By admin 
Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer, one of the leading contenders to be California’s next governor, visited San Luis Obispo County for a voter meet-and-greet event on Friday.
Read more Weather alert affecting Lake Tahoe early Thursday evening – winds gusting up to 40 mph
During the “Coffee Klatch” event at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building, Steyer gave a 15-minute speech to around 100 people and then took photos and answered one-on-one questions from audience members.
His message to the crowd focused on lowering costs for all Golden State residents.
“I’m talking about structural change to make California livable, affordable and fun,” he said.
released Tuesday by firm Evitarus, commissioned by the Democratic Party, shows Steyer with 15% of support from voters, trailing Republican and former Fox News contributor Steve Hilton who leads with 22% of voter support. Former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra sits at 21%, while Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has fallen to 10%. All other Democratic candidates are languishing in single digits.
Steyer told attendees the gubernatorial race is now down to three candidates: him, Hilton and Becerra.
He called Hilton a “hard-right MAGA Republican” and Becerra a “corporate Democrat” who continues to accept money from Chevron and Meta. Steyer labeled himself as the “progressive Democrat for change.”
Steyer is a billionaire entrepreneur who made his money as a hedge fund manager and investor. He ran for president in 2020 and later went on to serve as a top economic advisoe on business and jobs recovery for Gov. Gavin Newsom. He also founded NextGen America, a progressive advocacy nonprofit and PAC, and funded environmental ballot initiatives.
Steyer has not held political office before but said he had “a long track record of getting things done” after leading successful ballot measure campaigns against big oil and tobacco companies, according to his campaign website.
His Friday event in SLO was one of many stops along his “A California You Can Afford” bus tour. During the midday event, he touted his mission to make living expenses cheaper for all residents.
“Californians can’t afford to live in California anymore, and it does start with rent, because that’s the biggest check that everybody pays at the end of the month, either their mortgage check or their rent check,” he said. “They’re unaffordably high, unfairly high, unjustly high.”
CA governor candidate holds voter event in SLO
Steyer is campaigning on a set of 11 priorities that includes lowering electric bills and gas prices, closing corporate tax loopholes and instituting a single-payer health care system.
He also intends to massively drive down the cost of housing in the state by building 1 million affordable homes.
Read more Thunderstorms with marble-sized hail in Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra counties Friday
“We are not using the power of California. Housing is a crisis. We should be using every tool in the toolkit,” Steyer said, vowing to call a special election on day one as governor to end Proposition 13 protections on commercial properties.
However, he said there should not be a “one-size-fits-all” solution for building across the state, especially on the Central Coast. He said he’s more supportive of compact housing compared to urban sprawl.
“My predilection is for denser towns, denser cities, walkable neighborhoods around public transportation, so people don’t have hugely long commutes, so kids can live in a neighborhood and walk around safely,” he told The Tribune.
Steyer also said he is devoted to securing more cheap, clean energy solutions to fight climate change, and he pledged to stop California’s largest utility companies from acting like monopolies. He told the audience Friday that PG&E was consistently overcharging customers.
“That is what you call a rip-off, and that is what monopolies do,” he said. “They rip you off because if you don’t like it, how about going without electricity for a while? See how you like that. And that’s why we have to have competition.”
SLO attendees hear Steyer’s pitch for California ahead of June 2 primary
Around 100 people showed up Friday to sip coffee and snack on SloDoCo doughnuts while listening to Steyer’s vision for California.
The crowd contained a slew of Cal Poly students and local retirees who came to check out Steyer’s message as they decide who to cast a ballot for amid a crowded gubernatorial race.
Attendee Diego Castillo, a first-year Cal Poly political science major, said he was excited to vote for Steyer because “he represents voters and not special interests,” he told The Tribune.
Another Cal Poly student, Tom Schilling, echoed that sentiment, saying that Steyer had his vote because he was a “beacon of hope” amid a bunch of “corporate Democrat slop.”
SLO resident Sue Brigham said she was still undecided on which Democrat to vote for. She’s looking for a candidate who’s assertive and will minimize the impacts of climate change and lower housing costs, she said, so her grandkids can afford to buy a home one day.
One thing she is certain about — “I don’t want a Republican,” she said.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 5:47 PM with the headline “CA governor candidate Tom Steyer campaigns in SLO County for ‘structural change’.”
Read more Flash flood warning affecting Trinity County Friday night due to thunderstorms