Hilton Says State's Existing Funds Can Build Recovery Centers

California Republican candidate Steve Hilton is telling voters that crossing party lines is acceptable this year.

Hilton, in a closing argument to California voters, said people approach him and report that they are lifelong Democrats but will vote for him while keeping it quiet because voting Republican in California carries a stigma. He said the state needs change. His homelessness plan calls for recovery centers across California offering mental health treatment, addiction treatment, and job training, with the first constructed on a military base outside San Diego. When asked how such a program would be funded, Hilton said the money already exists, citing a state auditor's finding of $24 billion in homelessness spending that could not be tracked. He said he would ask city mayors what they need in the first months of his term while the centers are put in place, and he said as many as 30 centers may be needed. Asked where people would go permanently after the centers, Hilton said into housing and back into their lives, adding that some people on the streets should be reunited with families in other states. Hilton's opponent, Democrat Xavier Becerra, leads him by 24 points in a PPIC poll released Tuesday night. Hilton said one party has run the state for 16 years and has become arrogant, assuming it will remain in office. Asked about President Trump, who endorsed him and is unpopular in California, Hilton said he is independent-minded and will not take orders from the White House or Sacramento. Hilton also repeats a campaign promise of $3 gas, saying he would pay for it by removing hidden gas taxes that fund the state's high speed rail project and the carbon fuel standard.

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