California Big City mayors push for continued state support for homeless programs

Mayors of some of California’s larger cities gathered together at Riverside City Hall on Friday, Oct. 30, to collectively press for continued state support for homeless programs and other city needs.

“We set out to restore HHAP (Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention) funding, and we’ve accomplished that,” Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, chair of the bipartisan Big City Mayors coalition, said at the meeting. “But restoring HHAP funding was just the beginning … This summit is about turning that collective strength into action: identifying the issues our cities cannot solve alone and working directly with the governor and legislature to advance meaningful, statewide solutions.”

Attendees who spoke on Friday included Lock Dawson, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson,  Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi and Irvine Mayor Larry Agran.

The coalition collectively represents California’s largest 13 cities and represents nearly 11 million residents. Members do not meet on a set schedule, but convene as needed for policy summits. Its first formal meeting was last year in San Francisco.

Ahead of the upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the group expressed support for upcoming ballot measure, Proposition 1, as well as ensuring the next governor assists cities in addressing homelessness.

Proposition 1 is a proposed $11.25 billion affordable housing bond measure to help veterans and low- and moderate-income households. Proponents say it would fund affordable housing and home ownership programs while speeding up housing production. Critics have said the state taking on more debt is not the solution to solving housing problems.

“I don’t want to add much by way of detail, other than to underscore, as was expressed previously, the importance of Proposition 1 on this Tuesday’s ballot,” Agran said. “It’s essential (because of) the stabilized funding that we have secured, the momentum that has been gathering to attack the problems of homelessness, the need for more affordable housing, transitional housing, emergency housing.”

Resources like those proposed in the ballot measure are what keep cities able to provide more housing and aid them in solving homelessness, he said.

Mayors also called for the next governor elected to continue supporting cities needing the (HHAP) grant funding.

“The ask for the HHAP funding,” Lock Dawson added, “is not only to keep it going at at least $1 billion a year, but make sure it’s sustained and continuous.”

Riverside received $10.3 million from the state in both 2025 and 2026 in HHAP funding.

“What happens from here,” Lock Dawson said on what the mayors gain from these meet-ups, “is that we develop these shared priorities, we identify a course of action, working with our legislature and our governor.”

Gloria said California is a huge state, but many cities have the same issues to find solutions for.

“Mayors are responsible for delivering what residents count on: safe neighborships, reliable infrastructure, clean parks and help for people experiencing homelessness,” Gloria said. “To keep delivering, we need Sacramento’s partnership.”