SACRAMENTO — Xavier Becerra is keeping people guessing.
The presumptive next leader of California traced a circuitous path through the state's most chaotic governor race in a generation. He was not the first or second or even third or fourth choice of most Democratic kingmakers, prevailing over a fractured field after better-positioned candidates either passed on running (Kamala Harris, Alex Padilla) or imploded (Eric Swalwell). Becerra effectively punched his ticket to lead America's largest state — a progressive bastion, a Democratic bellwether and a national launching pad — by winning 28 percent of primary voters.
Now, as Sacramento prepares for Becerra's all but inevitable ascension, the elected officials, lobbyists, and corporate and labor leaders who shape policy in one of the nation's most consequential capitals are grappling with a contradiction: Despite Becerra's decades in public service, no one seems to be quite sure what he'll do with the biggest job of his career. And the ambiguity seems to be by design.
"I can make some really big promises. But that doesn't get us anywhere — it may get us elected, but I would prefer not to run on inflated promises that I can't deliver on," Becerra told POLITICO this week, subsequently telling reporters his caution was a product of hard-learned experience, like his time helping to lead the White House's response to the Covid-19 pandemic: "When I was dealing with Covid, I could not say 'I'm going to get you all the ventilators you need,' because I didn't want people to say — 'you promised them, (and) because you didn't bring them, these people died."
He remains something of a cipher, even to some of California's most attentive political observers, despite having served at virtually every level of government. He rose from the state legislature to Congress to statewide office to a cabinet position in President Joe Biden's administration leading the Health and Human Services Agency.
#democratic #covid
The presumptive next leader of California traced a circuitous path through the state's most chaotic governor race in a generation. He was not the first or second or even third or fourth choice of most Democratic kingmakers, prevailing over a fractured field after better-positioned candidates either passed on running (Kamala Harris, Alex Padilla) or imploded (Eric Swalwell). Becerra effectively punched his ticket to lead America's largest state — a progressive bastion, a Democratic bellwether and a national launching pad — by winning 28 percent of primary voters.
Now, as Sacramento prepares for Becerra's all but inevitable ascension, the elected officials, lobbyists, and corporate and labor leaders who shape policy in one of the nation's most consequential capitals are grappling with a contradiction: Despite Becerra's decades in public service, no one seems to be quite sure what he'll do with the biggest job of his career. And the ambiguity seems to be by design.
"I can make some really big promises. But that doesn't get us anywhere — it may get us elected, but I would prefer not to run on inflated promises that I can't deliver on," Becerra told POLITICO this week, subsequently telling reporters his caution was a product of hard-learned experience, like his time helping to lead the White House's response to the Covid-19 pandemic: "When I was dealing with Covid, I could not say 'I'm going to get you all the ventilators you need,' because I didn't want people to say — 'you promised them, (and) because you didn't bring them, these people died."
He remains something of a cipher, even to some of California's most attentive political observers, despite having served at virtually every level of government. He rose from the state legislature to Congress to statewide office to a cabinet position in President Joe Biden's administration leading the Health and Human Services Agency.
#democratic #covid
2 months ago
