California’s gubernatorial candidates are divided on compensation after the Newsom vote
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Among all the 2026 California gubernatorial candidates, no one seems to be the champion of the return, even in the form of direct payments.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, many elected officials attended the “State of Black Bay Area Report & 2026 CA Gubernatorial Forum” hosted by the Urban League of Greater San Francisco Bay Area on Jan. 26, explaining that they will do it for black Californians.
Candidates for the Democratic Alliance who ran for the position of Gov. Gavin Newsom, D., was asked what he would do to help black Californians. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was the only one to include compensation in his response to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Instead of paying cash, Thurmond vows to lend money to black residents.
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California was the first in the US among many states and municipalities to establish a restitution commission to study history to issue recommendations on how to compensate black Americans for slavery. (SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images)
“I will sign as governor a package to restore loans to black people who want to start a business, go to college or pay for a house,” said Thurmond. Lee, who nominated Thurmond for governor, said Thurmond is the only candidate who understands that reinstatement is “an important strategy for achieving racial equality.”
California was the first in the US among many states and municipalities to establish a restitution commission to study history to issue recommendations on how to compensate black Americans for slavery.
Newsom has completely rejected the payment of the money as a form of restitution, which could have reached $1.2 million per recipient, according to recommendations made by a federal task force overseeing compensation. He also rejected a slate of reparations bills supported by the California Legislative Black Caucus. On the other hand, Newsom approved funding for the university system to research ways to ensure the descendants of enslaved people in the US to see who would get the benefits.
Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 7, which would have recommended universities, private and public, to “consider giving preference to an applicant who is a descendant of a chattel slave in America.” Newsom called the bill “unnecessary” with a short message posted in October, adding that “institutions already have the authority to decide whether to grant admissions preferences.”
The bill’s author, Democratic California Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, explained Newsom’s veto of the bill as “more than disappointing.”
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that he will run for governor on Wednesday, seeking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom is out. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, File)
Assembly Bill 7 was among five other reparations measures supported by the California Legislative Black Caucus, disappointing supporters of the effort. The caucus also sought to create a process for reparations for people whose property was taken using a racially motivated eminent domain, to expedite professional license applications for descendants of enslaved people, and to dedicate at least 10% of the government-backed mortgage program to their descendants.
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Now that Newsom will soon leave his position, it is not clear whether his successor will fulfill the compensation goals of the hired team.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has said he will appoint African Americans to his administration. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Becerra was asked to elaborate on his position regarding the refund. He said he will “cooperate with the Legislature” and said he supports it, but “the question is, ‘What (legislation) comes first? And how do you fund it?’
Other candidates didn’t specifically mention compensation for what they would do to help black Californians but highlighted the importance of representation. Former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer also promised representation by establishing a “DEI office.” Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa touted his record in appointing Black people to his administration.
He also said that he would not support the compensation plan. When pressed why not, he replied, “I agree with fixing our schools. That’s the best way to deal with past racism, but not a payback package.”
Other candidates in this forum, Sen. Ian Calderon, former Rep. Katie Porter, and former state Comptroller Betty Yee, did not have a clear position on the payments.
Calderon tweeted to Fox News Digital that “real repairs mean real resources.”
“Real justice means real resources – and ways to get wealth. I support dedicated financial streams that directly address racial and economic injustice through targeted, accountable investments that help close the economic gaps created by generations of inequality,” said Calderon.
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Yee does not want the one-time distribution of cash payments, which is often associated with US restitution efforts, and would like to consider other forms of restitution. Many proponents of reparations say it can be issued in many ways other than direct cash payments.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has flatly rejected cash payments as a form of restitution. (AP Photo)
“I don’t want to do it myself, when it’s like paying in cash,” said Yee. “It should be about how we look at programs that will help create wealth for generations.”
Republican Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco were invited but did not attend the event. They did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Gubernatorial hopefuls met Tuesday night in Bayview for the first televised debate. None of the candidates said they supported reparations.
None of the Democratic candidates responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment, including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who did not attend the Urban League event.
Lisa Holder, a lawyer who fights for human rights and who was a member of the Reparations Task Force in the government, is reported to have said that the progression of the fine will take a long time.
A Los Angeles resident holds up a sign for reparations as the Reparations Task Force meets to hear public input on reparations at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on September 22, 2022.
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“You can’t legislate on 400 years of inequality and injustice. You have to create a body of legislation to change systems that have been disproportionately affecting black people for decades,” Holder told KQED on Jan. 19. “Now you have to put in many, many laws to change almost every program, whether you’re talking about housing programs that require financial equality. hiring sometimes in industries where Black people were not employed.”
