Xavier Becerra gets defensive in first remarks since election night: ‘don’t play this game’

California Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra said “everything should be on the table” to make the state more affordable in his first public statement since election night — before bristling over questions about what he’ll actually do.

“I’m no longer a candidate; I’m now the governor-elect. So I will take this very seriously,” Becerra said. 

“But, guys, don’t play this game about asking me to commit, because I didn’t get elected doing that.”

The Democrat defeated Republican Steve Hilton in Tuesday’s election to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, extending his party’s control of the governor’s office to a fifth term after a campaign dominated by California’s high costs and anger toward President Donald Trump.

Becerra, who appeared alongside Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, promised a close partnership with legislative leaders and said announcements about his transition team would come soon.

The three Democrats presented a united front on affordability, though Becerra offered few specifics about how he would deliver relief on housing, health care and energy.

“The public made it very clear we should be focused on job one, two, and three, and that is cost of living, cost of living, cost of living,” he said.

Asked whether that could include cutting taxes, Becerra left the door open — but he also suggested that wealthy residents should pay a higher tax rate than they do currently.

“I think everything should be on the table,” Becerra said. “By the way, you’re probably going to be hearing me say that a lot, whether it’s on energy, whether it’s on revenue and tax policy, whether it’s on healthcare, why should we take anything off the table?”

That openness gave way to a defensive posture when questioned about his commitments to making health coverage more affordable.

“You want me to make a commitment to families without knowing what the budget will be, without knowing where the votes are, and that’s just playing politics the wrong way,” Becerra said.

He pointed to his record of expanding access and lowering health care costs, saying he intended to continue that work as governor.

“A lot of other folks make these wild promises, and they’re not the governor-elect,” Becerra said.

On taxes, Becerra said he wanted to determine who was paying their “fair share,” pointing to the state Department of Finance and Legislative Analyst’s Office as sources of expertise.

He said Proposition 40 — the billionaire tax measure he and Newsom both opposed — had sent a signal about concerns over unequal taxation.

“If you’re paying at a tax rate in California that’s lower than the tax rate of a teacher, a firefighter, a nurse, a police officer, and you’re making way more money than they are, in my book, you’re not paying your fair share,” Becerra said.

Rivas cautioned that Tuesday’s results should not be mistaken for a blanket endorsement of Democratic leadership.

“Our mandate is to do things differently,” Rivas said. “People want change.”

Becerra, who congratulated Nithya Raman on her win in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, also answered multiple questions in Spanish, discussing affordability and protections for immigrants while acknowledging California cannot override federal law.

Asked about choosing a finance director, he made an awkward attempt at humor, saying he would like “someone [who] can pull money off of trees.”

“Since I suspect that’ll be tough to find, we will look for someone who knows their numbers, who can do this well, has experience in balancing a budget as large as the budget of the state of California.”

Becerra ended by suggesting he will not be doing grandstanding in that process.

“I ran on my record of what I’ve done, and I have expanded access to healthcare. I have lowered healthcare costs, and that’s what I intend to do again,” Becerra said.

“But I can’t make a commitment without knowing what exactly I face, because I don’t think any voter, any taxpayer, any Californian wants to have a governor who’s still acting like a politician.”

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