Gov.-elect Becerra Puts Affordability First and Says He Is Ready to Work With the Black Caucus

SACRAMENTO — Two days after winning the governor’s race, Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra stood at the State Capitol on Nov. 5 with Senate President pro Tem Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. It was the first time California’s three top Democrats appeared together since the election, and they came out of a private meeting with one message: the cost of living comes first.

“Get used to this,” Gov.-elect Becerra told reporters, saying voters made it clear they want leaders focused on jobs and affordability above everything else. He said the goal is for California families to stay, do well here and retire here.

The three leaders said they would move fast to get money from the Prop. 1 housing bond out the door, protect health coverage, bring down energy bills and write rules for artificial intelligence that protect consumers and working families. They have not settled on specific policies or tax plans yet, Gov.-elect Becerra said, while they study the state budget.

Speaker Rivas said the election was not a vote for Democrats so much as a demand for something different. “People want change,” Speaker Rivas said.

The homeownership gap

Asked by California Black Media how his administration would help Black Californians buy homes and keep the ones they have, Gov.-elect Becerra said he is ready to work with the California Legislative Black Caucus. “Ready to work with everybody,” he told California Black Media, adding that nearly every caucus member had already come to see him.

The need is real. Only about 37% of Black households in California own their homes, compared with about 65% of white households, according to a 2024 analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Gov.-elect Becerra courted Black voters during the campaign, from a South Los Angeles meet-and-greet to a reception for Black community leaders at Oakstop in Oakland a week before the election, where Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Urban League of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area President and CEO Ken Maxey turned out to support him. Black Californians will be watching to see what that relationship produces once he takes office in January.

California Black Media contributed to this report.