Jon Slavet

Jon Slavet graduated from Milton Academy. He earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. His career experience includes working as an entrepreneur.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Jon Slavet is an American entrepreneur and Republican candidate for Governor of California in the 2026 election. He has built and led multiple companies over several decades, including co-founding Guru.com, an early online freelance marketplace, serving as a regional leader at WeWork, and growing flexible-living company Sentral as its CEO. Slavet also co-founded and hosts State of Gold, a California-focused podcast that features policy discussions with elected officials, business leaders, and subject-matter experts.

Raised in Massachusetts as the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Slavet moved to California more than thirty years ago. He has five children with his wife, Dee, and cites the challenge of affordability and opportunity in the state as motivation for his campaign.

Slavet’s professional background centers on entrepreneurship, job creation, and organizational growth. His gubernatorial campaign emphasizes addressing California's cost of living, fixing public safety, and restoring California's promise as the Golden State. Jon positions himself as a business-oriented leader seeking to address California’s cost of living and governance challenges.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Jon Slavet’s policy agenda centers on restoring affordability for California families and workers. He supports lowering the cost of gas and electricity by expanding reliable energy supplies and reducing hidden taxes and fees that drive up utility prices. Slavet also prioritizes lowering housing costs by fast-tracking construction, removing regulatory bottlenecks, and rewarding cities that approve and build new homes. In addition, he advocates cutting excessive red tape so small businesses, independent contractors, and gig workers can operate, grow, and remain in California.Jon Slavet’s public safety agenda focuses on restoring safety and accountability across California. He supports fully funding and backing law enforcement so officers can do their jobs effectively and communities can feel safe again. Slavet advocates getting people off the streets through a holistic approach that prioritizes mental health treatment, including rapid, cost-effective solutions such as well-regulated tiny home communities rather than expensive programs that fail to deliver results. He also emphasizes fair and consistent enforcement of the law, protecting the rights of victims and their families, and believes true compassion means helping individuals rebuild their lives while keeping neighborhoods safe.Jon Slavet argues that California’s state government has grown too large, inefficient, and overly influenced by special interests. He supports shrinking the size of government by eliminating duplicative boards, commissions, and bureaucracies that fail to serve the public. Slavet also calls for ending the outsized influence of special interests that spend heavily to shape policy and drive long-term costs. He emphasizes prioritizing state spending on areas that directly improve quality of life, including energy infrastructure, effective schools, public safety, and real affordability, with a focus on putting Californians first rather than Sacramento insiders.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Jon Slavet’s passion for housing policy and government reform is rooted in his real-world experience building and leading housing-related businesses in California. He has seen firsthand how excessive regulations, slow approvals, and overlapping bureaucracies drive up costs, limit supply, and push families and workers out of the state. Rather than viewing these issues abstractly, Slavet approaches them as practical problems that require operational solutions. His focus on streamlining government and fixing housing policy reflects a belief that California can only restore affordability by removing barriers that prevent people from building, working, and staying in the state.