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Democratic gubernatorial candidates, from left, Tony Thurmond, California superintendent of public instruction; Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose; Ian Calderon, former majority leader of the California Assembly, and Xavier Becerra, former secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services, answer questions during a gubernatorial forum on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento.<\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n
jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Candidates in the crowded 2026 governor\u2019s race have been debating a wide range of issues facing California: homelessness, environmental concerns and the state\u2019s high cost of living.<\/p>\n
For one group of voters, there\u2019s a niche issue that\u2019s top of mind: Will their next boss support telework?<\/p>\n
Roughly 40% of California state workers are eligible to work remotely, and many have been doing so since 2020. In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state workers to begin working from government office two days a week. He attempted to increase that requirement to four days a week last year but delayed that deadline until July 2026 after negotiations with state workers\u2019 unions.<\/p>\n
For the thousands of state workers who are eligible to telework, the issue is an important one when determining who will earn their vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a worker, it\u2019s my priority,\u201d said Susan Olsen, who works for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She said much of her day is spent in virtual meetings with school districts, higher education institutions and other groups across the state.<\/p>\n
Given the other things going on, Olsen said that telework is not \u201cmy number-one priority as far as the things that I care about happening in the state of California.\u201d But the issue of how the next governor views telework is something that she and colleagues discuss frequently, Olsen said.<\/p>\n
Alongside many other state workers<\/a>, Olsen said she felt Newsom had not listened to his employees on the topic of telework. The governor has maintained that in-person work is necessary for state workers\u2019 collaboration and mentorship.<\/p>\n Candidates shared their perspective on telework<\/a> in August, but the race has changed quite a bit since then. With the field set, The Sacramento Bee asked the 10 candidates who filed paperwork for the primary gubernatorial ballot whether they supported Newsom\u2019s return-to-office order, or whether they would set a different policy.<\/p>\n Candidates\u2019 answers and past comments on the issue are listed in order of their standing according to a recent UC Berkeley poll<\/a>, which has the two Republican candidates leading the pack.<\/p>\n Steve Hilton (R)<\/p>\n Hilton, a former Fox News host and commentator, said the debate over whether state employees should be working remotely is \u201cthe wrong question.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a drastic reduction in the state government workforce,\u201d Hilton said. \u201cThat\u2019s far higher a priority than fiddling around about where people work.\u201d<\/p>\n Hilton has proposed cutting back on areas of state government that he sees as bloated though what he called Cal DOGE, a Golden State duplicate of Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency that attempted to cut federal spending.<\/p>\n On the issue of telework, Hilton said he hasn\u2019t heard enough to make up his mind.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are arguments on both sides, and as the chief executive, I wouldn\u2019t weigh in on this without having heard the arguments directly from the people involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chad Bianco (R)<\/p>\n Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff, has a clear stance: \u201cState workers should be back in the office. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n He previously said that first responders, including law enforcement, firefighters and front-line workers, have been working in person since the pandemic and those who primarily work from an office shouldn\u2019t be exempt from that requirement.<\/p>\n Despite roughly half of California state employees have been working remotely part-time, Bianco said it was not possible to serve the public while working from home.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time for all government workers to return to the office,\u201d Bianco wrote in a statement. \u201cYou can\u2019t serve the public from home.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Swalwell (D)<\/p>\n Swalwell\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but the U.S. representative has been a proponent of allowing federal lawmakers to do more of their work remotely.<\/p>\n In 2020, Swalwell introduced a resolution that would enable House members to participate in committee hearings without needing to be in the room and vote on suspension bills remotely.<\/p>\n \u201cModern technology belongs in Congress and my resolution would allow Members to not only spend more time with their constituents and their families, but would prove useful for a number of situations, including the public health crisis in which we currently find ourselves,\u201d Swalwell said in a news release<\/a> during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Katie Porter (D)<\/p>\n Porter is a former U.S. representative from Orange County. She said at an SEIU Local 100 forum that she respects the collective bargaining process.<\/p>\n Porter said at the forum she would continue the current telework policies out of respect for what unions had bargained for. Last year, unions and the Newsom administration agreed to delay the governor\u2019s return-to-office order in exchange for helping reduce the state\u2019s compensation costs.<\/p>\n Porter said a flexible approach would be best to represent the variety of jobs that workplaces offer.<\/p>\n Tom Steyer (D)<\/p>\n Steyer, a billionaire environmental activist and former presidential candidate, does not appear to have publicly commented on telework policies. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra (D)<\/p>\n Becerra, who served as the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California\u2019s attorney general, said telework is an important element of the 21st century workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat should drive state policy on Return to Office is the goal of ensuring the highest performance, productivity and resilience of our state workers,\u201d Becerra said in a statement. \u201cAnd we must strive to retain the talent and experience of the people who make our state government work, rather than allow them to be poached by other employers after they have acquired valuable skills, training and experience through public service.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he would honor all provisions in state workers\u2019 collective bargaining agreements, but he also noted it was important to take into consideration the interest of the communities that surround the workplaces of state employees.<\/p>\n Antonio Villaraigosa (D)<\/p>\n A former mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa expressed support for having state employees work in person as a way to ensure the government is accountable to the public.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornians are paying for their government, and they deserve one that is responsive, effective, and focused on delivering results,\u201d Villaraigosa said in a statement. \u201cIn many cases, that means people working together in person so agencies can collaborate, solve problems faster, and serve the public the way it should be served.\u201d<\/p>\n Villaraigosa said that in certain circumstances, telework can have a role in state government, \u201cbut it cannot come at the expense of performance or accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Mahan (D)<\/p>\n As the San Jose mayor, Mahan incorporated an in-person work requirement as part of his downtown economic revitalization plan. As governor, he said his priorities for state employees\u2019 work arrangements should focus on efficiency, workforce productivity and affordability.<\/p>\n \u201cMayor Mahan prefers an evidenced-based approach to telework decisions that reflects the unique and sometimes inter-related needs of individual departments and communities over a one size fits all approach,\u201d his campaign said in a statement.<\/p>\n Mahan\u2019s campaign noted that California\u2019s budget has grown significantly, yet state government hasn\u2019t delivered better outcomes. He said that workers are being priced out of housing near their jobs and commuters are struggling with high fuel costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe data suggests that some jobs are best and most efficiently performed in person, while others may deliver better fiscal and community outcomes by being done remotely or as hybrid arrangements,\u201d his campaign said.<\/p>\n Betty Yee (D)<\/p>\n A former California controller, Yee said she does not support Newsom\u2019s current return-to-office plan that will require state employees to work from government offices four days a week.<\/p>\n When she served as controller, Yee developed a practice that enabled her division chiefs to choose a telework policy that was most effective for their employees. Her approach was not a \u201cone size fits all policy,\u201d which enabled more remote work opportunities. Those conditions helped the controller\u2019s office, under her leadership, develop a payroll portal for all state employees that eliminated the use of timesheets.<\/p>\n \u201cThis culture of innovation provides more responsive service delivery to Californians and accountability,\u201d Yee\u2019s campaign said in a statement.<\/p>\n Tony Thurmond (D)<\/p>\n After the governor issued his return-to-office order last year, Thurmond said the Department of Education would follow the Newsom administration\u2019s lead and require workers in offices four days a week. As California\u2019s superintendent of public instruction, Thurmond and his department were not subject to Newsom\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n After significant pushback from his employees and SEIU Local 1000, which represents many of those workers, Thurmond decided to maintain the current policy, which allows employees to work remotely three days a week. In a statement, Thurmond said he was proud to work with the union on the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cTelework is very beneficial for both the workers who don\u2019t have to endure long commutes and for the State of California as a tool for staff recruitment and retention,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n Thurmond also noted that he was still considering supporting legislation<\/a> that would allow state departments to set their own telework policies.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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