Mayors from some of California’s largest cities came to Sacramento Wednesday to make what has become an annual plea: For Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to keep funding a state homelessness grant program that the local leaders say is vital to their communities.
“These investments are working,” Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, who leads a group of mayors from the state’s 13 largest cities, said during a news conference. “And California can either build on the progress that we’re making, or we can lose all those hard-fought gains.”
The Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program has provided billions of dollars to communities across the state in recent years to try and lessen what is one of California’s biggest challenges. For years, the number of people living outside has been stubbornly high, but local leaders say the reality would be even worse without the grant.
Currently, the state has $500 million more planned for the program. But the local leaders want the governor and Legislature to commit to providing at least $1 billion, a figure that the Newsom administration has set aside in the past.
And the mayors want a guarantee that $1 billion will be in future budgets every year.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty speaks on Wednesday about the progress the city had building shelters for the homeless, during a news conference with other mayors of California’s biggest cities to advocate for more money for a state homelessness program. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
“We need help, ongoing help,” said Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty. “It isn’t right for this to become a political football every year.”
The mayors were planning to meet with top legislative leaders and Newsom later in the day. The Governor’s Office did not publicly commit to the group’s request.
“Gov. Newsom has stood in these mayors’ shoes and has often said that no one in government works harder than our mayors,” spokesperson Tara Gallegos said in a statement. “No other administration has provided the financial and programmatic support as this one, and as we continue to deliver for our local partners we will continue to call for accountability and results. Local governments play a key role in shaping our state’s progress.”
Newsom’s budget proposes $500 million
Newsom’s draft budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which was released in January, said that the $500 million in planned money would be disbursed “contingent on enhanced accountability and performance requirements.”
The governor for years has expressed frustration about the grant program. In 2022, he temporarily withheld $1 billion for it after saying cities and counties weren’t being ambitious enough in their goals to reduce homelessness. He didn’t release the money until he met with many leaders in Sacramento and communities submitted revised targets.
The mayors warned that without increased funding, and a commitment to it every year, thousands of shelter beds would close and tens of thousands of people would be at risk of returning to homelessness. They told stories of how grant money helped house and support families with children in Irvine, a young man in San Diego and a formerly incarcerated man who was previously living on creek and river beds in North Sacramento.
“I believe that California leadership is right to demand accountability,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken. “We can account for every dollar spent, and we can put a face to every dollar spent.”
Aitken said she was begging, not asking, for the additional money.
Groups that represent California counties, cities, homeless advocates and affordable housing providers are also joining the mayors in asking for the increased funding.
Newsom has less than a year left in office, and Lock Dawson made another plea: The people running to replace him need to commit to providing ongoing money for the grant program.
One of the candidates is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who was at the news conference and pledged to provide $1 billion ongoing if he was elected.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a candidate for governor, speaks on Wednesday at the governor’s press room in Sacramento with other mayors of California’s biggest cities. He committed to providing consistent funding for a homeless program if elected. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
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Stephen Hobbs is an enterprise reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau. He has worked for newspapers in Colorado, Florida and South Carolina.