Five Takeaways from Neel Kashkari’s Politifest Set

This post has been updated.

Big shocker: The guy gunning for Gov. Jerry Brown’s seat isn’t happy with the status quo.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari sat down with Voice of San Diego’s Scott Lewis to make his pitch, pointing out some key changes he’d make if elected.

From flawed regulations to defending civil rights in a recent teacher tenure case ruling, these were the standout moments of Kashkari’s appearance Saturday. You can watch the full video here.

Pro-Jobs Policies

You’ve probably seen Kashkari’s most buzzworthy campaign video making the rounds. In it, the multimillionaire spent a week homeless and jobless in Fresno to disprove Brown’s notion that California is “back.” Lewis asked what specific policy changes Kashkari want to make after that experience.

Rein in Regulations

Lewis asked Kashkari to name a specific regulation he’d tackle, and he focused on California’s landmark environmental law, which Kashkari said was “well-intentioned” but had been “completely perverted” to the point of dissuading investment. He takes issue with the expedited review process that’s been granted to some development projects, and is pushing for that speed to be applied across the board.

Raising the Minimum Wage Isn’t a Cure-all

After declaring the “best social program in the world” was a good job and comparing California’s plight to North Dakota’s – a juxtaposition he returned to a few times – Kashkari said a statewide hike just wouldn’t be fair for all: “What do you say to the worker who was making $8, who’s now out of work?”

Big Picture in the Banks Bailout

Some of the criticism of Kashkari’s bid for governor has snarkily mentioned his involvement with TARP, a massive bank bailout that began in 2008. Kashkari defended his oversight of the program by saying it was a bipartisan effort to stabilize the economy, and came only after a good scolding.

Defending Civil Rights in ‘Vergara’

Kashkari voiced some adamant opposition to the potential appeal of the recent Vergara v. California ruling, which found long-standing teacher protections violate students’ civil rights. (We chronicled some of the more blistering points in that ruling, and what it means for California education as a whole.)

Kashkari said the state has a choice whether it’ll fight for student’s civil rights or fight for the teachers’ union. His take: The state shouldn’t appeal.

Videography and editing by Megan Burks.