What we asked to help you choose California’s next governor

What was it like interviewing eight gubernatorial candidates in a Wild West primary? I posed this question to CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang, who was the lead reporter on the voter guide that contains small videos of what the candidates said on key topics such as taxes and homelessness. Jeanne and I also discussed what goes on behind the scenes, one candidate’s surprising answer, and her approach to question formulation.

How did you come up with your questions?

The voter guide was a place where you could ask everyone the same question and be able to compare the answers side by side.

We came up with questions that were more ideological, bigger picture. A lot of candidates default to traditional policies, but we tried to ask questions that got to the bottom of who that person is and how they think about it.

Was it difficult to get any of the candidates to answer honestly?

We were limited by time more than anything. If we had more time, I would have asked them to follow up.

Like homelessness, where almost everyone agrees that it’s not appropriate to simply criminalize the act of being homeless. But we wanted to get to the heart of the debate happening in cities and counties: What if someone refuses shelter, then what? There were times when I had to press people for it.

Were there any answers that surprised you?

Steve Hilton actually said he didn’t know what the right answer would be to fix the state’s health care system. Most other candidates have a standard political answer, and he’s someone who has clearly thought a lot and written a lot about big bureaucratic systems like health care. He is not a fan of the British system, nor the American system. But he told me that he didn’t really have an answer for California, and I thought that was interesting.

How many friends and relatives have asked you for voting advice?

a lot! I sent the manual to my parents. In the past, my dad was a fan of including campaign finance data, so kudos to (our data team). I have received questions from many people asking “Who should I vote for?” and my answer is that I cannot make that decision for you.

What non-political question would you like to ask?

I would ask them about food region meme this was happening a few months ago.

We had readers off the charts in our voter guide since it was published last week, so we know Californians are still deciding. Take a look full presentation here.