California’s likely next governor is still struggling to say exactly what he’d do about the state’s biggest problems — and a head-scratching answer about the housing crisis is drawing fresh ridicule just before Election Day.
asserted
answer → struggle → Day
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra went viral after a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle in which reporters pressed him to take a position on one of California’s most contentious housing debates.
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reporters → go → debates
Instead of picking a side, Becerra offered a philosophical detour.
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Becerra → pick → detour
“It’s interesting, YIMBY-NIMBY.”
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It → ’ → ?
“There’s some people who don’t have a backyard at all, and who never get to engage in that YIMBY-NIMBY debate,” the Democrat added.
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Democrat → ’ → debate
The exchange prompted one Chronicle editor to say journalists “tried to get him to say literally anything substantive.”
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him → prompt → anything
The terms refer to opposing sides of California’s housing fight.
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terms → refer → fight
NIMBYs, or “Not In My Backyard” advocates, resist new housing developments in their neighborhoods, while YIMBYs, or “Yes In My Backyard” supporters, push for more construction to address the state’s housing shortage.
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YIMBYs → resist → shortage
Becerra’s answer left plenty of Californians wondering where he actually stands.
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he → leave → Californians
Housing advocate Toby Muresianu joked: “Finally, a politician with the courage to say ‘Maybe in my backyard?’
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Muresianu → joke → backyard
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt was less amused.
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Pratt → amuse → ?
“Zero charisma, zero clue, zero campaigning,” Pratt said.
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Pratt → say → ?
“It’s such a slap in the face of CA democrats to run this guy.
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It → ’ → guy
Almost as if they’re pranking them to see how much insanity they’ll accept for tribalism.”
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they → prank → tribalism
Others questioned whether Becerra understood the backyard reference was metaphorical, while some tried to decipher whether his answer signaled support for more development or opposition to it.
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answer → question → it
His campaign website promises an executive order declaring a housing shortage state of emergency and directing state agencies to make housing production a top priority.
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production → promise → agencies
But he also pledges to “keep communities intact as we build.”
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we → pledge → communities
That balancing act has become a recurring feature of Becerra’s campaign.
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act → balance → campaign
In August, he told CalMatters that his reluctance to offer detailed policy promises stemmed from a political lesson he learned more than three decades ago.
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he → tell → lesson
As a freshman congressman representing the Los Angeles area in 1993, Becerra initially opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement before eventually voting for it after being persuaded that labor protections and a domestic lending program would protect American workers.
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protections → represent → workers
He later said those assurances failed to prevent American jobs from being displaced.
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assurances → say → jobs
“No one gets my vote unless I know what I’m voting for completely,” he told the outlet, describing the experience as a “pivotal lesson.”
Now, Becerra says he doesn’t want to make promises he can’t keep — including putting a number on how many homes he would build as governor.
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he → get → governor
“I would prefer not to run on inflated promises,” he once said.
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he → prefer → promises
“I will run on my record.”
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I → run → record
But with California voters still grappling with a housing affordability crisis, his reluctance to spell out specifics is giving critics plenty of ammunition.
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reluctance → grapple → ammunition
And Becerra may have little political incentive to change course.
uncertain
Becerra → have → course
Recent polling shows him building a double-digit lead over Republican challenger Steve Hilton in a state where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans.
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Democrats → show → Republicans
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