The race for California governor turned white hot in San Francisco last night, as Democratic contenders used an Urban League forum to tear into federal immigration enforcement in the wake of Alex Pretti's killing in Minneapolis. Antonio Villaraigosa compared masked federal agents to the Ku Klux Klan, Tom Steyer branded the operation “a threat to America,” and Tony Thurmond vowed to “get rid of ICE” if he wins. Even as they traded fire over immigration, the candidates tried to one-up each other on housing and the Bay Area's crushing cost-of-living crisis.
Candidates Let Loose at the Urban League Forum
The forum, hosted by the Urban League of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area at UCSF's Mission Bay campus, quickly turned into an indictment of the Trump administration's deportation push. As reported by KQED, Villaraigosa told the crowd that the appearance of masked federal agents looked like "the Ku Klux Klan coming in with assault weapons [and] flash-bang grenades." Steyer warned that the operation was a "threat to America," while Thurmond drew one of the night's sharpest lines by promising to "get rid of ICE" if he becomes governor.
Minnesota Shooting Loomed Over the Stage
The sharp rhetoric unfolded as outrage over Pretti's death in Minneapolis continued to build nationwide, with fresh video and reporting fueling questions about how federal immigration operations are conducted. Time detailed the Minneapolis shootings and the protests that followed, an episode that pushed federal enforcement and how state leaders respond to it, right into the heart of the California governor's race.
What Black Bay Area Voters Told Organizers
Organizers said they grounded the evening's questions in a new Urban League survey focused on economic security for Black residents in the region. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Urban League poll of roughly 400 Black Bay Area residents found about 59% were struggling with housing, bills, or food. Those grim local numbers track with a statewide Public Policy Institute of California survey that puts cost of living and housing at the top of Californians' worries. PPIC's December survey found affordability at the top of voters' minds, giving extra weight to the forum's pocketbook focus.
Policy Lines That Could Define the Race
Once they finished denouncing federal agents, the candidates tried to draw sharper contrasts on affordability and racial equity. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Thurmond pledged to "sign as governor a reparations package that gives loans to Black folks who want to start a business to go to college or to pay for a home." Other contenders sketched out their own fixes for California's economic squeeze. KQED noted Katie Porter emphasizing housing and child-care relief, Xavier Becerra calling for steps to rein in utility and property insurance costs, and Betty Yee pushing for steady, city-directed funding to address homelessness.
For Bay Area voters, the night drove home how intertwined immigration enforcement and affordability have become in the 2026 governor's contest. With the Minneapolis shootings still stirring national debate, the contenders' answers on both federal crackdowns and local cost pressures are likely to be tested again and again before the June primary, as the Los Angeles Times has noted.
