Issues
Revive the
California Dream
For over 150 years, California has been shaped by big dreams and bold solutions. Under Gavin Newsom, the California Dream is on life support. The average gas price is over $5/gallon, we have the nation’s highest unemployment rate, and our leaders can’t keep the lights on.
Are Californians getting what they’re paying for? We pay the nation’s:
- Highest income tax rate
- Highest sales tax
- Highest gas tax (despite having the second worst roads)
I will build California to once again be the jewel of America - improving investment, growing jobs, reimagining schools, and restoring safe neighborhoods.
The California Dream is one of safe, flourishing communities.
The Problem
The clearest sign that government is failing is when it can’t protect its people. Californians deserve to live free of the daily fear of crime.
Gavin Newsom has overseen the largest spike in violent crime in at least 13 years. Four of California’s cities – Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco – saw a 30 percent increase in homicides and 20 percent increase in both motor vehicle theft and commercial burglaries in 2020.
And it was even worse in 2021.
Our incarceration rate remains low, yet California made it possible for up to 76,000 prisoners – including violent and repeat felons – to serve 33% shorter sentences.
While crime spirals, our communities are facing severe shortages of police – openings have increased 6x since 2010. Research shows us that each additional officer reduces crime by 1.3 violent crimes and 4.2 property crimes per year and saves communities more than $300,000 per year.
Newsom is also closing two prisons – one last September and another later this year – at a time when our prisons and county jails don’t have enough room.
Despite a reduction in prison rolls that has seen nearly 50,000 fewer criminals in custody since 2006, the budget for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is the highest it has been in our state’s history.
And amidst this insanity, Newsom is empowering District Attorneys such as Los Angeles’s George Gascón and San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin who seek to reduce the sentences of convicted criminals.
The Safer Streets Solution
We need a supported police force to protect our communities. I will spearhead initiatives to retain and hire new officers and support pay increases for the men and women that put their lives on the line every day to protect Californians.
As Governor, I will put a stop to prison closures, initiate a comprehensive prison spending audit, and restore fire crew training programs. In addition, I will expand work training programs for high-demand industries such as building and software development.
And finally, my criminal justice reform plan focuses on rehabilitation, not politically-motivated prison releases. The “reform” our radical DAs advocate for will never be signed into law when I am Governor.
Californians want safe communities to raise their children and live their lives free of worry. Newsom has failed us, but under my administration we will have a champion for safety once again.
As the mother of two young children in a public Spanish immersion school, I understand the challenges our schools face. The California Dream can only be achieved with a world-class education system. I will reimagine remarkable, world-class schools for our kids.
The Problem
After two years of upheaval, far too many parents are feeling helpless. Our children missed out on a real education while being taught over Zoom. In fact, 175,000 children left our schools in the last 2 years – including many of our most vulnerable kids.
The data from school shutdowns is saddening. Math test scores decreased by as much as 10%, the number of kindergarteners at high risk of not learning to read increased by 68%, and the number of first-graders at high risk of not learning to read by 65%.
Even before the fallout from school shutdowns, California schools were failing - ranking 40th in the nation (or lower).
Our children deserve better from the adults in charge. Under Gavin Newsom, we were the last state to reopen schools and the last to lift our school mask mandate. He has opposed school choice and signed Critical Race Theory into law as a high school graduation requirement.
California schools were once a primary reason families moved to the state - now, crazy curriculum and an anti-parent culture are causing families to leave.
The Remarkable Schools Solution
As Governor, I will put our kids first. It’s not just your kids that are affected - it’s my kids too. Every decision I make will be marked by one question - “Is this best for our kids?”
As Governor, I will decentralize decision-making and allow school-by-school changes to curriculum, school day, and academic calendar. When Newsom closed the doors of public schools, he sent his kids to private school for in-person instruction. In contrast, I invited our school’s teachers to come to our farm to create instructional videos to help students adapt to virtual teaching.
New curriculum - including outdoor schooling, language immersion, entrepreneurship, creative arts, trade apprenticeships, and more - will be born in California, celebrated, and expanded across the state.
In addition, successful charter networks have long demonstrated that innovative solutions - like extended days - help disadvantaged students accelerate learning.
I will also focus on building the best education system in America by championing school choice, banning divisive curriculum such as Critical Race Theory, and preparing California’s kids to become the creators of our 21st century economy.
Millions of Californians have been priced out of the housing market, and millions more can barely afford the homes we live in. Meanwhile, our cities are overrun with homeless camps. In fact, 51% of America’s unsheltered homeless live right here in the Golden State.
Newsom proudly shares how much he spends on homelessness, yet the problem is getting worse – homelessness increased 17 percent in Newsom’s first year and another 7 percent the year after. In February, an audit found we are spending $837,000 in Los Angeles to house a single homeless person.
We’re left to ask the question: Why aren’t we seeing results despite the billions being spent?
The first issue? We have nine state agencies overseeing 41 programs to address homelessness. There is no accountability or transparency, and far too many beds in our shelters are going unused.
At the same time, our housing crisis is getting worse. In the last decade, California’s population grew by 6% while housing grew by only 2%. This imbalance has increased prices - now, the average California home costs nearly $700,000.
During his time in office, Newsom has signed onerous building regulations and done nothing to streamline building permits. Supply and demand applies - when supply does not increase, it is no wonder the average California home costs nearly $700,000.
The Affordable Housing Solution
To address our homelessness crisis, I will first expand working programs from cities like Bakersfield and Fresno. Those cities started by gathering the most important data - the names of their homeless residents. Their effective homeless solutions have been driven by personalization.
Second, I will conduct a 90-day forensic audit on all homelessness spending. I will simplify the organization and champion cuts to all waste and abuse.
Third, I will expand capacity in mental health and drug treatment centers.
Finally, I will create annual targets for the number of chronic homeless and the number of building permits issued – and tie future funding to the achievement of these goals. Funding will begin with measurement and will be based on progress; less restrictive funding ensures local organizations can innovate and collaborate. This goal-focused approach will enable us to see which localities are doing well so we can quickly share the lessons they have learned with the rest of the state.
And while we are dealing with the homelessness crisis, my administration will simultaneously tackle housing affordability, as the two are clearly linked.
I will streamline regulatory approvals and development impact fees, as well as incentivize localities to simplify complex growth ordinances, which increase house prices by up to 5% per ordinance.
We must do all we can to ensure housing will be affordable and available for generations to come.
To build an affordable California, we must store, move, recycle, and reuse water so there is more than enough for everyone.
Water shortages will limit what is possible in California. California’s water supply issues are the result of mismanagement first, and under-investment in storage and conveyance infrastructure second. I will fix both.
The Water Problem
Our state has been crippled by short-sighted leadership, poor planning and investment, burdensome regulations, and limited use of alternate water options.
In addition, moving water over great distances has created intense regional rivalries. Water feuds have divided the state, pitting north against south, east against west and three major stakeholders (agricultural, urban and environmental) against one another.
Water restrictions for individuals and insufficient water for farmers create long-term consequences for our environment and economy. Our water shortages are man-made. When Sacramento bureaucrats mismanage water, wildlife migrations are disrupted and groundwater reserves are not replenished. In 2021 alone, water shortages resulted in $1.1B and 9,000 jobs lost to the state’s agricultural industry.
During the rainy season, we have more than enough water flowing from the Sierra Mountains and other ranges - but we don’t capture it, so it becomes unusable in the Pacific. The last California dam was built 42 years ago. Over that time span, our population doubled.
Finally, California’s conveyance infrastructure is outdated, so we lose water to evaporation. Water recycling is affordable, and we boast the world’s most effective technologies in our state - but they are used only on a limited basis. Desalination, which is the most expensive, can be incorporated into long-range planning after less expensive options are exhausted.
A lack of vision by Gavin Newsom has led us to feud over water, when we should instead be focusing on how to better capture and recycle the water we already have.
The Abundant Water Solution
My water plan will create water abundance.
First, we will improve water management. California has cyclical rainy and drought periods in California that we must plan for, and water allocation will be done on a multi-year basis. Our reservoirs have sufficient supply to cover 5 dry years for the full population in California. I will appoint water managers who use data and take a long-term view for water planning, and I will ensure the Delta pumps are used to capture rainwater before it is lost to the Pacific.
Second, California affordability is directly tied to water availability. To plan for growth, I will cut through the red tape that holds up water storage projects we have already paid for through Prop 1 bonds collected from CA taxpayers since 2014.
Finally, I will invest in new water technologies. We will update water conveyance canals and pipes, advance investment in water recycling, and introduce desalination.
Gavin Newsom uses surpluses to create wasteful new government programs that do not get results. I will invest surplus funds in water infrastructure to provide homes and habitat with more than enough water for generations to come.
Abundant, stable, and clean electricity is necessary to build an innovation-driven economy.
The Problem
Californians pay the 7th highest electrical rates in the nation. Even at that premium, the state can’t keep the lights on.
Newsom’s failed promises have hurt our economy and left us with insufficient power. He pledged “giant leaps forward” in our energy infrastructure but when it became clear that his failed policies couldn’t stop rolling brownouts, he asked us just to accept it as the “new normal.”
Newsom’s burnouts have impacted millions of Californians. Elderly Californians had to go without cooling and sick Californians had to go without power for medical devices. There were 5 power availability alerts about power limitations issued in 2020 and 8 in 2021, according to CAISO records. Newsom is projecting an “unforeseen shortfall” of 5,000 megawatts through 2022, and our vulnerable populations are at risk.
In addition, we pay the highest gas taxes in the nation - $0.51 per gallon, with another planned increase this summer - while Newsom boasts about a California surplus.
The Plentiful Power Solution
I will never accept electricity shortages as “normal.” I have a data-driven plan to build a power system for the future that uses all available power sources. We will ensure flexible, adequate supply and add new clean energy.
First, as long as we have a state surplus, I will suspend the gas tax - putting money back in the pockets of California’s middle class.
Second, I’ll continue the use of the Diablo Canyon power plant (slated to close in 2024). The plant is clean, safe, and carbon-free. At a time when California can’t meet the energy demands of its residents, we should not be shutting down any viable energy source. The plant, which provides nearly 10% of California’s power, has been rated safe by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and could run well beyond 2040.
In addition, I will reverse Newsom’s Executive Order that would ban hydraulic fracturing starting in 2024. The crisis in Ukraine has shown America that energy independence is a security imperative, and we can produce oil right here in California.
Furthermore, our problems of water and power are interrelated. Governor Newsom has demonstrated that if we don’t manage our water, the water levels in our reservoirs drop so low that hydroelectric power generation declines. Hydroelectric power is an important source of clean energy. I will work to retain this source of power.
Californians need a Governor who is determined to prevent disruptions in their lives. As Governor, I will never accept any problem as “unsolvable” - and will fight day and night to ensure every Californian can afford to keep their lights on.
I will continue to move California toward clean and renewable energy sources using incentives instead of mandates, but I will not disrupt current power supply in the process.
The future of California’s environment depends on conservation, excellent resource management, and comprehensive environmental stewardship.
California can have a future without catastrophic wildfires. Did you know that California is experiencing the same number of wildfires today as it did 40 years ago? However, there is one major difference - they are much bigger.
The Problem
Gavin Newsom wants to distract you from the cause so he is not responsible for the cure.
The Governor isn’t being honest - the root issue is forest mismanagement. Our wildfires are getting more destructive because we haven’t managed our forests properly, and there is too much fuel to burn.
A report published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CalFire) in 2018 – before Newsom took office – made it clear that 20 million acres of our forests must undergo “fuel reduction treatment.”
Despite promising to manage our forests, Newsom has failed to do so. Not only has he failed to protect our state from destructive wildfires – he’s repeatedly lied about it.
- He said he treated 90,000 acres with prescribed burns when the state actually treated just over 11,000.
- He said he would devote $1B to active forest management over 5 years, then cut CalFire’s prevention budget by $150M.
- He said he would increase year-round fire crews, then released 600 incarcerated firefighters and announced his intention to close 20% of inmate firefighting camps by 2022.
The Healthy Forest Solution
I will end catastrophic wildfires in California.
When I’m Governor, California will manage a minimum of 500,000 acres of forest per year by working with CalFire and private landowners. Let me be clear - this is not clear-cutting. This is thinning - and every piece of removed wood and brush can be turned into clean biofuel.
Private companies that harvest timber own nearly 14% of California’s forest (4.6M acres), but as recently as 2018, the president and CEO of the California Forestry Association said it is currently “cost-prohibitive” to remove any timber in California due to regulations. My administration will reduce the regulatory burden while preventing clear-cutting.
On top of better forest management, we will increase the use of drone and sensor technology to detect wildfires more quickly. Early response will save homes and lives.
Finally, we will deregulate road construction in forests for the purpose of treatment and thinning and incentivize utilities to move power lines underground.
Californians do not have to experience wildfire destruction and smoke-filled skies. It just takes a Governor that has the courage to get to the root of the problem and do something about it.
The California dream is to build the future in inspiring, fulfilling workplaces.
The Problem
The California business community is weighed down by burdensome taxes and anti-business regulations. California is at the top of just about every bad list in the country:
- Highest unemployment rate
- 9th highest corporate tax rate
- 49th in business climate
California is not competitive, and people and businesses are voting with their feet. More than 50 major corporations have left California since 2014 – with most packing up their U-Hauls since Gavin Newsom took office.
According to the California Chamber of Commerce, the Legislature has proposed 319 anti-business bills in the last 10 years.
We need a Governor who will advocate tirelessly for businesses to thrive in California.
The Business Building Solution
The annual filing fee our entrepreneurs pay for a business license is $300 more than any other state and 16 times more than the national average. Even New York only charges $9 every other year. As Governor, I will champion a reform to bring this fee down to $50.
Should the Legislature continue to send anti-business bills to my desk, I will veto them.
And as Governor, my administration will audit the impact of all business-related regulations passed in the last 10 years, such as those on employee scheduling and telecommuting, to evaluate which are helping businesses and which are outdated.
I am running to unleash California families and businesses to innovate again. As your Governor, I will create a competitive business climate that will restore the California Dream to incentivize people to start businesses and raise families in this great state.
I’m not just pro-life, I’m pro life plus.
As a mom with 3 kids on earth and 2 more in heaven, I have a unique perspective on the value of life.
While I expect CA will continue to have broad abortion access no matter what the Supreme Court ultimately decides on Roe vs. Wade, I will fight to add care for moms who choose life.
School-aged girls who get pregnant will have the support they need to finish school remotely and get jobs with pro-mom employers. I’ll partner with nonprofits, like churches and other places of worship, to ensure low-income single parents have guaranteed access to affordable childcare.
I have long felt that traditional pro-life views were limited to saving the life of a baby - but not going beyond that to support single moms. To ensure that California’s abortion statistics (300,000 babies aborted each year) are reversed, whether we can change the law or not, we need to change the future for moms in California to be full of possibility and opportunity.
In addition, should it pass, I will reverse Newsom’s plan for CA taxpayers to pay for out-of-state abortions.
It is every U.S. citizen’s responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution’s Second Amendment is clear — it says, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Law-abiding citizens who want a gun should be able to procure one — for hunting, self-defense, or sport.
As Governor, I will also tell the truth about guns. According to Pew Research, more than half of U.S. gun deaths in 2020 were from suicide, and the rate of gun deaths has continued to fall in recent years. The extreme gun control lobby wants us to think that our chance of dying from gun violence in public has exponentially risen — the data simply doesn’t back this up.
Yet, the data points to another problem - we have a mental health crisis on our hands. Investing in connection and community — not political posturing - will make a material difference in gun violence.
I did not grow up in a household that was pro-gun. I came to my position after years of research because I believe good government protects our constitutional rights and improves public safety.
When COVID-19 broke out in the U.S., I developed my own COVID management model focused on the right metric — managing ICU capacity. As COVID developed, my plan budgeted for advanced tele-preventative care, free and rapid testing, and early detection using pulse oximeters.
I also developed a clear view on the role of public health — that it should provide health education and access to health services, but not mandate health action.
On Day 1 as Governor, I will convene a task force to assess California’s readiness for another pandemic.
But I will not utilize ineffective, politicized personal health infringements - like mandated vaccines - in any form, at any time. They violate personal freedoms, hurt businesses, and keep kids out of school unnecessarily.
In addition, I will issue an Executive Order to provide a Philosophical Exemption to Newsom’s vaccine mandates.
The California Dream is one where everyone can be confident in our elections process.
The Problem
The problem is massive: many Californians don’t trust the integrity of our elections process.
One of the clearest signs that a government is failing is when it can’t convince its people that its elections are free and fair. When a meaningful segment of our community loses faith in our democracy, it tears at what unites us as Californians - a belief that every vote counts.
We have to get this right in California, the nation’s largest state.
Let’s take a look at the issue using data from LA County, which has over 1¬¬0 million residents, more than the population of 41 of the 50 states.
- The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) is a federal law requiring the removal of inactive registrations from the voter rolls after two consecutive general federal elections. Generally, a registration is considered “inactive” when a voter has moved to another county or state, or has passed away.
- A lawsuit filed in 2019 by the organization Judicial Watch confirmed that more than 1.5M potentially ineligible voters were on the rolls of LA County. To put this into context, this means that one out of every five registrations in the county likely belonged to someone who had passed away or moved! According to a statement that Judicial Watch released at the time, “Los Angeles County has the highest number of inactive registrations of any single county in the country.”
Even more shocking, the release said that the Judicial Watch lawsuit also uncovered that neither the State of California nor Los Angeles County had been removing inactive voters from the voter registration rolls for the past 20 years.
In a settlement, a judge required all of the 1.5M potentially ineligible registrants to be notified and asked to respond to keep their registration active.
However, this lawsuit revealed a culture of incompetence and confusion inside of California state government.
See voter registration and other numbers for yourself from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Solution
The solutions to restore trust in California’s election system are straightforward. To do so, I will put in place a modern Election Security Plan:
- End universal mail-in balloting: Our voter rolls are flawed; universal mail-in voting provides active opportunity for fraud.
- Require Photo ID to vote: It’s just common sense to require each voter to show a photo ID so that their name can be matched with the name on the voter roll. If you don’t have a photo ID, one will be provided to you at no charge.
- Hold the Secretary of State accountable to make clear to each county that they are required by federal law to continually keep the voter rolls cleaned.
California needs leadership it can trust. I can and will enhance the integrity of our elections without jeopardizing voter access.