Former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), candidate for Governor in the 2026 election, explains to the CalChamber Board of Directors how her experience as a former leader of the Senate and Assembly has prepared her to lead the state and help facilitate negotiations on contentious subjects. With touches of humor, she presented her views on issues like energy supply and sustainability, housing affordability and insurance, modernizing the transportation network, water and education. “Uncertainty is the worst thing we face,” she says, adding that the state needs a leader who will work with partners “to drive innovation and economic growth…ensure every Californian has access to opportunity” like she and her partner did “…regardless of background or income.”
