THE WHY

California is the greatest State in the USA. It breaks my heart that the State I thrived in is now a place where people can't afford to live and dream here like I did. My party, our party, is compromised, and let this happen to the people who trusted them to fight for us. My Customers are single moms. They're graduates who can't pay their student loans, let alone save for a house, or afford rent, food, or gas. Many teachers have to pay for their own school supplies. None of this had to happen. We ALL allowed this to happen. PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY: The good news is WE can fix it... only if WE REFUSE to elect the same people who are responsible for doing it. CALIFORNIA needs a fighter who listens and works for its Customers. THE HARD TRUTHS WE WANT, NEED AND DESERVE!™

Job Creator, Entrepreneur, Investor, Philanthropist, Activist, and Author

For the past 12 months, Cloobeck has had one mission:

California is no longer Affordable, Livable, or Workable™ for all. As the most generous Undercover Boss in his two stints on the hit television series, where he awarded the most funding in the show's history, Cloobeck has been in both stealth and open mode within California to fully immerse himself in its vast communities, organizations, critical infrastructures, and political landscape.

During this time, Cloobeck has conducted more than 300 meetings with California business leaders, lawmakers, venture capitalists, inventors, Governors, Senators, Congressmen, Mayors, pollsters, candidates - both Democrat and Republicans, union leaders, farm workers, faith leaders, law enforcement officers, active military officials, veterans, teachers, students, housing officials, top US immigration lawyers, travel and tourism decision-makers, producers, directors, entertainers, and media and influencers.

From hosting events at his home for the California Police Organization of Greater Los Angeles and the Hispanic Journalists Annual Event to meeting with mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Compton, Stockton, Huntington Beach, West Hollywood, addressing farm workers at the United Farm Workers Annual Conference to making visits to Lancaster State Prison, Arvin Food Bank, Angelus Church, Amen Brain Health Clinics, the Los Angeles Dream Center, where he is a major donor, and countless meetings and interviews with business leaders, both large and small, and State officials, Cloobeck has been on the job by identifying key areas of concentration in and around California to govern with Respect Results Responsibility™, that are meaningful and measurable. A full Stephen J. Cloobeck biography can be found HERE

This is why I'm running for governor of California

The mission of the Stephen J. Cloobeck campaign for Governor is to ensure that California reclaims its national and global stature as a place of prosperity, opportunity, and a place to thrive and survive. We need to make sure California is Open for Business™ again. His number one priority is to make California Affordable, Livable, and Workable™ for every Customer in California, in every community, and to create a safe place for all.

Stephen believes it is time to govern with Respect Results Responsibility™ that are meaningful and measurable. He envisions a California that leads the way in innovation and sustainability, harnessing the state’s economic and creative power as well as its intellectual and environmental potential to create long-term prosperity for future generations, re-energizing travel, tourism, film and television, housing, insurance, and education. As Stephen likes to say, as he crisscrosses all 58 counties:

“We must breathe life back into the California Dream. It must be obtainable for everyone, regardless of where you came from, who you love, or what language you speak.

EVERYONE MATTERS.
“If we were a country, California would be the 4th largest economy on the planet. We need to act like it,” added Cloobeck. “We need to be seen once again as an innovative, future-focused, world-class community that is leading the way, always moving forward. California is at the end of a cul-de-sac™, wondering why we hit a dead end.

“It’s going to take hard truths, tough decisions, and a commitment to work together side-by-side – all of us – to make California the 5* state we want, need, and deserve. From education to immigration, from homelessness to healthcare, there are so many critical priorities that must be addressed. It’s time to face the THE HARD TRUTHS WE WANT, NEED AND DESERVE™ to get the work done. and get the work done."

Remember: All Californians are Customers™. Are they getting equal or greater value for the tax dollars they are paying?™ They need to know what they are getting for the hard-earned money they are putting down on the table. Something they have not seen in years. It's been a shameful, no-accountability administration. Californians deserve better. I’m ready, I’m proven, and we’ve got this."

Those who got us into this are not the ones getting us out of it. California needs simple solutions for a better way, a better life.

A link to the full Press Release can be found HERE

Best Selling Book

Facing Hard Truths:

How Americans Can Get Real, Pull Together, and Turn Our Country Around

Successful businessman, activist, philanthropist, and 2026 candidate for governor of California Stephen J. Cloobeck applies an unflinching problem-solver’s eye to America’s most pervasive challenges.

Cloobeck built his reputation transforming dysfunctional companies on the brink of ruin into performance powerhouses. In Facing Hard Truths, he focuses this proven business acumen on our most pressing concerns like immigration, crime, the cost of living, and the coarsening of political discourse. He offers sometimes tough—but always sincere—lessons learned over a lifetime of public and private sector experience.

From his first job bussing tables in a small California restaurant, to his time operating a global hospitality juggernaut, to his years helming federal public-private partnerships, state agencies, and local organizations, Cloobeck’s journey propelled him from busboy to boardroom. In this book, he relies on the action-oriented principles that drove his personal success to outline a plan that will take California, and America, from flailing back to flourishing.

In Facing Hard Truths, Cloobeck’s engaging storytelling and straight-shooting proposals leave readers feeling heard, respected, and above all, eager to set aside political differences and get back to what really matters: creating an America that is more affordable, livable, and workable, and opportunity-rich for all. Cloobeck has three core principles that get to the essence of strong, competent leadership—he calls them the three Rs: Respect Results Responsibility.