On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) held a briefing to discuss new statewide career advancement programs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning. Welcome to Modesto Junior College. For 104 years, MJC has served the educational
00:10needs of our community. Generations of our residents have come through our doors and
00:16they've emerged with certificates and with degrees to prepare themselves and their families
00:20for their futures. We're particularly proud of our many career education programs, including
00:25child development, computer science, all aspects of agriculture, a full sequence of
00:31health care career options from CNA through a bachelor's degree pathway with our partner
00:36agency, the Stan State. We have welding programs, automotive, including electrical vehicles.
00:43We have robotics, advanced manufacturing, administration of justice, and many more.
00:47Today we stand in the shadow of the Regional Fire Training Center, a vital training site
00:52for emergency service workers in fire technology and emergency medical services. We're enormously
00:59grateful for the support of Governor Newsom and the California Legislature in providing
01:03essential resources to support our career education programs. With those funds, we've
01:09been able to modernize and update our training programs to support our state and local economies
01:14into the future. New opportunities, including credit for prior learning, have allowed experienced
01:20experts in fields such as fire technology, industrial electronics, and health care to
01:26receive college credit for their learning experiences in the military and through industrial
01:31and other certifications. Coupled with general education courses offered by NJC's fantastic
01:38faculty members, these folks have been able to earn associate degrees and even baccalaureate
01:43degrees to advance their careers, including significant increases in wages and promotional
01:48opportunities. We stand ready to implement the Governor's Master Plan for Career Education
01:53to increase career options throughout our region. Thank you for joining us today.
01:58All right, I'd like to introduce our student, Mason Manley.
02:03Good morning, everybody. My name's Mason Manley. I'm 21 years old. I'm a student here at NJC.
02:15I also volunteer at a volunteer fire agency down the road, Burbank Paradise Fire District.
02:20I just wanted to start by saying that this program has been such a great opportunity
02:25for me to expand my learning and expand my knowledge. We have a great cadre where they
02:32really take care of us, and as you guys can see, top-of-the-line equipment, top-of-the-line
02:36training facilities. They really care about the students here. People from my own agency
02:42have also gone through this academy, and they have nothing but great things to say
02:46about our very diverse cadre. People five years plus removed, instructors are still
02:52reaching out and seeing if they have a job and seeing what they can do to help out their
02:57previous students. It just makes me proud to be a part of that program. I'm also proud
03:03to say that we have a very diverse cadre from a lot of different agencies, so we can learn
03:08the skills and different ways to do things from different styles of departments, so we
03:14can get a very good idea of what we're going into. Also, another thing I'd like to add
03:22is previous stories about people maybe having a career change and coming into this academy
03:28late and the instructors being nothing but open arms and accepting people. They're looking
03:36forward to expanding the fire service and passing it down to that next generation. Now
03:42I'll be introducing McKenna Salazar.
03:46Hi, good morning. My name is McKenna Salazar. I'm the executive director of the We Will
03:54Workforce and Education K-16 Collaborative in the northern San Joaquin region. We're
03:59so very grateful for Governor Newsom and all other staff that are here today to support
04:03this work and allow us the opportunity to share our story. The We Will Workforce and
04:07Education Collaborative is a tri-county initiative spanning from Merced, Stanislaus, and San
04:12Joaquin counties. We began with a bold vision to create seamless, equitable education to
04:18career pathways for students across the northern San Joaquin region. Launched in 2022 through
04:24California's K-16 Collaborative grant program, We Will united K-20 education leaders, workforce
04:31partners, and industry stakeholders around a shared goal to break down silos, align systems,
04:37and better prepare students for high-demand careers. This cross-sector alliance includes
04:42K-12 schools, community colleges, university, and workforce boards and industry partners
04:47united by a shared commitment to career and regional workforce development and expansion.
04:53More than a partnership, We Will became a movement grounded in equity, access, and regional
04:58collaboration. The name reflects the spirit. We will. We will act together to transform
05:05outcomes for students, especially those under-resourced. Through cross-sector work groups, regional
05:10data sharing, and co-design pathways, the collaborative has accelerated dual enrollment,
05:15streamlined transfer pathways, and built stronger bridges between education and employment.
05:21Every initiative has centered the student experience, ensuring supports are not just
05:24available but accessible and meaningful. We Will is not just a collaborative, it's
05:30a movement. Together across institutions and industries, we are ensuring that every student
05:35in the northern San Joaquin Valley has access to high-quality, equitable, and career-connected
05:40learning, helping them to fill the regional talent pipeline and create seamless transition
05:45opportunities for students. We Will has grown into a model of innovation and collective
05:50impact, proof of what's possible when systems align and a community commits to doing better
05:56by its students and its residents. I'd like to take the opportunity now to introduce the
06:01mayor of the city of Modesto, Ms. Sue Zwollin.
06:10Good morning. We are here in Modesto, California today to highlight the significance of career
06:15and technical education. As a registered nurse serving 42 years in the emergency room
06:22and serving 8 years on the Modesto City Schools Board of Education, I know from personal experience
06:29that specialized educational programs provide students with hands-on training and skills
06:37necessary to fill in-demand jobs in industries such as manufacturing, health care, and business.
06:45Health care is especially important to Modesto, our region, and our state. As we work diligently
06:52towards enhancing public safety and emergency services, we need passionate and focused professionals
07:00that show up every day to make a difference in people's lives. We need people with the
07:06skills to ease someone's pain, to give relief, and show compassion during what feels like
07:13the worst moments in their lives. I have great comfort in knowing the students who succeed
07:20from career and technical educational opportunities are more than just a source of care, but a
07:26foundation for a thriving economy. One of the best ways to build for our future is to
07:32collaborate with our governor, giving students a career path, making education relevant and
07:41innovative, and supporting the needs of our communities. Today, we stand together, ready
07:48to empower and support the students who choose career and technical education paths, where
07:54a community for one becomes a community for all. Thank you so much, and now I would like
08:01to introduce our California State Assemblyman and Chair of our Education Committee, Al Mertucci.
08:15Thank you very much, Mayor, and good morning, everyone. My name is Al Mertucci, and I chair
08:20the Assembly Education Committee, and I'm so proud to be here to join the governor, as well as all of
08:27our career and technical education providers here in Modesto and throughout the region.
08:34You know, there aren't a lot of issues that Democrats and Republicans really come together
08:41to feel passionate about, but career and technical education is definitely one of them. And,
08:46you know, the last time I was with the governor, we were in Shasta, at the Shasta Community
08:51College, and today we are at the Modesto Junior College. And I really commend the governor
08:57for focusing, elevating the importance of career and technical education, because we
09:02know that these programs work, they're investing in our students, they're investing in our
09:08kids, and the research clearly shows the outcome, the success of career and technical education
09:17programs in increasing attendance rates, increasing graduation rates, and most importantly,
09:23teaching them the real-life, real-world job skills that directly translate into addressing
09:30the workforce needs throughout the state of California. And so, this initiative, the Master Plan
09:37for Career Education, is really elevating the importance, the priority for career and technical
09:43education to invest in all parts of the state of California, for all Californians, and I'm
09:50so happy to join everyone here for the unveiling, for the presentation of the Master Plan for
09:56Career Education. And to present this Master Plan is our Labor and Workforce Secretary, Stuart Knox.
10:05Good morning. This is quite an example of a lot of work that's been put in, mostly
10:15from the regions, and I think this is mostly about the students that are behind us today,
10:20standing behind you. This is about making education easier access points. Adults that
10:26have not went through an education, formal education, or career training program, it's
10:30about access points. It's about how the state can ease the pain of the regions. We've listened
10:34to all 13 regions within the state of California, and it's also connecting our new Jobs First
10:39Plan. So, these two mirror each other in terms of our outcomes. What our goal is, is to make
10:44it easier for these students to get good, high-paying jobs, and that's what this plan
10:48represents. With that, I'd like to give this to our governor and introduce our governor.
10:54There it is. All right. Thank you, Stuart. So this, first of all, I want to just recognize
11:03and thank everybody that we had an opportunity to meet with over the last hour. We had a
11:06roundtable discussion about all their hard work, not only here in the region, but throughout
11:11the state of California. But I just want to thank all of you and those that are not here,
11:16those that participated in this process that began in August of 2023. I had the privilege
11:22of signing an executive order, laying out a vision, and making the case that we need
11:27to reimagine our workforce and economic development strategies in this state. We need to take
11:32that same kind of intentionality that was brought to bear when we developed the state's
11:39first master plan for higher education in the 1960s, where the leaders of the state
11:45in the 1960s recognized the world was radically changing, and the need to focus on degree
11:51attainment became more and more critical. A country at the time where just 8% of people
11:56had a four-year college degree, but there was a recognition of the world we were about
12:02to live in, and the recognition of the importance and imperative of investing in the future.
12:07Because if you don't invest in the future, you're not going to do very well there. That
12:10same kind of intentionality we hope to bring to this effort, recognizing that things are
12:16once again changing dramatically, as we're moving mobile, local, social, cloud, crowd,
12:21as things are radically reorganizing, as we start to reconcile the fact that no one cares
12:27how much you know, because chatDBT knows more. And that requires a different level of sophistication
12:35and insight in terms of how we navigate not just jobs of the future, but career opportunities
12:41in the future. And so people came together, Stuart and the team, at our workforce development
12:47agencies, along with Dede Meyers and our economic agency, and worked with over 840 people over
12:55the process of the last 18 months to develop this new master plan for career education.
13:01We also incorporated, McKenna and others reflected, and braided and blended three other initiatives
13:10together. I've been out with many of you over the course of the last number of months
13:16all across the state of California. Chair Marsucci was generous enough with his time
13:22to go up to Northern California, to Shasta, where we're focusing on our Jobs First plan.
13:26The fact that we've organized through 13 regional collaboratives, an unprecedented investment
13:32in identifying key areas, attributes, areas of aspiration, areas where we have to strengthen
13:40our resolve and focus as it relates to the issues of economic and workforce development.
13:44And we recognize that California, a state that's larger than 20 one-state populations
13:49combined, is not a single economy. It's the intersection of many local and regional economies.
13:56So we laid out an economic vision that's predicated bottom-up, not top-down, on 13 economic strategies.
14:05And we organized that over the course of a number of months and just announced that plan
14:10just a few weeks ago in Los Angeles. And this plan is a plan that was working in parallel
14:17with that, as well as the one that McKenna was referencing, We Will, which I like the
14:23intentionality there, We Will, our K-16 collaborative, which was forced function
14:30focused on getting K-12 education systems and systems of higher learning to begin to
14:36collaborate more aggressively on the workforce side and to connect with the business community.
14:41So those are the three-legged stools. Jobs First, the K-16 collaborative, and now the Career
14:47Master Plan. And the whole idea is we want you to see yourself in this plan.
14:52We don't want to feel excluded. We don't want to feel like we're talking down to you or talking
14:56past you. This is not about the fact your life is over if you don't have a fancy four-year degree.
15:02Quite the contrary, that you can thrive, not just survive in this new economy. And I think what
15:10is so remarkable about this plan, it also recognizes all those skills that you already have
15:17and bringing to bear those skills so that you also can partner with institutions of higher learning
15:24to take those skills and use those skills to get a degree if you want to upskill. And this notion of
15:32prior learning becomes important. I mean, imagine you spend years and years in the military. You have
15:37all that basic training, all that technical training, and then you got to go to a community
15:41college to get a degree or a four-year university, and you're starting to take those same courses
15:47that you've mastered over the course of your career in the military. And we're saying, wait a
15:52second, you've got those baseline courses. If you want a degree that is proximate to the lived
15:59experience you have, we want to provide credit for that real-life experience. So the biggest
16:07beneficiaries of degrees for prior learning or prior learning experience, for example, will be
16:12our veterans. And we've identified in this plan a goal of 30,000 veterans that we want to seek to
16:17support in these efforts, over 250,000 more broadly, EMTs that want to get a credential, that want to
16:24get a pay raise because they got a degree, are able to take that prior learning and incorporate it
16:34into the framework of this new strategy that we're advancing. We're also trying to advance a
16:39framework around taking the idea of an academic transcript and having a career transcript,
16:47both and. And we're calling it a career passport. And we're asking the legislature,
16:52Chairman Surgey and others, for $50 million to advance that effort. It's exciting.
16:59I think it's enlivening, this notion of an e-transcript connected not just to academic
17:04achievement, but to skills mastery. Taking that experience you had, not just as an EMT, but
17:12that experience you may have had in the real estate industry and incorporating it and having
17:17the ability to get units and credit. Now you're moving more quickly to advancing your credentialing
17:24and your degree attainment and providing those pathways and opportunities as well.
17:30The passport also has a mindset, and that is once you enter into high school, we want you to have
17:36conversations along these lines. We want you to sort of have this notion that there's opportunities
17:42and we don't want to, it's not top down, we want to allow you to explore. So this notion of dual
17:47enrollment, the opportunity, look at apprenticeship opportunities, opportunities to start to develop
17:54an understanding of opportunities, again, beyond just your high school experience. And so all of
18:01these things are incorporated into this plan. There's six key areas. I won't go into all the
18:06areas of detail except to say that this is a detailed strategy. It's a detailed plan. It's a
18:13vision for the future. It's anchored on all the hard work and local effort and ingenuity
18:20over the course of the last many years. And so thank you all again for all of the effort and the hard
18:27work. I want to thank the legislature for helping support this effort. K-16 collaborative was
18:34backed up with $250 million in 2021. Our efforts that were advanced in the executive order on this
18:42program also had component parts in terms of strengthening state partnerships and regional
18:48partnerships. We're asking for some additional support in this year's budget. The Jobs First
18:54Plan has provided unprecedented grants for demonstration projects and ongoing investments
19:00to make real these visions. And that, I think, in closing, is what really distinguishes this.
19:07These are not plans that collect dust. In the process of developing these plans,
19:12we've demonstrated support, we've demonstrated commitment, and we've funded efforts and pilots
19:19in real time so people feel like their work is being valued and made visible. And so that's
19:26the spirit that defines this. And if I'm not coming across enthusiastic, I'm not doing justice.
19:33This has been a point of pride. This is long overdue. And final words, we're practicing what
19:40we preach. And I'll give you one specific proof point. And for all of you out there as well,
19:46behind the cameras, we looked in California at all of our requirements to get a state job.
19:54And we have already eliminated college degree requirements for over 30,000 jobs and now are
20:02looking to double that in the next calendar year. So we're trying to create real opportunities.
20:10We're not denying the importance of higher education, a four-year degree, quite the contrary.
20:16That's what this prior learning framework is about. But we're also not trying to turn our back
20:23on people that just don't see that in their future, but that want to live their lives again out loud
20:29and thrive in this economy. So we're grateful you all took the time to be here. And of course,
20:35we're here to answer any questions, but over there, not at the mic. Thank you all very much.
20:43Thank you guys. Come back. If you guys have any specific questions, stand back here.
20:49Come on. I know you don't have to be associated with me. Anyway, thank you for all coming out.
20:55And as I say, just a point of personal privilege, I want to thank Ben Chita, who was on my staff,
21:03helped inspire this years and years ago. You don't have to write that down. If you did,
21:06that's nice of you. But Ben was critical in helping pull this together and most importantly,
21:12pull all the component parts of this together. There's the state collaboration, which in and
21:18of itself was wrestling with different silos and different agencies and rules and regulations,
21:25civil service, breaking that down, then focusing on the regional components,
21:29but connecting the community college, the K through 12 community college and the higher ed
21:34systems with all our workforce boards, I think 45 of them all across the state.
21:39I'm prone to hyperbole obviously when it comes to moments like this, but I don't want to
21:46understate the significance of this effort in terms of the work that was done and how I think
21:52it really is a compelling vision for the future, where I think more and more people will feel
21:56included. And I think that's critical in this state. 37% of the state have four-year degrees,
22:03which means the vast majority of people do not. And I think sometimes when we talk about the future,
22:10we talk as if the future is going to be bleak or darker if you don't have a degree,
22:14and that's not the case. As important as a degree attainment is, and we want to make that
22:20more compelling option. We want to continue to make it more affordable. We have work to do
22:24on the affordability side, but we also want to make a case anew for career opportunities
22:31and career paths, again, not just jobs. With that, happy to take any questions.
22:35Governor, a couple of questions about this proposal. Since you rolled it out at the end
22:39of last year, there were some key components like the digital passport or coordinating body
22:44that you proposed that were met with some criticism from like the LAO and some legislators
22:49whose cooperation you would need to get this done. So have you been working with them to
22:55work through those, you know, hesitations or doubts about this approach?
23:00Yeah, I'm not familiar of any of the critiques. We haven't chosen the tech platform as it relates
23:07to the career passport. We've learned a lot of lessons. I mentioned Alabama, or maybe I didn't
23:12mention to you, but I mentioned the roundtable we have. Alabama has a component of a career
23:17passport that we've learned from. Indiana has as well. So we're incorporating some lessons learned,
23:24some understanding as it relates to those approaches. They'll be part of the conversation
23:27we have with Chair Maricucci in the upcoming session. There's $50 million that's component
23:34apart, and so we'll be dialoguing through that process. As it relates to other independent
23:41analyses, we continue to maintain, as we roll something out, an open mind, an iterative mindset,
23:49and look forward, of course, to work with all stakeholders, but most importantly, as it relates
23:54to the specific budgetary request with this guy right here, the chair of the Education Committee,
24:01who I'm very grateful took the time to be here, and is not only taking the time to be here,
24:06it's a big champion of this broader effort, and I have all the confidence we'll scrutinize our
24:13detailed proposal and make it stronger.
24:16And just one more thing on that point. The criticism, it seems like, of doing this through a separate coordinating body is that that will take much longer in the years to set that up and get these things going.
24:26Why take that approach instead of just doing it directly for your office and taking direct action?
24:31Sure, sure, I'll take that one. So while the coordinating body is set up, we're actually
24:36starting the regional work now. So within the 13 regions, as we talked about the K-16
24:40collaboratives, that work has already begun. We talk about the California Jobs First, that
24:45work is already being done, and it's already in the implementation phase, and then in the regions
24:50within this work, we've already started some implementation. So we've worked with philanthropy,
24:54we have some funding already through philanthropic groups, and that work has already begun. So we've
24:59already started to assess their needs, had conversations with them in developing a strategy.
25:03So while the coordinating body at the state level starts to implementation,
25:08we're already beginning the work on the ground.
25:10But I guess why not do it just directly to the government office if I have a coordinating body at all?
25:15Well, I think it's important that we have a coordinating body at the state level,
25:19because as that information starts to bubble up from the regions, we need a body that is
25:24all the parties are at the table, that we can have a conversation about what the issues are,
25:28how do we address them, and how do we implement them. So that's why it's important to have the body.
25:33By the way, just on philanthropy, just because I think the Haas Foundation,
25:37Stewart Foundation, Balmer Foundation, Gates Foundation, all of them, including
25:42Eli Broad Foundation, all of them were participatory. And I say that, there are a few
25:47others, because it shows the breadth of the support from philanthropy in this space, which I think is
25:53interesting. And I think they seeded what a million and a half dollars already. And so
25:57it's starting to continue to grow. And that's an also another important part of this larger effort.
26:02I have a couple of questions about the podcast. This is your first podcast.
26:07And I just, for folks who see you governing, but also see you on that platform,
26:13I guess, how much of what you say on that podcast, and I'm not just talking about
26:17translating that into a building, TQA, et cetera, how much of that will translate into
26:22how you govern next year or the one that happens?
26:26I, difficult to make that determination. I'm, you know, I spent an hour a week on this.
26:32I think I have a conversation tomorrow with someone and conversation takes many different
26:39forms, shapes, sometimes what you expect will be discussed, sometimes things come up that are off
26:44topic that become topical. But it's not, it's not an agenda setting effort. I'm not trying to
26:50legislate from that prism using this platform. That's the work I do as governor, the extent
26:56it crosses over. You talk to an Ezra Klein, and he's talking about this framework of abundance,
27:01and he's talking about litigation and CEQA and NEPA and Reagan and Nixon and that crossover
27:08around high speed rail and other things, housing supply and that obviously crosses over quite
27:13nicely. The work we're doing was highlighted. I appreciate Buffy Wicks and the 20 plus bill
27:19she introduced was highlighted and underscored in the conversation that we had of I think her
27:25sort of renewed enthusiasm of my enthusiasm in this space, which has been well established
27:30as it relates to judicial review and some of the forms we made over the course of the last many
27:34years. So, you know, I think component parts, but I want to overread it because I have so and so on.
27:40This is some new agenda. It's what I said it was going to be, which is opportunity to have
27:46conversations with people that I agree with and disagree with, to have the kind of conversations
27:52that I have in private, but to make them public to be even more transparent in that process.
27:58And to the extent that big ideas come from private conversations I have,
28:04and they can be incorporated into policymaking. I think it would be wonderful if those public
28:09conversations generated an idea or two as well. But that, again, is not the intention of the
28:15podcast. No, this is, yeah, this is, yeah, no. And it's the exact same format as the prior one.
28:28And we had all those fancy attorneys figure all that out. And it's all transparent on the 700
28:32form and all that. There's not a dollar. In fact, this has cost me money, but that's another
28:36conversation. I didn't pay any attention to the committee yesterday. I was literally spent most of
29:05the day talking about fire recovery with our teams. And progress is being made there, by the
29:12way. But we're starting to run up into some of those abundance conversations around permitting
29:17that's already starting to take shape, where most of my focus was yesterday. As it relates to
29:23that issue, my position is, I think, known. And that issue came to the fore with me on multiple
29:32occasions as governor. Came right into the office. We had a state track meet where there
29:39were two athletes that got into the finals. And because of, you know, because people's reaction
29:48to that, they ended up not playing in the finals. And see, two folks that didn't get in, two folks
29:55that did, no one playing. We tried to figure out how to balance this. Is there a way to make this
30:01work? We worked with experts. We literally were talking to some of the International Olympic
30:06Committee experts. We talked to our own state experts. We were trying to figure this out and
30:10couldn't figure it out. And that's my point of view, that I just couldn't figure out how to,
30:15quote unquote, make this fair. That said, I don't know there's a bigger champion for LGBTQ rights
30:22as an executive in the country. And I mean that. It's done more over the course of decades than I
30:29have. And so I'm deeply sensitive and empathetic to the community. And I can't stand those that
30:36demean the community and bully the community, talk down and use this to weaponize a political agenda.
30:43And I made that point. I said, you can hold both things in your hand in terms of the statement that
30:49I made on this at the time. And I continue to make that point. And so I'm looking just for empathy.
30:55These kids just want to survive. And so the question you're asking is the question we've
31:00been asking ourselves for months and haven't been able to answer. What is that? Finally,
31:04how can you make this fair? And I haven't been able to figure it out. And I'm about as transparent
31:10about this as anybody out there, particularly in my party on this. And to the extent someone can
31:15and do it in a way that's respectful and responsible and can find the kind of balance,
31:21and then I'm open to that discussion. That said, this is not where all my energy flows.
31:30You're talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes.
31:35And my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time. And this, I think, has been
31:40colored in and weaponized by the right to be 10x, 100x bigger than it is. And so my focus is
31:49on a myriad of other issues in this state. And to the extent that someone could find
31:55that right balance, I would embrace those conversations and the dignity that hopefully
32:01presents themselves in that conversation, meaning the humanity around that conversation,
32:06not the politics around that conversation.
32:08You made some interesting comments to the LA Times in relation to the kind of pushback that
32:13you got from those comments, saying that you felt like you understood more than ever
32:18some of the right-wing criticisms of how Democrats have handled disagreements around this issue.
32:25And that came also a few days after your interview with Bill Maher, where you mentioned feeling like
32:29people are trying to cancel you. And I'm wondering what...
32:32Well, I don't know about anyone cancelling. That has nothing to do with... Let me answer
32:36the question. Specifically, it's broader than that. I think it goes to the broader issue of
32:41having conversations with people you disagree with. That's fundamentally what those comments
32:46were about. And it's difficult for some people. Certain people just aren't interested in having
32:51conversations with other people, and they have strong opinions about that. And so good people
32:57can disagree. And yeah, people have strong opinions and have expressed that in dismissive
33:02ways. And so I reflected on that. And I do have a bigger understanding. People don't like being
33:07talked down to or passed. The world, not from a gender perspective, this notion of everything's
33:15binary. It's this or that. And there's nuance in the world. And I think it's important to have
33:20space of nuance. And I'm trying to find that. That's why I'm doing this podcast. And
33:24obviously, it struck a chord because we're still having this conversation.
33:28But I think it's important to have difficult conversations, or even have a civil conversation
33:34that may be difficult for people to listen to, because everybody's out there trying to tear
33:38each other down. And there's plenty of play. The world is polluted with that. Social media is
33:42polluted with that. I offer no value in that space. I'm not trying to tear everybody down.
33:49Why am I back in the Central Valley? Because I don't like the way people talk about the Central
33:54Valley. I don't like the way people talk down to the folks out in Central Valley.
33:59I made that point on Bill Maher, too. I don't like people talking past these folks. So I keep
34:05coming back to make a point that's consistent with what I've done all my life. I mean, I remember,
34:10I'm married in a big Republican family. I don't know how many times I said that. I don't know
34:13if people would pay attention to that. What does that mean? That means I love and respect people
34:17I politically disagree with. And so for me, having conversations with people I disagree
34:25with is consistent with that. Heck, I spent almost, what, I don't know, three hours in the
34:29Oval Office with President Trump. We're engaged in, you know, constant battle of ideas and values,
34:37lawsuits. Another one we filed yesterday. So, you know, that's the approach. And, you know,
34:42yeah, there were some strong opinions there, and I was reflecting on those. Anybody else?
34:46Mr. Governor, yes, two questions. Speaking of the Trump administration,
34:50are you concerned? First of all, how was that letter that the U.S. Secretary of Education
34:55wrote? Were you concerned that they're going to? Well, I haven't even read it. I think it was a
34:59press release that I read about before the letter arrived. When letters arrive in the press before
35:08they arrive in the mail, they tend to be press releases, not inquiries for common ground.
35:15And I was surprised, having not yet read the letter, that the Secretary of Education,
35:21whose sole job it seems to be is to eliminate her job, is demanding a response to an agency
35:30she wants to eliminate. I believe it's the same. Secretary of Education not only wants to
35:35eliminate the Department of Education, but wants to provide states rights. I think that was the
35:42stated intent. And here she is imposing a national prism, command and control, and trying
35:50to influence states' rights on a topic. So again, I haven't read the details of the letter. I read
35:55the press release or what was published around it. But I think you can read between the lines
36:02my position. But we'll respond because one should respond always civilly and timely.
36:09But it's fundamentally a threat to take away money.
36:12There's hundreds and hundreds. I think if I counted the number of threats
36:18to the state, I mean, that's on a list. I mean, we can run in 52 different directions
36:28every single day on all those threats and hair on fire and the whole thing.
36:32So you just adjudicate it. You respond to it. You take it seriously. You make a determination,
36:36as we do with the AG's office all the time, have been. I think we're nine lawsuits in nine,
36:4010 weeks, 11 weeks. Which ones are the most serious? Which ones are the most pressing?
36:46Which ones do we feel we don't have a solid litigation strategy? Or at least there's
36:51shaky grounds and standing, whatever it is. And we make those determinations.
36:54So I think there were six missives or something. I think the New York Times, you wrote that.
36:59Maybe it was your writing. I don't know. There's a headline, six different things,
37:03actions against California that day. Hardly seems coincidental.
37:08So there may be something else at work there. And so you just, you know, you take a look at it all,
37:13make a determination. But we take everything seriously, take some things literally.
37:18And right now we take the most pressing issue, which is the uncertainty of tariffs
37:25and retaliatory tariffs that are inevitable in a trade war that's inevitable
37:31with the actions that the president looks to make. We'll see in a matter of hours
37:36or minutes. It's almost, I guess, one.
37:39Mr. Governor, also a very specific Central Valley question here from our papers folks.
37:43God bless, yeah.
37:44No, and this is on the issue of parole. It's a specific case.
37:47Uh-oh, I'm doomed. Wait a sec.
37:49There's a gentleman, somebody by the name of Michael Todd,
37:52Penella sentenced to 25 years and 2,000 for abusing and murdering a 20-month
37:57Jonathan Bell. Penella was granted parole in 2021, but you reversed that decision,
38:03then granted parole again in 2024, but you did not reverse that decision.
38:06And my understanding from our station there is that he's going to be released today.
38:10Did you have a reason why you did not reverse the decision?
38:13Yeah, I've reviewed quite literally thousands and thousands of cases,
38:16so I want to be cautious in terms of an immediate response.
38:20We'll happily get that information back. Let me just say broad strokes.
38:26When I reverse a parole decision, we write a detailed letter as to why.
38:33That process then goes to what we call an en banc committee, and they make a determination.
38:40Now, it's a reversal. It could be en banc. It could be a technical request of the parole board.
38:46But on a reversal, it gives that individual, after a period of time,
38:51the opportunity to go back in front of the parole board to address the concerns
38:56that we laid out in our reversal notification and letter.
39:00And those things are considered as it relates to subsequent recommendation to me.
39:05And I'll consider whether or not that person continued programming,
39:09addressed the concerns that I highlighted in the reversal, made progress towards the goal of
39:15of being rehabilitated, addressing whatever the details may have been with the victims,
39:22and then that's the ultimate determination.
39:23So that's not atypical.
39:27My reversal is not always in perpetuity.
39:30There's always an opportunity to come back,
39:32address the concerns that were stated. Forget the long one. It's complicated.
39:36I don't know. I mean, my kids, I have three kids in public school and teachers come to work every
39:56day. Remarkable heroes, heroes that clean up the classrooms that are coming to work every single
40:03day. We're public servants, and I think it's important to show up for each other, for ourselves,
40:14connect with folks that we have disconnected with, create a sense of community, team.
40:24I think it strengthens work. I think it output and productivity.
40:29I want to see these neighborhoods, these downtowns come back to life.
40:34This poor mom and pops, they're out of business or barely holding on trying to, you know,
40:38sandwich store, and they're just desperate to see people back on the sidewalks.
40:42I'd like to see people walk in the streets again.
40:45Sense of community.
40:48If I'm a young person, I mean, I mentor people all the time.
40:51People come to me. Can we talk?
40:53I'm like, you got it. You got to show up.
40:55You got to be present.
40:57I mean, what we're doing, denying the next generation of promotion and opportunity,
41:01being seen and heard.
41:02They're just, you know, on a screen, a flat screen.
41:05So we're limiting their career paths as well.
41:08And this is four days a week.
41:10This was the gold standard dream.
41:13Give me the flexibility on day four, with all respect.
41:17And we pay people, you know, good benefits.
41:23Uh, I think, uh, the people of this state deserve our full, uh, energetic, uh, commitment.
41:31A lot of people are able to do that at home.
41:33And so we do exceptions.
41:35We're not naive about that.
41:37There are certain work classifications, categories that, that, that flexibility can extend.
41:43But for, I think the vast majority of us, certainly in my office, we're so much better
41:48off so much more productive, so much more creative, uh, when we're together and a final
41:53word, biggest crisis in this country is, uh, everybody's never been more connected, but
41:59more alone sitting on their device, depressed, uh, you know, isolated, going down the rabbit
42:08hole and the gendered world of social media.
42:10And all of a sudden, Andrew Tate is your new mentor.
42:13God help.
42:14I'm not looking at you, the camera.
42:16Um, you know, and, uh, we've seen what's happened to our young men.
42:19I mean, there's some serious things here that I, you know, to me are all, you know, I'm
42:23pulling threads here and hopefully you guys are editing this out, but, um, but I, I just
42:28really feel strongly, uh, we need to get out of Facebook and get back on the street and
42:34see people's faces.
42:38I mean, we went from two to four, uh, that may be my contribution to this cause.
42:45But if people want to go back five days a week, I think we'll all be better off.
42:50And they'd like to do that for their own professional development.
42:54I certainly think we're down.
42:57We're trying to just get you six days, not seven.
43:01She's currently seven.
43:02So we'll see.
43:04That's just one last question about, uh, Javier Becerra.
43:11Your thoughts on Javier Becerra as a candidate for governor in the field right now?
43:22And you'll, uh, you'll forgive me.
43:24I feel like Jerry Brown must have felt, you know, I'm just at that point where I don't
43:28want to talk about these things.
43:30I really don't.
43:31I haven't focused on him.
43:32Someone literally texted me in some article.
43:34I didn't even read it.
43:36So I am aware because it was early morning text and I didn't even open it up.
43:40It's just not my focus.
43:41It really hasn't been.
43:43And it's, and I'm, and forgive me, it's like, this is not a professional thing to say.
43:46It's like more person.
43:48It's a strain.
43:48It's, it'd be like me talking about your, you know, a year and a half, your place, you
43:53know, Hey, somebody, this is a hotshot young, uh, reporter out there coming from Atlanta.
43:58What do you think of him?
43:59You know, or she's really, she's someone who really broke through in Dallas.
44:03Where do you see it?
44:03What are your thoughts?
44:04And are you worried about, you know, Katie Couric coming back and taking your job?
44:07I, you know, so I say all this with love.
44:10Well, funny time to deal with this next year.
44:12Start asking me next year.
44:14Thanks.