From Vision to Action: A Forum to Unlock Participatory Democracy
From vision to action, participatory democracy begins with listening.
Held on Saturday, January 17, 2026 during the national observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend, the 34th Annual Empowerment Congress Summit convened over 500 community members for public learning and dialogue on the issues shaping California’s future. As part of the Summit, Empowerment Congress hosted a nonpartisan California Governor Candidate Forum themed From Vision to Action: A Forum to Unlock Participatory Democracy.
Eight candidates vying for the Office of Governor of California participated in a forum moderated by KBLA 1580 Talk Radio founder and host, Tavis Smiley. Under the theme “A Forum to Unlock Participatory Democracy” the Summit represented a vibrant and engaging opportunity for community members to listen closely, to reflect on what was heard, and to continue to discuss the ideas presented in their homes and other community spaces.
Getting to the Summit
Parking
Parking is available in the Blue Structure for $20. Advance registrants should have received a parking pass via email to receive a reduced rate of $10, payable upon entry.
Participants are encouraged to use public transportation to attend the 34th Annual Summit.
Public Transportation
Guests are encouraged to use public transportation to attend the 34th Annual Summit! Metro one-way fare is $1.75, payable by TAP card, Apple Wallet, TAP app or cash. Learn more about fares and discounts.
Bus routes: Metro 102, Metro 550 to Exposition/Watt
Train: Metro E (Expo) Line to Expo Park/USC
Metro Maps and Schedules
Drop-off & Rideshare
Guests who are using a rideshare service or who need a drop-off location may follow signage and instructions to the drop-off location on Exposition Park Drive, right in front of the California Science Center.
Program Information
This year’s program featured a Governor candidate forum that included eight of the announced candidates for California’s top office. Candidates fielded questions from a three-person panel of veteran journalists, moderated by nationally syndicated radio host and author Tavis Smiley.
Learn more about the candidates and journalist panel below.
Not all declared candidates were invited to participate. The Empowerment Congress Leadership Council exercised its discretion to determine who would receive an invitation using a combination of factors. These variables included public opinion polling, a minimum fundraising threshold based on State filings, attendance at major Empowerment Congress events, and record of public service in an appointive or elective office. The Leadership Council is serious about the organization’s mission to “educate, engage and empower” by organizing an event of this magnitude and importance for our communities’ benefit.
Forum Moderator and Program Emcee
Tavis Smiley
KBLA 1580 Talk Radio Host Chief Visionary Officer
Tavis Smiley is a nationally recognized broadcaster, author, and public intellectual who serves as the Chief Visionary Officer and host at KBLA 1580 Talk Radio. With decades of experience in media and journalism, Smiley has built a reputation for facilitating thoughtful dialogue on politics, culture, and social justice. His work centers on elevating underrepresented voices and fostering informed civic engagement through meaningful conversation. Smiley continues to play a leading role in shaping public discourse at the local and national level.
EC Summit Chair
Arna Fulcher
Empowerment Congress Leadership Council
Arna is a graduate of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with a lifelong passion for numbers and finance. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in nonprofit financial management and is an experienced financial management trainer, having conducted workshops throughout the United States.
She has embraced her civic responsibility serving in various leadership roles with the Empowerment Congress for more than 25 years. A Los Angeles native, Arna is married with two children and the CEO and Principal of Alford Consulting Group.
Journalist Panel
Gustavo Arellano
Columnist Los Angeles Times
Gustavo Arellano is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, covering Southern California everything and a bunch of the West and beyond. He was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Commentary and the Mike Royko Award for Commentary and Column Writing and was part of the team that won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News for reporting on a leaked audio recording that upended Los Angeles politics. Arellano previously worked at OC Weekly, where he was an investigative reporter for 15 years and editor for six, wrote a column called ¡Ask a Mexican! and is the author of “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.” He’s the child of two Mexican immigrants, one of whom came to this country in the trunk of a Chevy.
Lisa Collins
Publisher L.A. Focus Newspaper
Lisa Collins is the publisher of L.A. Focus Newspaper, a gospel music expert and a faith outreach specialist.
For the past 20 years, Lisa Collins has consulted with politicians, local government officials and corporations on outreaching to the faith community with context specific assistance on a wide range of topics from media and messaging to community engagement.
Frank Stoltze
Civics & Democracy Correspondent LAIst
Frank Stoltze is civics and democracy correspondent for LAIst. He’s worked at a number of radio stations over the span of his career, including as news director for KPFK Pacifica Radio in L.A. He arrived here in 1991, a year before the Rodney King beating trial verdict and the subsequent civil unrest that gave rise to the Empowerment Congress. He covers politics and criminal justice for KPCC and LAIst, but like most radio reporters, he ends up covering everything from fires and floods to police corruption and political scandal. He’s won a number of awards, including a Golden Mic for a documentary on the recall election that brought California Governor Schwarzenegger to power. The Los Angeles Press Club named him Radio Journalist of the Year in 2005.
Meet the Candidates
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Honorable
Xavier Becerra
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary
https://www.xavierbecerra2026.com/
For former Secretary Xavier Becerra, “This is a break-glass moment – for our families, our neighbors, and folks all across our great state.” He says that’s why he’s running for Governor – to fight to make it possible for all of us to realize California Dream.
Xavier Becerra was the 45th U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the first Latino to hold the role. A Sacramento native and the first in his family to graduate college and become a lawyer, Becerra began his career advocating for individuals with mental illness. He served 12 terms in Congress, helping pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and protect Social Security and Medicare.
As California Attorney General, he defended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the ACA in the Supreme Court and held corporations accountable. At HHS, he led the nation’s COVID response, expanded health coverage to a record high — with more than 300 million Americans possessing their own health insurance, and launched historic prescription drug price negotiations.
Xavier is married to Dr. Carolina Reyes, a maternal fetal medicine specialist and professor of medicine at UC Davis Medical Center. Together they have ushered into adulthood three accomplished daughters, Clarisa, Olivia and Natalia.
Honorable
Ian Calderon
Former State Assembly Member
https://www.ianforgovernor.com/
In 2012, Former Assembly Member Ian Calderon made history as the first millennial elected to the California Legislature and over eight years in the Assembly, Ian earned a reputation as a pragmatic leader focused on policies that strengthen California’s economy and improve quality of life for working families.
As Majority Leader, Ian helped author and pass California’s landmark film tax credit program, wrote the legislation that created California’s Blockchain Working Group, thus positioning the state as a national leader in innovation and establishing guidelines for the use of cryptocurrency and emerging technology.
At the height of his political career, Ian stepped away to focus on his young family. For the past five years, he has raised four children with his wife Elise while building a consulting business that advises clients in the housing and technology sectors.
Ian believes California can once again be the best place in the world to raise a family, buy a home, and build a future.
Ian is a Democrat who believes in the power of government to lift up all Californians.
A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Ian lives in Orange County with his wife and their four children.
Honorable
Jon Slavet
Former Member of Congress
https://jonslavetforgovernor.com/
Businessman Jon Slavet says he is running to bring the same discipline, creativity,and focus on results that built his companies to the governor’s office.
Jon moved to California thirty years ago to chase a dream that no longer feels guaranteed for the next generation. He was raised in Massachusetts, the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants who escaped oppression with almost nothing. When he graduated from college, he headed to California because this was a place where hard work was rewarded with real opportunity.
Jon started companies, created jobs, and worked to raise his family in a state full of promise. His career turned ideas into reality. He co-founded Guru.com from a San Francisco apartment and helped invent the online freelance marketplace. He grew WeWork’s West region to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. As CEO of Sentral, he grew one of the nation’s leading flexible-living companies to billions of dollars in assets under management, all across America.
Jon co-founded and hosts State of Gold, a podcast that brings together elected officials, entrepreneurs, policy experts, and everyday doers to discuss the state’s toughest issues and share practical ideas about California.
Jon and his wife Dee are raising five California kids.
Honorable
Tom Steyer
Business Leader and Climate Advocate
https://www.tomsteyer.com/
Entrepreneur and environmental activist Tom Steyer is running for Governor of California because Californians can no longer afford to live here and the state doesn’t work when a few people do unbelievably well, and everyone else does poorly.
Almost 15 years ago, Tom walked away from the successful business he founded, and from billions of dollars, to devote his life to public service.
He signed The Giving Pledge — a commitment to give away the vast majority of his money during his lifetime.
He led ballot proposition campaigns to defeat Big Oil on climate, close a corporate tax loophole for out-of-state companies, and raise the cigarette tax and invested in grassroots organizing as founder of NextGen, the largest youth voter engagement organization in U.S. history, registering over 1.6 million young voters.
Steyer led a grassroots campaign to impeach Donald Trump during his first term. In 2020, he ran for president to talk about climate change and other issues he thought were being overlooked. In 2025, Tom was also one of the largest backers of Prop 50 to stop the election-rigging power grab.
Tom and his wife Kat have four grown children and four grandchildren. San Francisco has been their home since 1986.
Honorable
Eric Swalwell
Congressmember
https://www.ericswalwell.com/
Congressmember Eric Swalwell, the son of a cop, was raised by Republicans in Dublin, California. His mother was a small business owner. When asked later how he came to the other side, Eric said “Democrats just had the better ideas.”
He got his first job at 10 running a paper route and learned to sand and install window frames as a teenager. Eric earned a Division One soccer scholarship and undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Maryland. After graduating law school, he returned to California to become a prosecutor in the Alameda County DA’s office.
Eric first won election in 2010 to a seat on the Dublin City Council and soon thereafter, a seat in Congress. He has served over 12 years – including 8 years on the House Intelligence Committee. Eric helped lead the House investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. A week after January 6, he was appointed as a House Impeachment Manager for Donald Trump’s Senate trial.
Eric currently serves on the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.
Eric and his wife Brittany, a small business owner in hospitality who refuses to read the TV pilot Eric developed, are the pleased parents of three children: Nelson, Cricket, and Hank.
Honorable
Tony Thurmond
California Superintendent of Public Instruction
https://www.tonythurmond.com/
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond didn’t come from money, power or influence. His mother, Cecelia, was an immigrant from Panama. She tragically passed away when he was six years old, and with his father out of the picture, Tony and his brother were raised by a cousin.
Growing up, Tony and his brother experienced poverty. Despite facing food insecurity and financial hardships, the family often lived on public assistance and food stamps. As a young Afro-Latino child in racially segregated Philadelphia Tony occasionally faced discrimination. He nonetheless persisted; school became his sanctuary.
Armed with the lessons from his upbringing, Tony dedicated his life to helping young people with hardships. These experiences were carried into office on the West Contra Costa School Board, the Richmond City Council and California State Assembly. In 2018, Tony was elected as the 28th California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and was resoundingly re-elected in 2022.
Tony attended Temple University where he became student body president. Tony earned his undergraduate degree and later secured two Master’s degrees from Bryn Mawr College.
A long time resident of Contra Costa County, Tony is proud to have the support of his daughters, Maya and Jayden, and his wife Vanessa.
Honorable
Antonio Villaraigosa
Former Los Angeles Mayor
https://www.antonio2026.com/
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he understands that California faces serious problems, and that money alone won’t fix them. He will focus on solutions, invest in what works and fix what’s broken. Antonio Villaraigosa is relying on his ability to solve problems.
As leader of the California Assembly, Antonio worked with both parties to balance the state budget and make investments in education and public safety, while holding the line on taxes and delivering a $13 billion budget surplus.
As Mayor, Antonio hired nearly 1,000 new police officers, invested in crime prevention and gang intervention strategies, spearheaded anti-domestic violence efforts, and took illegal guns off the streets.
As Governor, Antonio says he will bring experience solving tough problems and getting things done on issues that matter like making neighborhoods safe, improving schools, creating jobs, and bringing down costs for small businesses, middle-class families, and all Californians.
Villaraigosa started his political ascent as a Chicano student movement leader at UCLA back in the 1970s. Shortly thereafter became a teacher union rep, American Civil Liberties Union of Los Angeles president and American Federation of Government Employees leader.
Honorable
Betty Yee
Former California State Controller
https://bettyyee.com/
Former California State Controller Betty Yee first demonstrated the power to lead when she was eight years old, overseeing the finances at her immigrant family’s dry cleaning business. She would go on to manage the finances for the government of one of the world’s largest economies as California’s State Controller.
Throughout nearly 40 years in public service, Betty has developed a unique reputation for competence, accountability, and a principled commitment to standing up for what’s right. Her public service career includes service as a public health commissioner in San Francisco at the dawn of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Governor Gray Davis’s Budget Director, membership on the Board of Equalization and State Controller, where Betty led a department of more than 1,400 employees and reshaped it into a more inclusive, high performing workplace focused on operational excellence.
Betty put herself through UC Berkeley and Golden Gate University’s master’s program while balancing work and school. Betty also currently serves as a part-time caregiver for her mother, who is over 100 years old. Betty lives in the
San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, an interfaith leader who has spent his career advocating for civil rights and human rights.
Sponsors and Partners
Thank you to our candidate forum media sponsor, who aired the live broadcast of the California Governor Candidate Forum at the 34th Annual Empowerment Congress Summit.
Visionary Sponsors
Leadership Sponsors
Social Justice Sponsors
Empowerment Sponsors
Engagement Sponsors
Community Sponsors
Grassroots Sponsors
SOUTH
LOS ANGELES CLERGY FOR PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
The Empowerment Congress (EC) is a distinctive and deliberate model of civic engagement built on the core principles of participatory democracy, reciprocal accountability, and intentional civility. For over 30 years, the Empowerment Congress has served as a dynamic collaboration among neighborhood groups, residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses, religious institutions, and community leaders within the diverse communities of Los Angeles County’s Second Supervisorial District.
We invite all Summit attendees to contribute $19.92 today to help us fulfill our mission and achieve our core goals of:
- Realizing social, political, and economic equity.
- Fostering and developing diverse community leaders and social advocates.
- Cultivating strategic partnerships between diverse communities and elected officials for social and policy change.
In service of our mission to educate, engage and empower the community, the EC has held signature programming in the form of an Annual Summit and, more recently, a Juneteenth Dialogue and Celebration, as well as ongoing policy advocacy through our standing constituent-rich working groups (formerly called committees).
Your contribution to the EC will help us to continue this vitally important work of elevating community voices and promoting an enhanced quality of life for LA County constituents through consistent, meaningful engagement opportunities.
The Empowerment Congress is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives. Checks can be made payable to: Community Initiatives – Empowerment Congress 6462, PO Box 45515, San Francisco, CA 94145-0515
