The University of Southern California hosted KPCC/ABC's 26th Annual Empowerment Congress Summit and Gubernatorial Town Hall on Saturday.
Immigration, homelessness, sanctuary status and taxes were just some of the topics covered in front of the 1,000+ attendees.
Six prominent gubernatorial candidates who hope to replace outgoing California Governor Jerry Brown were featured, 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans:
John Chiang, D-CA State Treasurer
Gavin Newsom, D-CA Lieutenant Governor
Delaine Eastin, D-Former superintendent of Public Instruction
Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Former Mayor of Los Angeles
John Cox, R-Businessman
Travis Allen, R-CA Assemblyman
As could be expected, President Trump was unable to escape some low-hanging critiques by the Democratic candidates. Accompanying choruses of rowdy boos and hisses from the crowd informed the uninformed that we might be dealing with a left-leaning event.
Guess who was the leader of that pack? None other than our own former mayor Tony Villar.
Always looking for that next viral soundbyte, Villar included this simply profound response when asked about the possibility of having to work with the Trump Administration should he be elected governor:
"He was calling Mexicans rapists and criminals. He was going after Muslims. He was comparing white supremacists with people protesting racism in our country. How can I work with him? With great difficulty, obviously."
But all was not hunky-dory in the Democratic camp.
The Dems didn't shy away from taking jabs at each other in an effort to make themselves stand out, with current front-runner Gavin Newsom taking most of the heat.
Check out the highlights (and lowlights!) in the video player below: