Steve Garvey | Candidate for US Senate in California (full interview)

Thanks so much for being here. Sure, appreciate your time. Nice to see you again. It's been a few years.

Well, I think it starts locally. It's a release of land leases to builders. It starts with taking free freestanding buildings now and deregulate the time it takes for those buildings to be actually livable. So regulation has killed the housing industry. When we talk about affordability, we also talk about accountability. Politicians now have to invest in the people by housing free market capitalization. Supply side, once people start getting money in their pockets, they'll be able to afford housing in a variety of different levels. Young people, you know, my sons and their significant others. Even now at the age of 30, 35 can't afford housing that will be their single most important asset. So I think in a federal position, we'll also look at it from a federal situation, how we can infuse capital into responsible areas where there's oversight. And tax credits are very important. I think if we can get our builders to be incentivized, I think that's where we're gonna start to take off in terms of people being where they wanna be.

Well, San Diego has been a great example. I've been here, I've been to Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. But San Diego is really where the Alpha Project, Father Joe's Villages, programs that really work not on a local and state basis, but being seen by national entities that want to invest in what's really working. Los Angeles, the Dream Center there. It's not necessarily about getting the homeless into housing; that can happen. It's about mental illness, it's about addiction. Let's address the problem from the head down, so to speak. Alpha Project within a year, you can prepare the homeless who have to go there and have to say 'I want help' to the point where their mental issues have been addressed, their addictions have been addressed. They're comfortable going out in public. The Alpha Project allows them to apply for a job, and once they get that job, a program like this puts them in a position to have dignity in their hearts again. And in my policy, common sense and compassion consensus building actually starts here in San Diego and goes on to these major cities. But that $20 billion that was spent on homelessness that nobody can account for. And you're right. First thing I'll do as next US senator is demand a federal audit as to where that money went to.

How will you handle immigration and the border on day one? Well, I've always said, securing the border is one thing. Securing the border allows us to do, and this is a policy that'll make a big difference, is finish the wall off. Let's get back to remain in Mexico. Let's reinforce the good men and women of the US Border Patrol who put their lives on the line. Let's start to build detention centers that are gonna be able to secure these illegal migrants, bring judges in, they're gonna be able to do their job in trying these people and not letting them systematically by administration. That's welcome everybody from around the world. Come here. You don't have to be legal. I mean, it's unconscionable. This great country is built on immigration, but we have a process where you go to your embassy in the country, you file for the proper papers, and you wait your turn. Can you imagine that hundreds of thousands of people waiting to come here the right way, and we allow illegal migrants to do this, where we now have 49 border states, where gangs are coming in, infiltrating small and mid-size cities. Forget about Chicago and New York and San Diego. I mean, this is the devastation of America as we know it.

Well, I'm running for the soul of California, and my soul is here in San Diego, the currency I've had with the people in this county. My son went to Army Navy Academy here. I know this town is people. It's time to stand up. It's time for change. You know me, you know that I'll get up every day and go to the US Senate and battle for your life, for your future quality of life. Of course, cost of living and the secure streets.

Thanks.