‘I thought long and hard about this’: Why Darrell Steinberg is supporting Joe Biden in 2020

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has decided to throw his support behind former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of California’s March 3, 2020 primary election.

“I thought long and hard about this and talked with several of the candidates,” Steinberg said. “For me, Vice President Biden is the best candidate. This country desperately needs both strong leadership and a voice of healing. This country is so badly divided in large part because of the current president.”

Steinberg declined to name the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates he spoke with but said a “number of them” reached out to him. One strong consideration for Steinberg was former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been courting California lawmakers and business leaders behind the scenes and has secured the public support of big-city mayors from Stockton, San Jose and Riverside.

“I’m sad I can’t support him,” Steinberg said of Bloomberg.

The Sacramento mayor, who had previously backed hometown Sen. Kamala Harris, defended his prior support for her, insisting Harris was “a pretty easy call,” given their longtime friendship and professional relationship. After she dropped out last month, Steinberg gave much thought about whom he should support next.

The biggest priority for Steinberg was finding someone he thinks can beat President Donald Trump in the general election and work with Congress to get laws passed after being sworn in. He said he spoke with Biden a couple weeks ago over the phone and came away from the conversation optimistic about the former vice president’s electoral prospects.

“He has a great chance to beat Trump in the states Democrats lost in 2016,” Steinberg said. “He’s ahead in many of the polls and has a track record with working people, with African-American voters, with people of color. ... You can’t get anything done unless you deal with the other party and differing views within your own party. He’s had a career of working with people of all different points of view.”

Also important for Steinberg were Biden’s plans to tackle issues of housing affordability and homelessness, which California Democrats consider their top policy priorities heading into the 2020 primary.

Steinberg has focused much of his energy this past year urging the state to take more action on homelessness. He co-led a task force Gov. Gavin Newsom created last year to look into possible solutions. The group released a report this month calling for a statewide measure to be placed on the November ballot to force state and local governments to meet ambitious targets to house more homeless people.

In July, Steinberg pushed for a statewide “right to shelter” law modeled after a program in New York City. Biden called housing affordability and homelessness “gigantic issues” during an appearance on The Bee’s “California Nation” podcast earlier this month. He also backed the idea of a “right” to shelter.

Steinberg said he invited Biden to come to Sacramento as California’s primary nears and hopes he’ll visit soon.

“I certainly invited him, and I am sure that over the course of a long campaign, he’ll find his way to Sacramento,” Steinberg said.

When Biden has visited the Golden State, he’s largely held private fundraisers in the Bay Area and Los Angeles in lieu of public events. He and Elizabeth Warren have yet to visit the middle of the state. With the exception of Pete Buttgieg, Biden has made the most appearances in California and held the most fundraisers in the state, according to a Sacramento Bee analysis of candidate visits.

Steinberg’s announcement on Tuesday makes him the third big-city mayor in California to endorse Biden. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia announced their support for Biden earlier this month during the vice president’s latest trip to the state. Other prominent Californians, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sacramento-area congressmen Ami Bera and John Garamendi, are also supporting him.

This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 5:45 AM.