Broad agenda — from bullet train to housing
SACRAMENTO >> In his first State of the State address Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out an ambitious agenda while breaking from his predecessor’s steadfast backing of two costly projects: a high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles and a controversial plan to build two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to move water to Southern California.
Newsom announced he wanted to scale back to a single tunnel and took aim at the bullet train, an ambitious project kick-started by a nearly $10 billion bond voters approved in 2008 to connect San Francisco, the Central Valley and Los Angeles in a rail trip of two and a half hours. The endeavor, once projected to be the largest public works project in the country and championed by both Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been beset with cost overruns and delays. It is now estimated to cost more than $77 billion.
“Let’s be real. The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long,” Newsom said about the train, which is under construction in the Central Valley. “There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency. Right now, there simply
isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A. I wish there were.”
In a wide-ranging speech that touched on everything from PG&E’s bankruptcy to prescription drug costs to the housing crisis, the governor set
a broad plan for the year. He also challenged the legislature to summon the political will to take up unfinished business that has stalled in past years, including bills to address rapidly rising rents in parts of the state and the contaminated drinking water plaguing rural areas.
Newsom called the drinking-water problem “a moral disgrace and a medical emergency.” Last year, as time ran out in the legislative session, leaders in the state Assembly decided not to call a vote on a bill by Sen. Bill Monning, D-Monterey, that would have created a way for ratepayers to make voluntary, $1 monthly contributions to a clean water fund.
Marie Waldron, leader of the Assembly Republican caucus, said she was glad to hear Newsom pushing for greater accountability on the high-speed rail project and a compromise that could ease environmental regulations for homebuilding. “He has a lot of vision,” she said, “and we look forward to working with him in a bipartisan manner.”
Newsom stressed it was crucial to complete the Central Valley portion of the bullet train, from Merced to Bakersfield. He did not close off the possibility of eventually connecting the Central Valley to the Bay Area by rail, which some say would provide relief for a growing number of commuters as people move farther from the Bay Area in search of affordable housing. Still, his remarks left some feeling even more uncertain about the project’s fate.
“I think we’re now wondering what his vision is,” said Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, who heads the Senate Transportation Committee, in an interview after the speech.
Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which has spearheaded a series of transportationfunding campaigns, said he was assured by the governor’s office that the announcement would not put the ongoing Caltrain electrification project — or its funding — at risk. The Caltrain project is partially funded by high-speed rail bond money.
Newsom also drew a bright line between himself and his foil, President Donald Trump, using
Trump’s recent State of the Union address and actions as president to set up the contrast.
“Last week, we heard another president stand up at the State of the Union and offer a vision of an America fundamentally at odds with California values,” Newsom said. “He described a country where inequality didn’t seem to be a problem, where climate change didn’t exist, and where the greatest threat we face comes from families seeking asylum at the border.”
In the lead-up to Tuesday’s speech, Newsom signed an order to withdraw hundreds of National Guard troops from the U.S. Mexico border, ending an arrangement that Brown made last year in response to a White House request. Repeatedly calling Trump’s focus on border security “a manufactured crisis” and “political theater,” Newsom said Monday he would redeploy the majority of the troops to “actual threats facing the state of California,” such as wildfire-prevention support for Cal Fire.
On Tuesday, Newsom drew hearty applause as he discussed the state’s high cost of living. A shortage of affordable housing and the failure to add enough homes to keep pace with the booming economy, particularly in the Bay Area, have caused prices to skyrocket. About one-quarter of the nation’s homeless and nearly half of those living on the streets are in California, according to the latest federal data.
He announced a new Commission on Homelessness & Supportive Housing,
led by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, and called for additional funding for emergency shelters. He promised to sign a proposal on rent stabilization that would “prevent evictions, without putting small landlords out of business,” calling on lawmakers to send him a bill.
Last month, Newsom put cities and counties on notice when he announced the state was suing the Orange County city of Huntington Beach, accusing it of blocking needed new housing, as required by state law. And when presenting his January budget proposal, he called on large Silicon Valley companies to “step up” and help pay for workforce housing.
In his speech, he said he was inviting the leaders of other cities that have fallen short on their goals to “a candid conversation” next week. “I don’t intend to file suit against all 47, but I’m not going to preside over neglect and denial any longer,” he said, drawing applause. “I was a local elected official. I’m not naive. Cities need to summon that political courage, and we’ve got to have their backs.”
Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, said the governor’s commentary on the state’s housing crisis showed the former San Francisco mayor understood its complexities. “His comment is we cannot just be a place for rich people is on point,” Gloria said. “We need a vibrant middle class in our state, and housing’s the biggest driver of that.”