Five California Democrats sought to differentiate themselves during a gubernatorial debate over the weekend as they compete to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). 

On Sunday, Democratic gubernatorial candidates former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, State School Superintendent Tony Thurmond, and former state Controller Betty Yee attended a forum to discuss policy views. The debate comes as the first since former Vice President Kamala Harris ended months of speculation that she would make a bid for California governor, clearing the field for other challengers. The state’s June 2 gubernatorial primary is now eight months away. 

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One topic that rose to the forefront during the forum was Proposition 36, a popular voter-approved ballot initiative instituting stronger consequences for crime that rolled back Proposition 47. California passed Proposition 36 last year in the wake of criticism that Proposition 47 instituted sweeping policies that failed to deter criminal behavior after it was approved in 2014. 

Thurmond said he voted against Proposition 36, joining Yee, who previously said she opposed it, according to Politico. The three candidates viewed as leading the Democratic pack — Villaraigosa, Becerra, and Porter — all said they supported the measure, albeit to varying degrees. 

Porter voted for Proposition 36, telling CNN last November that while she believes it is “flawed,” she supports “the increased penalties for retail crimes, that’s a problem here.

“We need to give more tools to our police officers, to our businesses to deal with that,” Porter said at the time. “At the same time, the drug substance use part of this, we know that incarcerating people for substance use is incredibly expensive to taxpayers and doesn’t actually heal people.”

Over the weekend, Porter, who holds the lead above the other candidates according to polling, reiterated that there are “very real problems with it and very real shortcomings.” 

Her positioning sets her apart from Villaraigosa.​​ In contrast to Porter’s reluctant endorsement, Villaraigosa proudly touted the crime reform measure as the only way to “do more to solve California’s crime problem,” even appearing on a Yes on 36 ad advocating the passage of the ballot measure. Villaraigosa has additionally called on Newsom to provide funding to implement the law, as the governor’s office has stalled on the matter. 

Also debated during the forum on Sunday were differences over how to target the state’s housing crisis. 

Villaraigosa named the California Environmental Quality Act as the driving factor for the problems. CEQA has come under increasing criticism, even from Democratic circles, in recent years due to concerns that it makes developers too liable to lawsuits and holds up construction. 

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While Villaraigosa honed in on environmental regulations for rollback, twice critiquing them, Porter emphasized a different solution. Although she has criticized CEQA in the past, including during a June interview with Eyewitness News, Porter prioritized on Sunday support for efforts to sign Senate Bill 79 into law to address the housing shortage. The housing reform bill would override restrictive zoning regulations, making it legal to build more multi-family housing near rail stations and rapid bus lines. 

Porter answered to the Left of most candidates on Sunday when pressed on whether he supported banning gas-powered cars. Villaraigosa and Thurmond said “no,” Becerra said “by 2050,” and Yee said “ultimately, yes,” while Porter declined to answer because she said the moderator didn’t give her a timeline.