At two back-to-back gubernatorial forums in Fresno on Wednesday, candidates vying to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom made one thing clear: the San Joaquin Valley and communities like Merced are at the center of the state’s future.
While candidates agreed that the Valley faces challenges on issues ranging from housing, healthcare and high-speed rail, they offered sharply different visions for how to fix them.
The daytime forum at Fresno State, cohosted by the Western Growers Association and The Maddy Institute, among others, focused on agriculture, water and regulation, and carried a more partisan tone. Around 500 people packed into the ballroom of the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union for the event.
During the agriculture-focused forum, moderated by former Assembly minority leader Kristin Olsen-Cate and Fresno County Supervisor Ernest “Buddy” Mendes, candidates were asked about the future of the Central Valley’s farming economy as rising costs, water challenges and regulation continue to strain the industry.
About an hour in, Republican and Fox News contributor Steve Hilton called San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat, “a joke,” demonstrating one of the sharper exchanges.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, echoed similar criticisms, while Democrat and former Biden-era Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra stayed policy-focused. Democrat and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, frequently emphasized collaboration and his office experience. Former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat from Southern California highlighted consumer protection and affordability.
Candidates largely agreed that California’s regulatory environment is putting pressure on the agriculture industry, though they differed on how far changes should go.
Mahan said he would use appointments to reshape state agencies, pledging to bring regulators “down here on the ground level to reform our regulatory environment.”
Porter said the system is “choking off our agriculture community” and driving up costs for consumers, while Villaraigosa pointed to rising regulatory costs, saying they have increased dramatically over the past decade. Becerra said he sees the need for more predictability, especially around water access.
Bianco and Hilton called for sweeping rollbacks, arguing regulations and climate policies are driving up costs across the state.
The evening forum, cohosted by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center and the Central Valley Worker Coalition at Fresno City College, struck a different tone, with questions geared more to the Valley’s working class and language translation provided for non-English speakers in attendance. Hundreds more attended the evening forum.
All of the Democratic candidates from the earlier forum, including Becerra, Mahan, Porter and Villaraigosa, participated, and were joined by California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Democrat who was not present at the earlier forum. Bianco and Hilton did not participate.
Billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep. Eric Swalwell, both considered Democratic frontrunners in the race, were not in attendance for either of the forums .
Most of the candidates at the evening forum aligned on priorities such as healthcare, housing and investment in the Valley, while differing on how to achieve them.
Even as candidates debated policy, a common thread ran through both forums – the Valley’s role and its frustrations.
The region feeds the nation and drives billions in agriculture, yet many residents continue to face limited access to healthcare, fewer economic opportunities and under-resourced local government.
That sentiment of the Valley being left behind remained at the heart of nearly every question, including several posed by The Merced Focus.
High-Speed Rail
After years of plans for a high-speed rail station in downtown Merced, the California High-Speed Rail Authority last year shocked the community when it published a report suggesting the state could save billions by skipping a stop in Merced altogether.
Now, tentative plans could move the proposed downtown station to county land just southeast of Merced and potentially save $1 billion.
When asked by The Merced Focus about the future of a high-speed rail station in downtown Merced, candidates couldn’t have been further apart.
Bianco didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“We’re not doing one more dime with the high-speed rail,” Bianco said, calling it “an absolute, complete abuse and waste of government money.”
Hilton also criticized the project, framing it as an example of government overspending and failed priorities.
Mahan took a different approach, saying stations generally belong in downtown areas where people live and work, but he acknowledged the project has been too slow, too expensive and weighed down by regulation.
“The broader concern…is the extremely high cost of building,” Mahan said.
Others avoided drawing a clear conclusion.
Porter said she had not yet analyzed whether Merced’s station should remain in downtown Merced or move elsewhere, but emphasized it should serve riders effectively.
Becerra pointed to the need for community input, saying decisions like these should “involve residents” before moving forward.
Thurmond echoed that sentiment, saying communities should help where major infrastructure projects land.
Housing
Housing brought another clear divide among the candidates, especially as smaller cities like Atwater face legal pressure from the state.
Last week, Merced County and the city of Atwater landed on a list of over a dozen other jurisdictions – mostly in the Valley – that could face lawsuits from the state over their housing policy plans, called a “housing element.”
Bianco called the situation government overreach, arguing local control should be restored.
“The state imposing requirements on localities… has destroyed our state, ” he said.
The issue is not the laws themselves, Mahan said, but the lack of support for cities trying to comply.
“If smaller cities are trying to do the right thing and just don’t have the staffing for it, it’s really important that the state provide capacity,” Mahan said.
Porter suggested a regional approach, allowing smaller communities to work together to meet housing goals.
“Every community needs to be a part of the solution, but we’re putting an awful lot of complexity and red tape on very small communities that are already struggling,” Porter said
Villaraigosa took a middle-ground approach, emphasizing both flexibility and state support.
“I don’t believe one size fits all,” he said. “If a city like Atwater doesn’t have the resources to plan, then the state has to step in and help. You can’t sue cities that are already struggling.”
Becerra emphasized collaboration before conflict, while Thurmond proposed restoring redevelopment funding to give cities resources to build housing and hire staff.
Healthcare
On healthcare, candidates again had different perspectives on how to respond to resign costs and potential federal cuts to programs, such as Medi-Cal, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Bianco called for a complete overhaul, arguing state policies are driving hospitals out of business.
“Our Medi-Cal industry is in shambles,” he said.
California must be prepared to step in where federal support falls short, Porter said, including funding healthcare access for undocumented residents at the state level.
“We can’t rely on federal funding,” she said.
Protecting access to care remains paramount, Becerra emphasized, especially as federal support remains uncertain.
“We will not go backwards,” he said. “We will make sure families have access to healthcare.”
Thurmond pointed to broader structural changes, including expanding coverage.
“As governor, I support a single payer healthcare system so people in the Central Valley have access to care,” he said.
During the evening forum, Villaraigosa pointed to the cost of delayed care.
“We already pay for it through emergency care,” he said, arguing that expanding access to routine care would ultimately be more affordable.