On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” Democratic California gubernatorial candidate San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said that rival Democratic candidate former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra is “the epitome of the status quo. It’s always somebody else’s fault. 85,000 migrant children lost, a quarter million dollars stolen from his campaign account under his nose, but he didn’t have visibility into it, growing fraud in the healthcare system under his watch,” and stated that he “got the usual bureaucratic speak” when he tried to work with Becerra on homelessness when Becerra was at HHS.
Mahan said, “I’ve set a goal of ending unsheltered homelessness, and part of that plan involves getting other levels of government to do their part. You ask about other candidates’ plans, I have to tell you, frankly, one of the most disillusioning experiences I have had in politics was, as a new Mayor, going into HHS and meeting with then-Secretary Becerra and saying, Mr. Secretary, our failure to address street homelessness is costing us lives, it’s also imposing huge costs on the healthcare system, people are endlessly cycling through our emergency rooms, endless 911 calls, let’s get HHS and HUD together with cities like San Jose that want to solve this problem, to build basic shelter and treatment capacity, get people indoors, and save the system money, and I got the usual bureaucratic speak.”
He continued, “This is my concern with Xavier Becerra. It’s — he’s the epitome of the status quo. It’s always somebody else’s fault. 85,000 migrant children lost, a quarter million dollars stolen from his campaign account under his nose, but he didn’t have visibility into it, growing fraud in the healthcare system under his watch, as — at HHS and as attorney general here in California, but not his responsibility. Look, with me as Mayor, and as governor, starting next year, the buck will stop with me.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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