Politics
Commentary: A cheat sheet for the California governor debate: Here’s what to watch for
Contenders in the race to be California’s next governor will meet on stage Tuesday night for the second of three planned debates before the June 2 primary.
Last week’s meet-up in San Francisco didn’t provide the fireworks or memorable moments the candidates, and many voters, were hoping for — but it did manage to remind us all that ballots will hit mailboxes in coming days and decisions must be made.
Ahead of the forum at Pomona College in Claremont, a trio of our Times columnists — Gustavo Arellano, Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria — weigh in with a cheat sheet on what to look for, what to expect and why it matters.
Chabria: I’ll start us off with the obvious — let’s hope Tuesday gives us at least one breakout candidate who comes with some fire and vision.
After last week’s debate, there was lots of social media posturing about who won and who trolled whom the best. But as one of the six people who actually watched, I can tell you it was mostly bland with no clear winner.
That’s in large part because many of the Democrats have only slivers of daylight between their policies, and ditto for the two Republicans.
So my hope is that at least a single candidate ups their game and comes to voters with not just attacks, but something that inspires, something that sets them apart. This far into the race, that hope is slim, but I’m keeping it alive.
What are your hopes and dreams — and maybe fears — going into this?
Barabak: I know I sound like a broken record. (Google it, kids.) Anita, you and I, in particular, have gone round and round on this one. But I don’t feel a particular need for inspiration from the guys and gal that are running for governor. If I want inspiration, I’ll go back and reread the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Or listen to a Grateful Dead show from May of ’77.
Give me someone who can work with the Legislature, and as difficult as it may be, President Trump, to get stuff done.
Pursue a “California First” agenda, to borrow a phrase. Put voters and their interests ahead of ego, careerism and personal ambition. Start by pledging, if elected, to serve a full four-year term and not run for president so long as they’re serving as governor.
Of course, that kind of promise can be broken. (See then-Gov. Pete Wilson, who made that vow when he sought reelection in 1994, then turned around and — unsuccessfully — sought the White House in 1995.)
At least we’d have them on the record.
Arellano: I’m all for this morass of democracy. A small part of me wants two Republicans to make it into the general election because the California Democratic Party deserves a meteor-like extinction event. No GOP statewide elected official since Schwarzenegger. Supermajority in Sacramento for most of a decade.
And what do they have to show for their one-party rule? This.
But then I hear Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton mewl, and I’m suddenly hoping alongside Anita that someone vanquishes their foes with an unassailable vision. Problem is, I think all the candidates have reached their ceiling. The only one who has any chance of showing us something new is Xavier Becerra, who needs to drop his Dudley Do-Right shtick for a second and channel the inner cholo we all know is in him.
Instead, he was at a fundraiser in Fullerton over the weekend with professional Latinos — you should’ve been kicking it with my cousins in Anaheim who were watching their Dodgers slaughter the Cubs, loco, because they’re the ones who’ll make or break you.
Chabria: How the first potential Latino governor is failing to excite Latino voters is exactly what I’m talking about. If you don’t give voters something to be excited about, they don’t vote, and our fragile democracy needs every voter it can get.
But if we are forced to vote on nuance, let’s do it informed. Here are some questions I hope these candidates have to answer:
For San José Mayor Matt Mahan, funded in the mega-millions by tech bros, it’s not enough to promise to regulate artificial intelligence, or billionaire influence, for that matter. Tell us what those regulations look like and tell us how you reconcile your own politics with those of big donors such as Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir, who has called Gen Z the “loser generation.”
For billionaire investor Tom Steyer, who has said he will reform Proposition 13 (which limits property taxes) for corporate land owners: What assurances do homeowners have that they won’t be next?
For former Rep. Katie Porter, polling third among Democrats, the clock is ticking — is there a point where you will drop out and endorse a fellow candidate if you can’t break through? Same-ies for state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who are included in this debate but polling in the single digits.
And I agree with you, Gustavo, Becerra is coming across as resolutely bland, but to Mark’s point, he’s using that to position himself as drama-free and experienced. So in an era when fraud and abuse are the words of the day, how does Becerra explain not catching fraud in his own office?
Mark and Gustavo, what are the topics you hope candidates will be grilled on?
Arellano: Slight correction, Anita — California already had a Latino governor: Romualdo Pacheco, the lieutenant governor who replaced Newton Booth in 1875 when the latter became a U.S. senator. Pacheco — a Latino Republican! — served all of 10 months before becoming a Congress member.
See, Californians? Political musical chairs is as much a part of our state as free-spending oligarchs — but enough about Steyer.
Issues? Immigration, of course. I want each one to address the state’s undocumented immigrants for 90 seconds in whatever matter they choose. Water: Believe in climate change or not, but our supply is shrinking faster than the gubernatorial chances of Thurmond. And since I believe that the more random the question, the more you learn about who a candidate truly is: What’s the best song about California, and why? Anyone who says “California Girls” or “California Gurls” deserves disqualification, even if both songs rock.
Barabak: Not an issue, per se. What I’d like to see is a bit of backbone.
The next governor is going to have to make some tough decisions, especially around spending priorities and/or cuts to the state budget. Inevitably, the next governor is going to make some people unhappy. And I’m not talking about just those members of the opposite party, or folks who didn’t vote for them.
So I’d like each of them to name an issue where, for the good of the state, they’re willing to take on their friends and allies, knowing they’ll be displeased. If you’re a Democrat, name something you would do that would, say, tick off organized labor. And for Republicans Bianco and Hilton, what’s an area where you’re willing to say to Trump, “Sir” — the president imagines everyone bowing and calling him sir — “you’re dead wrong about this and California needs to go its own way, whether you like it or not.”
Arellano: Good luck seeing any candidate buck their masters. I think we need to lower our expectations way, way, well, lower. So a simple question to conclude: Who needs to do the most tonight besides Mahan’s beard? I think it’s my fellow Orange Countian, Katie Porter. She’s now to the right of Steyer and left of Becerra, which means she needs to peel off supporters from both of them and grab undecideds if she wants to advance. Not sure how she can pull that off — but if anyone can bring necessary fire, it’s her.
Chabria: Porter definitely has a lot on the line.
One standout moment for her, Steyer or Becerra — good or bad — could tilt this very-much-undecided race — not so much because people will be watching, but because it will fuel the social media and advertising sure to follow. These next two debates are high-stakes, not just to avoid a Biden performance, but to do something, anything, that fires up momentum.
Politics ain’t beanbag, as the old saying goes, and it’s time to bring the heat. So in the spirit of Gustavo’s song request, I’ll leave it with these lyrics from the Rivieras (or the Ramones, if you prefer): We’re out there having fun, in the warm California sun.
Barabak: Not to be the pooper at the party but I think we shouldn’t overstate the import of tonight’s debate. For one thing, as Anita suggested, the audience will be exceedingly small — minuscule, even, relative to the state’s 23 million registered voters.
We know, from experience, that most folks will take away what they do based not on the debate itself but rather the coverage of it and whatever soundbites, memes, chatter and advertising it produces — and that’s only to the extent people are paying attention.
So, yes, what’s said and done in Pomona, will matter some. But we’re still five weeks away from election day, and I suspect many folks will be waiting at least another week or three to start focusing on the race and finally make up their minds.
I’ll end with something that Jerry Garcia sang: All good things in all good time.
Politics
Social media erupts over Mamdani’s silence after Brooklyn coffee shop bans Jewish congressman
Socialists push progressive agenda in NYC primaries
Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas reports on the New York City primary, highlighting the influence of socialists. Candidates backed by Zohran Mamdani advocate for abolishing ICE and all deportations, even for convicted murderers.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing swift backlash after declining to condemn a local coffee chain that told a Jewish congressman with pro-Israel views that he was not welcome.
Mamdani has remained silent after the Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based Poetica coffee shop posted — and later deleted — a message on social media telling Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., not to return after he stopped by the shop with his daughter Monday. The mayor declined to comment through a spokesman when contacted by The New York Times on Monday.
“Shameful,” Fox News Radio analyst Josh Kraushaar wrote on social media in response to a section of The Times story detailing that Mamdani declined to comment.
“Well folks, we’ve reached the stage of antisemitism where Jews are being publicly barred from businesses,” the CEO and co-founder of the antisemitism-focused nonprofit Boundless Israel said on X. “A coffee shop in Mamdani’s New York City told Jewish Congressman Dan Goldman he wasn’t welcome in their store.”
Zohran Mamdani announces new members of his team at the Brooklyn Public Library Greenpoint Branch in Brooklyn on Dec. 17, 2025. (Shawn Inglima/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
MAMDANI SKIPS ISRAEL DAY PARADE DESPITE JOINING OTHER CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS
“The café is implementing Mamdani’s wishes,” journalist Melissa Braunstein said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
In a since-deleted social media post, Poetica Coffee said it would have declined to serve Goldman had staff recognized him in the store. Goldman has notably declined to characterize Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide and has received financial contributions from the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, drawing criticism from some on the progressive left.
“Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?” the post said.
“See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” the post continued. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
The coffee chain has since deleted its Instagram page amid social media backlash.
Mamdani’s silence comes as he is working to unseat Goldman, despite the incumbent lawmaker being a leading Trump critic and embracing an array of leftist legislative proposals. Goldman notably did not endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, citing concerns about how his administration would approach Jewish New Yorkers.
A Brooklyn, N.Y., coffee shop refunded a purchase made by Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., over the weekend over his support for Israel, saying the company doesn’t serve “genocide enablers.” (Getty Images; Google Maps)
The mayor publicly backed former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander to represent Goldman’s district, which spans Lower Manhattan and deep-blue, wealthy pockets of Brooklyn.
Democratic voters will decide whether to hand Goldman a third House term during the Empire State’s primary elections on Tuesday.
NY DEM WOULDN’T BACK MAMDANI FOR MAYOR — NOW MAMDANI IS BACKING HIS CHALLENGER
Since both men largely hold the same policy stances, the bruising primary battle has revolved around support for Israel — with Lander vowing to elevate the Palestinian cause if elected to the House.
Goldman has notably supported military aid to Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and distanced himself from inflammatory rhetoric used by some on the left to criticize Israel.
Goldman offered a tempered response after the coffee chain effectively banned him from their storefronts.
“I’m sorry to see this post,” he said. “The barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me—allowing her to use the bathroom even though we had not purchased anything. I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness. I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks in support of Brad Lander, Democratic candidate for Congress in New York’s 10th Congressional District, in Carroll Park in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn on June 14, 2026. (Shuran Huang/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said Tuesday her office has opened an investigation into the matter.
“Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin,” Dhillon wrote. “These actions are not only reprehensible, they’re potentially illegal.”
Attorneys general in seventeen states are suing California over its landmark single-use plastic law, which went into effect on June 1.
The lawsuit comes after a coalition of environmental groups sued the state over the same law this month, arguing the new final regulations create loopholes so large they gut the law.
The states are led by Nebraska Atty. Gen. Mike Hilgers, and the plaintiffs include the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors. The coalition is asking the court to block enforcement of the law immediately.
“Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country,” said Hilgers in a news release. “If California goes unchecked, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic necessities.”
The other states in the coalition are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Eastern California in Sacramento on Monday.
State Senate Bill 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022. It was considered landmark legislation because it requires plastic and packaging companies to use less single-use plastic and ensure by 2032 that all food packaging is either recyclable or compostable.
Accumulating plastic waste is overwhelming waterways and oceans, sickening marine life and threatening human health.
The intent was not only to reduce single=use plastic, but also to put the onus and cost of dealing with it on packaging producers and manufacturers, not consumers and local governments. It was supposed to incentivize companies to consider the fate of their products and spur innovation in material redesign.
Plastic bottles of dishwashing liquid at Compton’s Market in Sacramento on June 17, 2022.
(Rich Pedroncelli/AP)
According to one state analysis, 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic and 171.4 billion single-use plastic components were sold, offered for sale or distributed during 2023 in California.
The single-use plastic law is what is known as a producer responsibility law. It emphasizes the idea of a “circular economy” in which the producer of a material must consider its fate — making sure it can be reused or recycled, or at least reduced.
In California, all producers of single-use packaging and plastic foodware (plates, knives, spoons, etc.) join a private entity known as a producer responsibility organization. Only one such organization has been approved in California: the Circular Action Alliance.
The states and the National Assn. of Wholesaler-Distributors say the plastic law discriminates against businesses selling into the state in two ways: by making them change or alter their plastic packaging and by conferring government authority upon the alliance, enabling a private entity to regulate and impose taxes and fees on businesses selling into California.
“California is not entitled to pronounce nationwide policies,” Eric Hoplin, president and chief executive of the wholesalers group, said in a statement. “Because the Act extends California’s regulatory reach far beyond its borders and brings within its sweep conduct wholly unconnected to California, the Act violates principles of federalism, the horizontal separation of powers, and due process.”
In addition, the attorneys general say the law suppresses their free speech by compelling companies to join and fund the speech of an organization with which they may disagree.
Hoplin and his organization filed a similar suit in Oregon in February. Oregon has a comparable single-use plastic law. A federal judge blocked enforcement of that law. A trial begins on July 13.
Heidi Sanborn, executive director and CEO of the National Stewardship Action Council, which advocates for the producer responsibility laws and a more circular economy, said in May that both SB 54 and the Oregon law are public policies that were “passed by legislatures and implemented with government oversight.”
She said the laws create clear and consistent rules so all producers contribute fairly to the cost of recycling and waste management.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are also unhappy.
On June 2, Oceana, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Californians Against Waste Foundation filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court.
They allege that the final regulations for the law, drafted and approved by the state’s waste agency, include exclusions for large categories of plastic packaging that companies could use indefinitely. In addition, they say, the regulations also allow for recycling technologies that pollute, such as chemical recycling, which the law as originally drafted forbids.
“While SB 54 remains a monumental achievement as the nation’s strongest single-use plastic reduction law, some of the final regulations implementing the statute undermine the law’s ambitions,” Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s senior campaign director, said in a statement.
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) says it has opened an investigation into a New York City coffee shop after it blasted Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., in a social media post, saying it should not have served him, and he should never come back due to his support of Israel.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said the DOJ has opened an investigation into the Poetica Coffee Shop in Brooklyn.
Dhillon says the department is aware of the “denial of service taunts” directed at Goldman and says federal law prohibits public accommodations, including coffee shops, from discriminating against patrons based on race, religion, or national origin. Dhillon says the alleged denial of service could violate federal anti-discrimination law and says enforcement action is possible.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Poetica Coffee said it issued a refund to Goldman after learning that he had stopped by the location with his young daughter. The shop added that it would have simply turned Goldman away if staff had recognized him at the time.
SMOOTHIE KING FIRES EMPLOYEES WHO REFUSED TO SERVE CUSTOMERS OVER TRUMP SWEATSHIRT
Rep. Dan Goldman, D, N.Y., was criticized by Poetica, a left-leaning coffee shop in Brooklyn, which called scolded him over his support for Israel. (Dan Goldman)
“Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?” the post stated, referring to Goldman’s support for Israel and accusations that the Jewish state has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
“See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” the post continued. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
A Brooklyn, N.Y., coffee shop refunded a purchase made by Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., over the weekend over his support for Israel, saying the company doesn’t serve “genocide enablers.” (Getty Images; Google Maps)
In a statement on social media, Goldman said he was disappointed by the shop’s remarks.
“I’m sorry to see this post,” he said. “The barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me—allowing her to use the bathroom even though we had not purchased anything. I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness. I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved.”
In response, the shop said it was the barista’s idea to refund Goldman’s purchase. The poster added that they will be voting against Goldman, who faces a Democratic primary challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander.
DEMOCRATIC REP FEARS PARTY TURNING ANTISEMITIC PROTESTERS INTO ‘MARTYRS’ IN BATTLE AGAINST TRUMP DEPORTATIONS
Fox News Digital has reached out to Goldman and the coffee shop, as well as the offices of New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
“No comment. We stand against genocide,” a staffer told the New York Post.
The shop’s social media post was quickly criticized online.
Mark Treyger, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said the incident warrants a review under city and state human rights laws.
MAMDANI IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER FIRST VETO DERAILS BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM: ‘DISAPPOINTED’
Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn, N.Y., criticized Rep. Dan Goldman, N.Y., over his support for Israel. (Dan Goldman)
“Turning a cup of coffee into a Jewish identity litmus test is an affront to the law, our values, and every New Yorker who rejects discrimination,” he wrote on X. “If an identifiable Jewish customer walks into a coffee shop wearing a kippah or Magen David, are they expected to first disclose their views on Middle East policy before being served?”
The incident appears to contradict the opening statement on Poetica Coffee’s website by its owner, Parviz Mukhamadkulov, an Uzbek immigrant who opened his first location in 2020.
“In practice, it looks like a café where the door doesn’t close on anyone, where tea gets poured before anyone asks who you are,” the website states. “The guest is sacred because the act of welcoming is how a community keeps itself intact.”
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., stands outside the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital.)
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The shop also claims on its site that “whoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.”
“Not as a customer. Not as a transaction. As someone who arrived and deserves to be welcomed,” the site reads.
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