OAKLAND – Betty Yee knows what people are thinking. You heard what they said and read the many emails they received.
The former county administrator has been running for governor of California longer than anyone in the cheek-by-jowl field. And yet the Democrat is languishing near the bottom, a blip in the polls and a laggard in the money chase.
But no, Yee said, he has no intention of dropping out of the race, as he has been urged, and he has no fear that, by staying, he will help two Republicans advance to the November runoff, locking Democrats out of the governor’s office for the first time since George W. Bush was president.
“I just don’t see it,” Yee said, looking at how Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, the GOP’s top contenders, are battling each other, hoping to emerge as the undisputed Republican incumbent.
Furthermore, he said, it is not like anyone is running away from the competition; most of the polls showed the frontrunner – depending on the survey – standing on top of the pile with around 20% support.
That’s not exactly a ruined place.
“The public is still buying,” Yee said. “In the next month or so, we will try to find out [a TV ad] in the air, we presented our case and the hope that can spread as voters focus more on the race.”
Which is not to say that Yee is cheating.
“As a candidate, I make that assessment every day about whether we’re going to be able to run or not,” he said last week, just before stopping by the Alameda County registrar of voters office to file for the June 2 primary.
“Right now, it’s less than a 50-50 chance,” Yee said, suggesting it’s his job to increase those chances by making voters aware of what he has to offer, such as speaking bluntly about the challenges facing the next governor and the ways Sacramento — which has been run by some Democrats for years — isn’t working.
” ‘Accountability’ has become a dirty word … when it’s about who we’re going to throw under the bus, rather than stepping back and saying, ‘What did we get for the dollars we spent and, if we’re not getting those results, how are we doing better?’ “
Yee served two terms as comptroller, essentially the state’s chief financial officer, and 10 years before that on the Board of Equalization, which oversees property tax assessments. He’s not trying to buy power, like billionaire Tom Steyer, or grow his political celebrity, like cable-TV shows Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell. Instead, Yee is running a grassroots campaign, visiting nearly all of California’s 58 counties and holding as many face-to-face meetings as possible.
“I’m on the streets,” he said. “I knock on doors every election cycle because for me that is an assessment of where people really are in terms of their lives.”
Which is a very admirable method, although it is a good strategy in the area of almost 23 million voters, spread over an area of about 800 kilometers from north to south. It would take more than two years of round-the-clock campaigning just to get everyone to shake hands quickly.
The most notable aspect of Yee’s nomination is his message. He’s not selling barn burners or President Trump’s impeachment – “I’m not strategic, I’m not nervous, I’m not a TV show personality” – but rather practical knowledge and a deep understanding of national government.
It’s almost strange in the political landscape of today’s theater.
Sitting at a sidewalk table outside a coffee shop in downtown Oakland, Yee focuses on California’s lean budget, his area of expertise.
“People ask what you would do in your first days as governor, if you have the right to serve,” Yee said, while his butterscotch latte sat cold. “I will be open with the voters about where we are financially.”
After years of surpluses, he said, the state is spending more than it can handle. Faced with a structural deficit, the next governor will have to cut programs and raise taxes, not one or the other, where corporations and California’s wealthiest citizens are forced to cough up more. (He is skeptical, however, of a proposed November ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires, questioning whether it would stand up in court.)
Sacramento’s credibility, Yee suggested, is on the line.
Before any new expansion programs are implemented – and he has some ideas on how to make life more affordable, increase access to health care and create jobs – Californians must be sure that their tax dollars are being used well and are delivering proven results. “I would emphasize and invite strong accountability for what we do with our money,” Yee said.
He does not go beyond criticizing the current administration.
“I mean, I have been called as an administrator since January 2023. I am still getting calls from existing companies. [European Union]Canada, even Mexico about how we want to do business with California. Who are we talking to?” Yee said. “So I’m going to send them to the governor’s Office of Business Development and they tell me, ‘Well, we’re trying to call people, but nobody’s answering our phone.’ “
(In response, a spokesman for the Office of Business and Economic Development touted California as a “prime center for international business” and described foreign trade and investment as the driving force behind the state’s economy.)
As for Gov. Gavin Newsom, while supporting his violation of Trump’s youth, said it should not be done through official channels, or with taxpayers’ money.
“We be focus on making the state work,” said Yee, “and that’s where I’m most focused because people … want delivery of services. They want the government to respond to their needs. Someone just picks up a bad call from another line to help them.”
Strong medicine, as you described it, and “reinforcement” – “which is kind of my theme” – won’t set many hearts aflutter. But Yee hopes his straight talk and lack of decorum will resonate with California voters.
“The current climate is that people are more attracted to ways of making games,” he said. “However, I think that will change, I want to give back [voters] honor, because I think they are very careful when they are ready to mark their vote.”
The coming weeks will test that foundation. And Yee is always there.
