. Other candidates each have 5% or less support. Ten percent of the surveyed California voters said they were undecided. 

“Right now, I’m polling at the top of the field,” Porter pointed out during the forum, sounding resolute that she will “make very, very sure” she can win the race. “I’m very proud of that, despite the fact how miserably uncomfortable it is to have to say that you’re sandwiched between Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.”

A nod to Betty Yee 

When asked if they had to endorse any other Democratic candidate for governor, many refused to answer except for Antonio Villaraigosa, Tom Steyer and Betty Yee.

Steyer said he rarely disagrees with the former state controller, and Villaraigosa also acknowledged that his political views are most aligned with those of Yee. 

Yee, in return, also said she respects Villaraigosa and Steyer as she called the former speaker of the State Assembly “the biggest champion” for the LGBTQ+ community. Yee also said the billionaire candidate brings “something new to the arena” as someone who has never held public office.