Seven candidates crowded a CNN debate stage in East Los Angeles on Tuesday for the third and final gubernatorial debate before the June 2 primary, and the industry that defines the state's biggest city barely got a look-in.
Moderators asked only two of the seven candidates what they would do about the flight of film and television production to other states and countries. The crisis has cost an estimated 50,000 jobs despite the state currently offering up to $750 million in annual production tax incentives. Neither candidate given the question offered especially detailed proposals.
Former Rep. Katie Porter said supporting Hollywood was a competition the state "can and must win," pointing to California's workforce and higher education system as advantages. She stopped short of committing to uncapping the existing $750 million annual production tax credit, something she has yet to formally endorse.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa went further, calling the race "an existential election for Hollywood" and backing an unlimited, uncapped tax credit that he said should cover both above- and below-the-line workers. "The notion too many people in Sacramento believe it should just go to camera operators and makeup people — it has to go to everyone," he said. Villaraigosa is currently polling at 2%.
Several candidates who were not asked the question have staked out positions of their own. Republican Steve Hilton, a frontrunner who has consolidated support on the right following an endorsement from Donald Trump, told The Hollywood Reporter last week he would consider a 60% tax credit. Democrat Xavier Becerra, currently polling near the top of the field, has not publicly clarified his position on the cap. Tom Steyer has said he would remove the cap but has not specified whether relief would extend to above-the-line workers. Unions tend to favor directing such credits specifically to below-the-line jobs, while producers argue that including above-the-line costs would give studios a reason to shoot in California in the first place.
Most of the two-hour debate was consumed by biographical pitches and inter-candidate attacks. Becerra drew sustained fire from rivals including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who linked him to outcomes on migrant children and health care fraud, and Villaraigosa, who raised a pay scandal involving Becerra's former chief of staff, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Becerra repeatedly insisted he was not involved.
Candidates also spent time debating which celebrities should play them in a biopic. Antonio Banderas got two votes. Clint Eastwood was namechecked by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Tom Steyer chose Gregory Peck.
The top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary advance to the November general election regardless of party. If both frontrunners Hilton and Becerra survive, California could face its most competitive gubernatorial race in years.
