A group of tech industry leaders and self-described “radical centrists” are vowing to push back on left-leaning policies in California that are causing an exodus among wealthy entrepreneurs and businesses from the Golden State.
The New York Post reported that the group held an event attended by about 350 people in Mountain View, California, that featured elected officials, including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, tech industry leaders and hundreds of attendees who want to challenge the progressive tilt of the state’s policies.
The meeting comes as several prominent wealthy entrepreneurs have left California to avoid a proposed 5% one-time wealth tax on billionaires who were California residents at the start of this year, with the tax due next year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel are among those who have moved assets or relocated from California.
Business leaders who are spearheading the group urged those in attendance not to give up on California by leaving and instead push back on left-leaning policies by electing more moderate politicians.
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“Some people have decided to leave our state as some kind of heroic thing. Like, ‘I’m going to Florida,'” Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen said at the event, according to the Post’s report. “That is not brave. That’s surrender. So, let’s get involved. Let’s take back our state.”
Larsen said the group needs to “fight on par with the unions when they’re proposing stupid job-killing ideas like the San Francisco CEO tax.”
He also called out Democratic politicians who are competing to become the party’s nominee for California governor, including former Democratic presidential primary candidate Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell and former Rep. Katie Porter for supporting the union-backed CEO tax.
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He said it’s “really disappointing,” and it reflects the pressure that labor unions have put on the state’s elected officials. Larsen added that while the group isn’t anti-union, it aims to balance labor’s ability to influence elected officials.
Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan hosted the event after he launched “Garry’s List” last month to serve as a “citizen’s union” to support centrist candidates in California who are supportive of policies to improve the state’s schools and addressing issues related to housing and public safety.
Tan criticized Steyer, saying he’s attempting to “buy the governor’s mansion to raise your taxes,” and praised Mahan as the “next governor of California.”
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The Post’s report noted that Garry’s List is focusing on voter education efforts through a blog Tan writes with the assistance of AI. Tan launched the site criticizing anti-growth policies, wealth taxes and a strike by San Francisco teachers.
Garry’s List is one of several groups that have been formed in an effort to stem the leftward lurch of California’s politics.
A group called Grow California was created by Larsen and Tim Draper, which will spend about $40 million to support “pragmatic” candidates focused on addressing issues like the cost of living.
Another group called Building a Better California was launched by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, venture capitalist Michael Moritz and other tech leaders. It has raised over $45 million to help advance initiatives to reform tax policy and spur development.
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