California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton makes ambitious homelessness pledge: ‘every encampment will be cleared’

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton unveiled a plan to clear every homeless encampment in the state by the end of next year at a San Diego news conference today.

The plan calls for a network of Homeless Recovery Centers, using the Sunbreak Ranch project in San Diego County as the prototype, according to the Hilton campaign.

The centers would provide beds, meals, showers, medical care, drug treatment, psychiatric care and job training. Each person would have someone responsible for helping them get into stable housing, with continued care for those who need it, campaign officials said.

“No one is going to get their life back on track on the streets,” Hilton said. “We are going to get people off the streets and into place where they can actually get help.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2025 count found California has 181,934 homeless people, including 115,583 living without shelter, according to Hilton, who said the state has allocated almost $24 billion to homelessness and housing in recent years, yet the state auditor found it failed to consistently track spending and results.

Hilton says he will meet with mayors and county leaders in his first month as governor to set public deadlines for clearing encampments, with a Labor Day 2027 deadline for local leaders and a final deadline of Dec. 31, 2027, for every encampment to be cleared.

Hilton also plans to declare a homelessness emergency to waive permitting barriers, enforce public camping bans once suitable facilities are available, and audit homelessness spending through Operation Zero Waste to redirect money from failing programs.

If loocal leaders do not act, he said the state would step in. “Leaving people to deteoriate in tents is a disgrace,” Hilton said.

“By the end of 2027, every encampment will be cleared, and Californians will have their sidewalks ad parks back.”

The campaign of Hilton’s opponent, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

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