Xavier Becerra leans into his health care background while campaigning for governor in Orange County

Xavier Becerra says he wants to be the “health care governor” for California. To do that, he’s barnstorming the state, stopping at community health centers along the way.

That’s what brought Becerra, the former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary and current Democratic candidate for governor, to an office building in Santa Ana on Tuesday afternoon, getting a close look at mental health services offered for youths, veterans and families at Orange County’s Child Guidance Center.

He toured the various rooms where professionals help parents communicate and play with their children. He heard about how veterans and their families can find healing through equine therapy. And with the federal building in Santa Ana looming outside the center’s windows, he asked Child Guidance Center CEO Lori Pack about how the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts have affected children and families seeking mental health care.

Health care centers, such as the Child Guidance Center, are on the “front lines” of providing so many services to California families, Becerra said in an interview after his tour. That’s an important mission, he said, for whoever is the next governor of California.

“We have to make sure we have access to early preventative care, which is far less expensive than going into the hospitals, using the emergency rooms,” Becerra said. “So I’ve got to see centers like this thrive, not just survive, the Trump (administration) budget cuts.”

Becerra is in the midst of a campaign for California governor, one that has been dominated by talk about the number of Democratic contenders vying to be the state’s next chief executive, without any emerging as a clear front-runner.

But Becerra, who has polled toward the bottom of the main Democratic contenders, at least doesn’t sound worried. It’s April, he said on the last day of March, that will be the real test.

April is when a few of the candidates will begin to shine, Becerra predicted. It’s also when voters, many of whom are still undecided, polling shows, will really start to pay attention to the crowded race, the former Biden administration official said.

As for Becerra’s plan to ingratiate himself to voters and start to stand out, it’s one rooted in consistency.

“Travel all over, meet with folks, try to make sure that we’re raising the issues that are most important to folks and participating,” Becerra said, adding that he hopes there will be more debates in the future that include a “fair” process of determining who can participate. (A debate scheduled for last week was ultimately canceled at the last minute amid growing criticism that the formula used to pick the participants excluded the Democratic candidates of color, including Becerra, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former State Controller Betty Yee.)

“And then just do the best job you can of being present through social media and commercials, so people have a chance to learn more about you and make the decision of who they want,” Becerra said.

As voters are still deciding, Becerra said he plans to highlight his experience in the Biden administration tackling the country’s health care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Congress and as California’s attorney general.

“I have more policy chops than any of the candidates who are running,” he said. “The thing that I think is the trait that I bring that is most valuable is my personal experience, that lived experience.

“I know what it means to not have everything you’d like,” Becerra continued, “and that is lived experience that you take to the governor’s office that, complemented with those experiences as a professional, help you make the right decision, help you pierce through the difficulties in times of crisis, help you make those strong decisions, which are tough to make, where courage really will be necessary.”

So in the meantime, Becerra is continuing to tour the state as part of his campaign for governor, highlighting his experience and talking about how the next governor can protect access to health care amid federal cuts and promoting the importance of home ownership, particularly among younger Californians, he said.

He’ll be doing that, he said, while trying to swap out fast food for salads on the campaign trail. And while cheering on the UCLA women’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament.