State senate candidate Brian Goldsmith is a native of Brentwood. (photo courtesy of Brian Goldsmith)

Brian Goldsmith hasn’t been elected to office before, but he has spent a career in journalism and as an advocate supporting some of the most recognizable names in modern American politics. He was a news producer for Katie Couric across several platforms, including her positions at Yahoo! and CBS – including that infamous interview with then-Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008. For 2020, he joined the presidential campaign of his former Harvard University classmate, friend and future Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

Now, following the disappointing returns for Democrats in the 2024 national election, Goldsmith has decided it’s time to throw his own hat into the ring, joining the nine other candidates vying for the California State Senate District 24 seat soon to be vacated by termed-out Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica). Goldsmith is a native of the district, raised in Brentwood.

“I grew up in West L.A. so [the January 2025 fires] hit very close to home,” Goldsmith said. “I have a lot of friends who lost their homes, lost their businesses, and this was really a failure at every level of government – before, during and after. Of course, we now know that the fires were entirely preventable.”

He sees the No. 1 issue facing Californians to be affordability, saying that some of the state legislature’s good intentions have gotten in the way of California’s public perception.

“California became Exhibit A of the Republicans case against the Democratic Party,” Goldsmith said. “And as much as I disagree with many of the people making those arguments, I think we have to be honest enough with ourselves and acknowledge that there is some truth to the idea that California has become unaffordable, too bureaucratic, too difficult to get things done… to protect public safety, to deliver government services effectively and efficiently.”

Discussing the area’s star industry – film and television production – Goldsmith said that much could be done, and has been done, to make Los Angeles and California more friendly to production again.

“We can’t allow ourselves to become the Detroit of entertainment,” he said. “We can’t lose the industry, and we were at real risk of doing so. Finally, the [state] legislature acted last year to more than double the film and TV tax credit thanks to the leadership of Ben Allen and a lot of others, [including Assemblyman] Rick Zbur, and thank God we did. Now it’s not enough. I always say that the credit that was passed is a floor and not a ceiling. We should make it even easier to operate. We should apply it to above-the-line [jobs] as well as below-the-line. We should be truly competitive with other states, and we do need a federal credit, and we should be lobbying very aggressively in Washington to get that done.”

Goldsmith emphasized that he – and California residents – want to see results.

“We are not so good as a state at these really big, complicated, expensive projects,” he said. “And there are 100 villains that are responsible for this, but I’d rather get a small-or-medium-sized thing accomplished on time and on budget than try to do the gargantuan tens of billions of dollars’ worth project and hope for the best … a little bit of the triumph of hope over experience. And so, my inclination is usually toward more incremental progress, reducing the costs and reducing the risks.”

He said that when large scale projects either fail, take a long time to complete or don’t go as planned – such as the proposed high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco – it reenforces cynicism with residents.

“I think our people in California want to see progress. And I think every time one of these mega projects goes over budget, gets delayed, runs into unanticipated major problems, it just deepens the cynicism that so many Californians already feel about state and local government,” Goldsmith said.

He said he’d like to review the state’s regulatory environment, permitting rules and requirements to figure out why building is so expensive in California and why so many businesses have left the state.

“I want to keep important rules that protect our environment, protect the labor rights, protect public health – but I think that sometimes the sum of these rules is even greater than their parts, in the sense that they just keep layering on top of each other, and they create an enormous burden that is not always totaled up for someone operating with very thin margins,” Goldsmith said.

One of his immediate goals is to improve education in the state.

“I think that we can make a significant difference on K-12 education pretty quickly, learning the lessons of other states – frankly, some of the poorest states in America – that are outperforming California on third grade reading and math,” he said. “We really need to surge resources to kids who are behind, whether because of learning differences or circumstances at home. Other states have figured out how to do this.”

He also outlined his plans to help curb crime and homelessness.

“I think we should widen the qualifications to be admitted to CARE Court,” Goldsmith said, referencing the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act that helps connect qualifying individuals with social service. “I think it’s the right idea, but it’s the diagnoses that lead someone to be accepted are so narrow that CARE Courts are only treating hundreds of Californians and not tens of 1000s. We also need to figure out in a very, measured, thoughtful way how to do involuntary treatment for people living on the streets with mental illness or addiction who are in no position to provide consent, but whose families are determined to save their lives, and right now they don’t have the tools to do that.”

While he agreed California values stand as an antithesis to those of President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, he professed that it is through legislation and progress that protest can be made.

“I admire the way the governor has fought to defend the state from Trump and Trumpism. But ultimately, I think the ultimate the strongest anti-Trump move is bringing groups of people together across differences to pass and execute meaningful changes that improve people’s lives. That is the that is the un-MAGA. It is not an imitation of MAGA from the left. It’s a brand of politics that is the opposite of MAGA – which is unifying substantive, non-performative, and trying to bring people together to get important things done,” Goldsmith said.

He boasts many prominent endorsements, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).

“I consider myself a Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton Democrat. The first eight letters in the word progressive is progress. So, I believe in making progress,” he said. “And I also think that Democrats have a special responsibility as the party of more activist government to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and to make sure that projects are on time and on budget. I think too much of what we measured in California have been bill signings and billions of dollars spent as opposed to results and outcomes on the ground. I think as a legislator, my perspective would be to recognize that we’re a coequal constitutional branch of government, that we’re supposed to hold the executive branch – no matter who’s the governor – accountable. I think this is maybe where some of my journalism training comes into play, knowing how to ask hard questions, knowing how to hold people in power accountable.”

Ultimately, for Goldsmith, it’s about his love of the district – a place he said he remembers fondly growing up in, from the Century City Mall to weekends at Malibu Beach.

“It was a very ideal of childhood. I was quite lucky. I had a wonderful family that loved me, and I grew up in this really beautiful community,” Goldsmith said. “It’s the most beautiful district – not just in the state, probably in America. I defy anyone to stand on Santa Monica Beach with the the waves on one side and mountains on the other, and not think that they’re in paradise. And [there are] so many amazing cultural institutions, small businesses, restaurants, coffee shops. LACMA’s in my district, and the Getty Center’s in my district. You could spend years sorting through all the jewels that are in this district.”