Tom Steyer - Interview

During Sexual Assault Awareness Month on April 12, Eric Stallweel, U.S. Representative (California’s 14th Congressional District) and Democratic frontrunner for California’s Governor's race, announced he was withdrawing from the 2026 California Governor’s race following multiple allegations of sexual assault – which he denied. (The next day -April 13- Stallwell announced his resignation from Congress.) Due to Stallwell’s frontrunner status, after withdrawing from the Governor’s race, many voters were seeking out information about the other CA Gubernatorial candidates. It just so happened that Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer was scheduled to speak in Santa Barbara on April 15. Although Tom Steyer has some good ideas for California, many voters, including Teri, were struggling with the fact that Tom profited from investing in private prisons. 

So Teri asked Tom Steyer, and below is the Long story short:

Teri: “Can you please explain how your ' wake-up call' came about regarding your investment in private prisons and detention centers”?

Tom: “I made a mistake, and when I realized that a year later, I divested, which then took about another year. So the investment began in early 2004 and was sold in 2006”.

Teri: “What was your thought process behind investing in private prisons”?

Tom: “It was during mass incarceration, and I thought I could make the conditions better for the prisoners. But when I recognized that I could not improve conditions for the prisoners, I realized the investment was a mistake, and I pulled out and divested”.

Hope this is helpful. 

FYI: Still undecided.