On Friday, the UCR School of Medicine held the Health Matters Forum Watch Party at the SOM Education Building II. Hosted by Michelle C. Burroughs, DHA, MPH, director of community engagement and outreach at the UCR SOM Center for Healthy Communities, the event welcomed individuals at UCR and interested members of the public to hear about the future of healthcare in California.

Four of California’s gubernatorial candidates participated in a nonpartisan forum on UCR’s campus, Health Matters: A Conversation with California’s Next Governor. With limited in-person seating at the forum, the SOM’s watch party was one of 25 across the state that provided a space to view the livestreamed event.

The forum featured Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; Betty Yee, former state controller; Tony Thurmond, California superintendent of public instruction; and Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor and former speaker of the state assembly.

“This is a very historical moment... that we get the opportunity for our voices to be heard collectively in the Inland Empire,” Burroughs in her welcome remarks as the SOM’s watch party host. “It's important for it to be in the Inland Empire because our region reflects the diversity of California–we are California,” she added.

Before the livestream began, Burroughs led a short discussion around healthcare needs and challenges in the region, with audience members identifying topics of importance including access, affordability, and representation.

The gubernatorial candidates’ remarks reflected many of these issues.

Responding to the forum’s first question about increasing access to affordable healthcare, Thurmond said he would restore healthcare benefits to undocumented individuals and others who lost these benefits in California. “Healthcare is a right for everyone in our state,” he said.

“We can’t have a one-size-fits-all healthcare system,” Yee said, noting the unique needs of communities around the state. Despite the challenges she highlighted in fighting back against the current administration’s policies, “it’s creating an opportunity… to look at healthcare where we’re informed by the people who are most affected,” she continued. “We need to have them at the table and have them be the future.”

For Becerra, “Regardless of your income, zip code, or status, we’ll provide you with the access to care you and your children need, because that’s the only way we’ll have a healthy California,” he said, citing his success negotiating lower drug prices with large companies. “When I say I’ll be California’s healthcare governor, I say it because I did it,” he added.

Sharing that he grew up in a single-parent home in a neighborhood where few had health insurance, Villaraigosa said, “The next governor has to push back against the administration that has eviscerated the safety net.” He noted that it would be tough to provide care, but that he was committed. “I’ve done that my whole life and I intend to do it as governor as well,” he said.

Other questions, including several from the audience, touched on balancing California’s budget while focusing on healthcare; pursuing economic prosperity for all Californians without leaving regions like the Inland Empire behind; supporting working families and strengthening the childcare and elder care systems; and addressing issues like the impact of affordable housing and climate change on health.

At the end, candidates raised their hands to indicate support for issues presented as rapid-fire questions, such as agreeing with funds for mental health and a moratorium on eviction. Each candidate agreed with every issue, with the exception of Villaraigosa, who split from the others when he indicated that he did not support a state-level single-payer healthcare system.

The forum moderators were Paulette Brown-Hinds, founder and CEO of Voice Media Ventures, and Colleen Williams, anchor of NBC4 News. The event was co-organized by 11 California advocacy organizations focused on improving health in the state, with the livestream presented by the event’s media partners NBC4 LA and Telemundo 52.

California’s primary election will be June 2, 2026. Voters will elect the state’s next governor in the national midterm election on November 3, 2026.