Interviews from CPAC: Leo Zacky’s vision for California as Governor
By Easton Martin | April 9, 2026
As Gavin Newsom’s term draws to a close, this years gubernatorial election in the Golden State is drawing increased attention from across the political spectrum. While California is a fairly liberal state, it is obvious that many of the state’s voters are growing weary of leftist antics. From widespread homelessness, to tightening business and environmental constrictions, many are beginning to wonder, is California ready for change?
At CPAC this year, LindellTV had the opportunity of interviewing Leo Zacky, a man campaigning on true conservative values, with a vision to restore the great state of California to its former level of glory.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself, what prompted you to run for Governor?
Leo Zacky: My family had Zacky Farms. We were the largest privately owned employer in the state of California and the largest poultry producer on the West Coast. I fortunately got to be part of it for a while. I was the board member for the California Poultry Federation for a decade. We would go to D.C. and Sacramento to lobby on behalf of the industry. After years, my family was forced out of business by the regulatory process in California. I had been to D.C. and Sacramento and met with congressmen, senators, state reps, the USDA, FDA, and EPA. I quickly discovered at a young age that they are really stupid. They do not care about you or your family or your business or your livelihood, but they really love being wined and dined.
Having lost our family business to legislative changes that impacted our fixed costs, our fixed costs just went through the roof. This happened because we existed as an entity inside of California. We were vertically integrated as well, so we felt that up and down. Between the price of corn jumping 50 percent, which was the ethanol mandate by Obama, and the minimum wage jumping by 50 percent from 10 to 15 dollars an hour in California, the business struggled. Utility prices went through the roof, and arbitrary regulations came out of CEQA. The price of insurance went through the roof. Everything compounded. It made it so we were not viable and able to put out a competitive product at a competitive price point. We were competing in a global market, and that really killed our family business.
After that, I saw what had happened in the 2016 election and I said enough is enough. Nobody is coming to save us. When Trump won in 2016, it broke that whole notion that you have to be a politician to become a politician. He goes from being a private citizen to the highest office in the land. Granted, there is the fame and the wealth, but he still proved that it could be done. That was very inspirational to me wanting to do this.
I love California. It is my home and I am not running away from it. You cannot run away from Marxism and the globalist one world order that they are trying to establish. You have to stand your ground and fight it. That is what I am doing.
Q: If you were elected as Governor of California, where would you begin with addressing the issues?
Zacky: Everything is so broken. My plan is to focus on the key foundational issues. Water is absolutely the number one issue in California. That comes from an ag business background, but even just the average Californian needs water. Building out water abundance is my goal. I want to utilize new reservoirs, new dams, and desalination. I also want to dam up our concrete rivers to supply water. We can then turn it into a revenue stream by exporting our lion’s share of the Colorado River shed to bring in additional revenue into the state.
Affordability is the other big issue. It is definitely number one on most Californians’ minds, especially in metropolitan areas. Arbitrary rules and bureaucratic bloat are killing us. We are uninsurable because we are mismanaging the state. Environmental regulations make basic goods expensive. The bureaucratic bloat adds to the tax base that kills people’s ability to have affordable homes and keep the money they earn.
It is very difficult for folks to start their own independent business because there is so much red tape in the regulatory process. We can do away with a lot of these nonsense regulations. As governor, I can appoint people to the Coastal Commission and into CEQA who would be more understanding. I want to build a new website using AI where people can go on and apply to get a liquor license or start a retail shop or build an addition to their home. The AI gives them the documents online to show them how to do it and helps them fill it out. You can submit it electronically and be approved instantly. That is how you can get people going in business so much quicker so you do not waste all this time and money trying to get through the approval process.
This is about doing what is right for all Californians. I know we as a people have lost faith in both the parties. We are so disillusioned. That is why you see these radical Marxist organizations becoming so popular. People are very emotion driven because they feel helpless and they do not have any purpose in life. This gives them that purpose because they do not have the ability to afford a home and start a family. When people have that absence of purpose in their life, they go to these other things that make them feel good. We have to show people that there is a way forward. There is a way to homeownership, beginning a family, and becoming business creators. We must generate that trust in the government again. I am here to help do that for everybody regardless of party affiliation.
Q: California is of course a fairly liberal state, what’s one thing that gives you hope about running a conservative campaign there?
Zacky: Everything is so bad it is undeniable. Whatever the issue may be, whether it is homelessness, affordability, insurance, job opportunities, education, or safety, everybody knows it is broken. The one common denominator is the leadership that we have had for the last 30 or 40 years. People are ready for change. They just want to see how we achieve that goal. They are sick of the buzzwords and the grand gestures. They actually want to hear how you get from point A to point B.
Q: How can people support your campaign?
You can go to my website, https://leozacky.com/, or follow us on X @LeoSZacky, and Instagram @leoszacky.
