California Gubernatorial Candidates Housing Forum Moderated by Ezra Klein

Join the Terner Center for Housing Innovation, The New York Times, San Francisco Foundation, and Housing Action Coalition for a live, nonpartisan forum in which leading candidates in California’s 2026 gubernatorial race will discuss the state’s housing crisis.

California State Assemblymember and 2022 Housing Hero Award winner Buffy Wicks will make opening remarks, and Ezra Klein, Opinion writer and podcast host at The New York Times, will moderate the discussion on Friday, May 8, in Oakland, California.

Friday, May 8, 2026
Doors 3:00pm | Forum 4:00 – 6:30pm | Reception 6:30 – 8:30pm PT
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, Oakland
Broadcast nationally by The New York Times
Get tickets

Any candidate reaching 5 percent in the next Emerson, UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS), or Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll, whichever gets released first, will qualify to participate in the forum, which will be a policy discussion with questions and follow-ups that no candidate, campaign, or group will see beforehand.

It will be broadcast through New York Times channels and featured on The Ezra Klein Show, bringing California’s gubernatorial candidates and the state’s housing crisis to a nationwide audience. We will make the broadcast link available in advance.

Discounted tickets are available to the first 200 UC Berkeley students who register with their UC Berkeley email address. Please contact us at ternercenter@berkeley.edu for details and with any questions.

Get tickets