SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Xavier Becerra hasn\u2019t even been elected yet \u2014 officially, anyway \u2014 and I am already bored.<\/p>\n
The Democrat merely seemed to be going through the motions in a plodding gubernatorial campaign <\/a>he couldn\u2019t possibly lose.<\/p>\n That said, it isn\u2019t a governor\u2019s job to excite any journalist or to entertain the public.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK for a governor to be boring \u2014 Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian, for example \u2014 if they can produce results that improve the state and lives of its residents.<\/p>\n California needs a governor who gets stuff done. Boring is acceptable, even in this fast-paced polarized world. But a do-nothing governor who\u2019s just moseying along is intolerable.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had a showboat governor for nearly eight years. Gavin Newsom and Californians would have been better off if he\u2019d spent more time governing<\/a> hands-on and less chasing national media and the presidency.<\/a><\/p>\n We can\u2019t know yet what kind of governor Becerra will be \u2014 except rather boring, most likely. No Jerry Brown or Arnold Schwarzenegger.<\/p>\n Will this 68-year-old career politician with the yardlong resume<\/a> have the resolve and courage to stand up to special interests \u2014 labor as well as business, immigration rights activists and rich techies alike \u2014 and make timely decisions they won\u2019t like?<\/p>\n You’re reading the L.A. Times Politics newsletter <\/p>\n Expert columnists cover the insights, legislation, players and politics you need to know. <\/p>\n By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a>, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy<\/a> such as personalizing your experience and ads. <\/p>\n Decisions such as whether the state should continue rolling back Medi-Cal healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n Newsom and the Democrat-dominated Legislature began providing free Medi-Cal for all low-income Californians regardless of their immigration status. But reality quickly smacked them in the face. The state couldn\u2019t afford the generosity. So the governor and lawmakers began retreating.<\/a><\/p>\n Becerra, who will be California\u2019s first elected Latino governor, is the proud son of Mexican immigrants.<\/a> Will he make the prudent decision to chop more Medi-Cal benefits for undocumented noncitizens, especially in the wake of President Trump\u2019s huge cutbacks in federal healthcare funds?<\/p>\n The new governor will need to act fast on all things involving money. He must send his first state budget proposal to the Legislature by Jan. 10, six days after taking office. For practical reasons, he has to decide by mid-December.<\/p>\n He could kick the can down the road until the annual May budget revision, using the excuse of revenue uncertainty and needing more time for study. But that would be seen by many as a sign of indecisiveness and weakness. Not a good start.<\/p>\n During the campaign, Becerra talked vaguely about the lofty goal of universal healthcare coverage,<\/a> but never was specific about how he\u2019d achieve it.<\/p>\n He has long advocated \u201cMedicare for all.\u201d But that\u2019s not the same as government-run \u201csingle payer,\u201d the dream of Democratic progressives. Medicare for all is, well, just that. And Medicare is not single-payer because it allows for supplemental private insurance. The issue of universal coverage is horrendously complicated and the goal is massively expensive.<\/p>\n Another contentious budget decision Becerra must make soon is what to do about the sputtering bullet train.<\/a> Scrap it or keep throwing tax money at the failed project that\u2019s decades behind schedule and $100 billion over budget. No tracks have even been laid.<\/p>\n One immediate problem: High-speed rail\u2019s anticipated $1-billion annual funding source from the state\u2019s Cap-and-Invest program is drying up. That\u2019s because industrial polluters aren\u2019t buying permits to emit greenhouse gas like they were. It\u2019s a long story that means short revenue for rail construction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to build the bullet train, but not this bullet train,\u201d Becerra told me in April. \u201cIt\u2019s too expensive. Sit everybody down and come out with a position.\u201d<\/p>\n Lately, he has been promising to \u201cclean shop\u201d at the High-Speed Rail Authority<\/a> and \u201cget this done the right way. We\u2019re not gonna have this overspending.\u201d<\/p>\n OK, but based on his campaigning, Becerra still doesn\u2019t know \u201cthe right way.\u201d That\u2019s understandable. No one else seems to either. Take your time, Xavier, but not a lot \u2014 or you\u2019ll be seen as part of the problem, like Newsom is.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a long list of nagging state dilemmas we didn\u2019t hear specific solutions for during Becerra\u2019s sleepwalk campaign. He spoke mostly in generalities. Did he not know the fixes? Or was he too risk-averse to speak out? Probably both.<\/p>\n Becerra adhered to the old playbook taught to young political consultants in campaign management 101:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re ahead, hide. When you do emerge from under the bed, avoid risky provocation. It could cost you poll points and potentially the election.<\/p>\n Becerra did get out and jog round the track \u2014 never a sprint and always stepping cautiously.<\/p>\n He missed a golden opportunity.<\/p>\n Becerra had nothing to lose.<\/a> He was a Democrat running against a Trump-embraced Republican in a deep blue state angry at the GOP president. He could have created some excitement by making bold pronouncements about, for example, what he\u2019d do \u201cfirst thing on Day One.\u201d<\/p>\n He certainly should have participated in more than one general election debate, especially after initially declaring that he would. He performed well in his one debate \u2014 coming across as calm, likable and capable.<\/p>\n Becerra should have held more \u2014 and more meaty \u2014 news conferences with reporters. The few he engaged in were relatively brief and unenlightening, I\u2019m told by colleagues.<\/p>\n He missed a chance to build a solid statewide support base that could help when the postinaugural honeymoon quickly ends.<\/p>\n But that\u2018s not his natural style. And, anyway, when all the votes are counted, he\u2019ll be a landslide winner.<\/p>\n One smart move at the end: helping Democratic candidates in hot House races by campaigning with them.<\/p>\n Becerra could be just the governor California needs: an experienced pol knowledgeable on most issues \u2014 a longtime U.S. House member, state attorney general and U.S. Health secretary.<\/p>\n Importantly, he\u2019s not someone who craves national attention. He\u2019ll be focused on the job he was elected to.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll just need to be bolder, more decisive and move faster than what we saw during the campaign \u2014 while having the guts to tell allies \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n That wouldn\u2019t be boring. It could be exciting.<\/p>\n What else you should be reading<\/p>\n The must-read: Support dwindles for wealth tax, voter ID ballot measures, new poll shows<\/a> Until next week,
CA vs. Trump: Justice Dept. sent subpoenas to L.A. election officials. What that means and what happens next<\/a>
The L.A. Times Special: Voter guide to the 2026 California general election<\/a><\/p>\n
George Skelton<\/p>\n