🗳️ June 2026 Primary Election Ballot Analysis (II): Other State/National Offices

[cahwyguy]

Here in California (and in Los Angeles in particular), we have an election coming up. You know what that means: Every election, I do a detailed ballot analysis of my sample ballot. This is where I examine each candidate and share my conclusions, and invite you to convince me to vote for the other jerk.  Because this is a long ballot, I’m splitting this analysis into a few chunks (note: links may not be available until all segments are posted – unposted segments are marked [PENDING]):

1. Governor of California
2. Other State and National Offices (excluding judges)
3. County and City (Los Angeles) Local Offices (excluding judges)
4. Measures (nee Propositions)
5. Judicial Offices (County and State)
6. Summary

Note: This analysis is NOT presented in the same order as the Sample Ballot (the ballot order makes no sense). I’ve attempted instead to present things in more logical order.

This part covers the non-Governor Federal and State races:

• Federal (Legislative): US Representative, 32^nd District
• State (Legislative): State Assembly 40^th District
• Statewide Offices: Lt. Governor ❦ Secretary of State ❦  Attorney General ❦ Insurance Commissioner ❦  Controller ❦ Board of Equalization, 3rd District ❦ Supt. of Public Instruction ❦ Treasurer

🗳️

Federal Offices

US House of Representatives, 32^nd District

Hopefully, from our civics classes, we know the duties of our congressional representatives. Under the current administration, those duties are even more important: To stand for the power of the Congressional Branch in the face of power grabs by the Executive Branch. To stand up for Democratic values and the rights of the people in the face of MAGA. To stand up for the rights guaranteed to the people and to citizens by the Constitution. To uphold their oaths of office. To make sure that the district’s interests and values are represented in Congress (and this district is liberal).

For a while, with the recent California redistricting, I though we had moved into George Whiteside’s district. I even got a Whitesides yard sign. A good part of Northridge did move. But it appears we have remained in the 32^nd District with Brad Sherman. Sherman was first elected to Congress in 1997, meaning he has been in Congress for almost 30 years. That’s good and that’s bad. The good is that he has a lot of seniority and power. The bad is that he’s older, and likely a bit more disconnected from the more progressive younger voter. Perhaps I should clarify here that I am distinctly NOT in the MAGA camp: I think Trump and the values of Project 2025 are completely wrong. I simply cannot support someone who supports Trump or his values. That said, I am also more of a political moderate believing that compromise is necessary to move forward. While I would love to have many of the heavily progressive goals NOW, I recognize that won’t happen, and we will need to move towards them incrementally.

Additionally: I am a supporter of the nation of Israel, although I disagree with what Netanyahu has done and how he has gone after Gaza and Palestinians. But Israel should have the right to exist, and I support a two-state solution. I will have difficulty supporting candidates that are promoting anti-zionist leanings as a pretext for saying we should not support Israel.

So far, I’ve liked what Brad Sherman has done. He has regular town halls. He lives in the valley, and goes to valley events (we saw him two weeks ago when we went to the Soraya to see Jeremy Jordan). He is here for his constituents, and he is representing our values (even though he is older). So I think for any candidate to gain my vote in the primary, they would need to be demonstrably better than Brad Sherman.

◯ Christopher Ahuja (D)

On his website, Ahuja clearly states “I’m Christopher Ahuja — a Democratic Socialist, father, and small-business owner.” To be clear, a Democratic Socialist is not a Socialist. The DSA website notes “Democratic socialism is a political ideology advocating for a democratic, worker-controlled economy that replaces the capitalist profit motive with human need. It combines political democracy with social ownership of key industries, aiming to decrease corporate power, reduce income inequality, and provide universal services (e.g., healthcare, education).” Contrast this with socialism, which is defined as “Socialism is an economic and political ideology advocating for collective or governmental ownership of the means of production and natural resources, rather than private ownership. It seeks to reduce economic inequality through cooperative management or state planning, aiming to distribute wealth more equally among all members of society.”. When you think Democratic Socialist, think Bernie Sanders, AOC, or the new mayor of New York.

Reading through his issues, I generally agree with them. Whether he has the ability to bring them to fruition is a different story. His background isn’t that heavily law based (and Congress writes laws): “Christopher earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science. He later earned his Public Leadership Credential from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government”. That’s scant. He hasn’t held a significant elected position: “served on the Tarzana Neighborhood Council for three years, advancing sustainability initiatives and community projects that strengthen local neighborhoods. He also served as Chair of the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance, Treasurer for Feel the Bern SFV, sat on the West Valley Warner Center Chamber of Commerce board, and joined the California Biodiversity Working Group”. He doesn’t have the experience of working in the state assembly or the state senate, so he’s a bit green.

He has some small very progressive endorsements, but also has endorsements of the anti-AIPAC and Palestinian groups that are concerning (but not deal-breakers).

Here’s what he doesn’t say on his website. His “small business” is having a career as an actor and talent agent in Hollywood. He is co-owner of the talent agency Avant Artists and represent 600 clients. This is his second run, having landed in fourth place in the 2024 primary for the Southern California House seat. As of the time I write this, he has had no real news posts on his website since 2025, however he does appear active on Facebook. Reading through his posts there shows that he does support cutting off aid to Israel.

When looking through his website for his reasons not to support Sherman, it seems to be the fact that Sherman in the past has accepted corporate PAC money and funds from AIPAC. With Sherman having been in Congress for 30 years, that’s not a surprise. It is expensive to campaign every two years, and that’s 15 campaigns. Depending on the PAC, accepting funds is not necessarily a problem. The problem would be serving the interests of PAC donors over the interests of your district, and I haven’t seen Sherman doing that.

◯ Dory Benami (D)

I’ve read through Benami’s bio page, his issues page, and his FB page. Here’s what I have gleaned. He is a strong supporter of Israel, having been born in Tel Aviv and move here when he was two. He’s trying to combat the anti-zionist tilt that is emerging in the Democratic party (although he doesn’t accuse Sherman of supporting that shift). He has a legal background: earning an undergraduate degree at UC Riverside, a law degree with honors from the University of Warwick in England, and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property and International Business Law from the University of San Francisco.  He has had varied careers: he began in the entertainment industry with Writers & Artists Agency and later with New Regency at 20th Century Fox. He worked on international theatrical releases and home video distribution. He transitioned to the footwear and apparel industry, living and working in China. He has not held elected positions, but has worked on campaigns.

He seems to be a political moderate. He writes “Leaders like John Fetterman and Ritchie Torres have reminded us that there is a middle ground between the extremes”; holding up Fetterman is a problem as Fetterman has often caved to the Trump agenda. He is not taking excessively progressive positions: There is no mention of Medicare for All, nor of wealth taxes or addressing income inequality. His issues page does a great job of identifying the problem, but does not identify viable solutions.

His website lists no endorsements.

I looked on his page for his argument to vote for himself over Sherman. The best I could find were some complaints that Sherman has been in a party that has been less supportive of Israel of late. However, there were no specific accusations against Sherman; from my interactions over the years with Sherman through our synagogue, I’ve only seen strong support for Israel and the Jewish community.

⚫ Jake Levine (D)

Jake Levine served as Chief Climate Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, leading the agency’s climate team, with the responsibility for developing and implementing the DFC’s climate finance agenda. He worked with DFC’s Public Board agencies–the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, and the U.S. Agency for International Development–to coordinate administration policy in climate finance.  He served  in the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change, where he developed energy policies, including the most stringent fuel economy standards ever set and the first-ever greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks. He also served as Senior Counsel to California State Senator Fran Pavley, where he led the successful campaigns to draft, design, and enact SB 32 (Pavley) and AB 197 (Garcia)—landmark California climate and
environmental justice legislation. He has also worked in clean power and energy industries, and was an advisor to the California Climate Action Corps, a statewide service corps focused on climate resilience in underserved communities. He holds a B.A. from Harvard College and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He is the son of former Rep. Mel Levine (who lived in the Palisades), and went to Harvard Westlake.

Reading through his positions: He appears to be progressive (supporting Medicare for All), but not to the level of Democratic Socialist progressive. I didn’t see discussions of attacking structural wealth disparity, for example. He is endorsed by J-Street, which is a more progressive Jewish PAC. I’ve read through his priorities, and they seem reasonable. In particular, he notes: “I support a two-state solution — a State of Israel and a Palestinian State — that guarantees the safety, peace, and equal right to self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians, and an immediate end to the atrocities committed against civilians and the violations of international law. ” That pretty much agrees with my position.

He has a fair number of endorsements,  some of which are significant: Howard Berman (a former congresscritter), Henry Waxman (another former congresscritter), Fran Pavely (a former assemblycritter, who he worked for), and lots of conservation groups. No union endorsements.

I looked for an argument of why folks should vote for him instead of Brad Sherman. The only thing I could find were complaints about Sherman accepting PAC money. No seeming disagreements with Sherman’s record. I think, when looking for potentially relevant experience, he has the most real government experience so far.

◯ Marena Lin (D)

Marena Lin seems to have much less of a political background, and more of a scientific one. According to her bio at Project Restore Us, she has training in data and climate science and understanding of food security systems. She completed her postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego researching climate change and human migration, with past work focused on climate change and food security. She was a 2013-2017 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and she completed her Ph.D. at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Prior to this, Lin completed a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she completed a thesis on perceptions of climate change, cropping decisions, and India’s Public Distribution System in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. She completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard College, and she is highly proficient in Urdu-Hindi and proficient in Spanish. Lin was previously a staff organizer with the Harvard Graduate Students Union – UAW. This is not a lot of political experience, and it seems very narrowly focused.

She seems to be staking a very progressive position, and explicitly notes “no more weapons to Israel, no more genocide in Gaza”. This is edging towards that anti-Zionist view that is become problematic in the Democratic party, as it is a platitude that doesn’t recognize the nuances of the situation. She is very supportive of the Green New Deal, and wants to address the issues of AI and Data Centers. In general, her positions are very progressive; I’m not sure she would be able to get her ideas through Congress.

She has a campaign financing guide on her website that appears to focus excessively on AIPAC and AIPAC funding. Again, this triggers my spidey-sense of an un-nuanced position towards Israel. She lists no endorsements.

The impression I get from reading through her background and positions is that she’s politically green. I don’t mean that in a Green Party sense; rather, her background is in the research and science world, and she doesn’t have the acquired skill set for the political science, economic, and horse-trading required to be successful in congress. Although, given her climate science background, she could have Green leanings.

Her argument against Brad Sherman is more of a crypto-based one. But it seems to be more that pro-crypto PACs are funding Sherman’s challengers, not that they are funding him. She notes that Sherman “has called crypto a “garden full of snakes” and pushed for full tax compliance.” Further, in terms of the challengers that crypto has been supporting, none are candidates in this congressional district.

◯ Josh Sautter (D)

Investigating Sautter’s background from his page, here’s what I found: He is a twice elected member of the Encino Neighborhood Council, having served tenures as both President and Vice president of the Encino Council. He has also been elected to serve as delegate to the California Democratic Convention. He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, attended high school in Washington, DC, and college at Bard College in New York. In addition to serving on the Encino Neighborhood Council, Josh is a former stand-up and sketch comedian having appeared at comedy clubs in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC. Currently, he works as a freelance writer. He does not appear to have legal experience or elected experience at the city, county, or state level.

His priorities are pretty scant: rebuilding the middle class, reforming politics, and restoring security. They are reasonable, but incomplete. There’s nothing addressing the excesses of the Trump administration such as ICE, attacks on election security, abuse of executive power. One gets the sense that he would do better at the state level first; he is too inexperienced for Congress.

He links to a Politico argument where he makes an argument against Sherman as being creepy: “Rep. Brad Sherman said the viral photos of him looking at scantily-clad women on his tablet during a commercial flight caught him at a bad moment. He told Playbook he was not searching for risqué pictures, but they popped up on his “for you” tab on X, along with thousands of other, less racy posts. “I think it’s fairly clear that, if on a plane, I shouldn’t let Elon Musk control what’s on my screen,” he said. He emphasized that he was not looking at pornography, as the account “Dear White Staffers” charged. And he explained that he scrolls the algorithmically-determined feed to break out of the Washington-centric media diet that he usually consumes. “I spend some time, particularly if I’m bored, seeing what everybody else is seeing, and they’re not all following POLITICO. And I see an awful lot of antisemitism, and now and then, a picture of a woman comes up,” he said. His Democratic challengers took the opportunity to slam Sherman for being out of touch.” Having had the algorithms feed me inappropriate stuff, I don’t think there is a problem here unless there is a clear repeated pattern and evidence of behavior beyond looking. I haven’t found any claims of that (in fact, Sherman has been pushing for release of the Epstein files and transparency on that issue).

He has no endorsements on his website. Reading through his Facebook, one gets the sense he would work much better starting at the City Council level.

⚫ Brad Sherman (D) ⭐INC

According to his bio, Brad Sherman attended UCLA, and graduated from Harvard Law School. He worked as a CPA and Certified Tax Law Specialist, and headed up California’s Board of Equalization. He is one of only four CPAs serving in the House , and co-chairs the bipartisan CPA caucus. He was then elected to Congress in 1996, and has a whole list of accomplishments. For all of those progressive goals that the other candidates are just talking about, he has been involved in the legislation that has advanced them forward.

I read through his issues page. The overall impression that comes from it is that not only does Brad Sherman support relatively progressive causes, he is actively implementing them. He’s not fully progressive: there’s no mention of Medicare for all, or wealth taxes, and there are no pledges to reform Congress and not accept PAC money. But even at that, he has clearly been effective on moving the progressive needle forward. According to his congressional website, he has some significant committee assignements and caucus memberships.  His issues page on his congressional website has bit more information. He has been working to protect Medicare and Social Security. He is supporting alternative energy. He is working to simplify tax filing, and even under the 47 administration, has brought results to California.

Then there are the issues he doesn’t talk about. According to Google’s AI summary, Sherman consistently raises a significant portion of his campaign funds from Political Action Committees (PACs), with PAC contributions often accounting for over 40% of his total funds, frequently originating from industries like finance and defense. In the 2023-2024 cycle, 42.30% of his funds came from PACs. Quiver Quantitative has a list of his PAC donors here. According to YouTube, Sherman supports Medicare for All as a necessary, long-term solution to reform the U.S. health care system, arguing it is needed to address rising premium costs and coverage gaps. He advocates for this approach as a superior alternative to the limitations of the Affordable Care Act, aiming for a rational, universal system. The cyptocurrency folks hate Sherman. According to the Intercept, while many other Democrats have sought to chart a middle path, Sherman has in the past called for an outright ban of cryptocurrencies. According to a press release from during the Biden administration (i.e., BEFORE the issue became trendy),, Sherman has consistently supported strengthening rules against insider trading, including stricter regulations on financial activities for members of Congress. According to the Google AI, Sherman generally approaches wealth inequality by advocating for policies that support labor unions, increase taxes on corporations and high earners, and protect consumers from financial exploitation. He often emphasizes the need for a tax system that does not favor billionaires and large corporations.

In short, the impress I get on the issues is that he’s a realistic progressive. He broadly supports progressive goals, but isn’t as aggressive on going after them, and often compromises to move the needle forward. His attitude is to get something done, as opposed to waiting for perfection.

He has the bulk of endorsements, including broad union endorsement and Democratic organizations. He has the support of a large number of elected leaders and community folks.

In terms of negatives: There are accusations that he has had a toxic office environment, and some staffers (not Sherman) have been accused of misconduct. There was also the aforementioned viewing of scantily clad women incident, which he claims was due to the X algorithm. However, other than that one incident, there haven’t been other reports so there doesn’t seem to be a pattern of behavior there. That’s similarly true for the office environment issue: there doesn’t appear to be a pattern of problems. Isolated incidents happen to everyone: what’s key is a pattern of behavior. Lastly, the progressive folks don’t like him because of his acceptance of PAC money, and his strong support of Israel. They also don’t like his age.

◯ Douglas Smith (—)

This fellow’s primary background is “a forty year long career as a stage manager in television.” He has also “[embraced his] wanderlust and musical pursuits recording and touring America and Europe with Indie bands Idaho, Scenic, and The Mooks.” His political experience? He “served for 3 terms as a Council member at the Director’s Guild of America”

He has an interesting political screed, and is strongly anti-Trump. He also uses the phrase referencing Gaza as a genocide, which is anti-zionist phrasing and potentially problematic. His overall issues are relatively progressive.

He has no endorsements. He doesn’t make an argument about why he is better than Brad Sherman.

◯ Larry Thompson (R)

This fellows website, unsurprisingly, raises a number of red flags. He starts out with “I am a Christian first. A Conservative second. A Centrist Republican third. I am a member of Stand With Crypto.” Stand With Crypto is a nonprofit advocating for clear, common-sense crypto regulations; in other words, he supports crypto. He states “I will always protect family values.” That’s coding for a anti-abortion, anti-women, and anti-LGBTQ+ agenda. His positions are across the board, but strongly conservative. He has the endorsement of the Republican party, and is the only Republican candidate. He does not mention Trump: either agreeing with him or disagreeing with him. He has no political background.

He does not understand what a congressman does, writing “Repairing the many potholes in our streets including Ventura Boulevard, Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon, Benedict
Canyon, Beverly Glen, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard”. City street repairs are the job of the city, not the Federal government. Department of Transportation funds do not go to pothole repair on city streets. He also writes: “Fight immediately for a futuristic, high-speed monorail service running alongside the 405 freeway with a beautiful view, connecting people traveling between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside of Los Angeles”. This ignores the fact that the studies have shown a monorail would be ineffective and not serve as many transit riders.  He also believes “addressing the homeless problem primarily as a mental health issue”, which aligns with Bianco’s mistaken views on addressing the unhoused.

His website is poorly designed and hard to navigate, and feels outdated.

I don’t feel alignment with his values.

◯ Anna Wilding (D)

According to her IMDB page: “Anna Wilding is an American citizen and Running for Congress in 2026. Anna Wilding is a leading and award winning creator , director, producer, actress, writer in feature film, television, music video and still photography. Anna Wilding is cited in print media as “truly multi talented” and “iconic” for her work behind the lens and on screen and stage. Anna Wilding is an award-winning director, actress, writer, producer and still photographer.” Translation: She has no political experience. Excuse me, this is her political experience: “I have lived and worked on both coasts for more than three decades, including time in Washington, DC as a Senior White House Correspondent. I have driven the length and breadth of the United States four times.”

Her website looks to be designed by the same person that designed Larry Thompson (R)’s website. I read through her issues page. She seems to have mostly progressive positions, but does not seem to give specific solutions that might be achievable. She argues against Brad Sherman, but mostly that he’s been in office too long.

📋 Conclusion

Having read through the backgrounds and positions of all the candidates, and likely reflecting the fact that I’m a political realist, I’m inclined to support Brad Sherman. Yes, he is older, but he remains effective in Congress, is active in the district, and doesn’t seem to be beholden to PAC interests over the interests of the district. I see no problem with PAC money if you agree with what they were going to do anyway (at least under Citizens United). I don’t see any red flags from my research that provide reasons to vote him out of office, and none of the other candidates has presented a coherent argument as to why he needs to go. He has seniority in Congress, which equates to power. Until we reform that system, electing a newbie only dilutes the power of the district.

For those that insist that Sherman must go, I think Jake Levine is the best of the Democratic pack running to unseat Sherman. Levine has reasonable positions, has a reasonable position on Israel. He has experience working in the Biden and Obama administration. He is a nepo-baby, being the son of Mel Levine (a former congresscritter), but that also means he is familiar with how the halls of Congress work. He also has the endorsement of two former congresscritters, Howard Berman and Henry Waxman. For those that want a new face, I think Jake Levine would be it.

Conclusion: (1^st choice): ⚫ Brad Sherman (D) ⭐INC. | (2^nd choice): Jake Levine (D)

🗳️

California Legislature

Member of the State Assembly, 40^th District

Pilar Schiavo was first elected to the assembly in 2022, so this would be her third term. Under Proposition 28 (passed in 2012), California Assembly members elected on or after November 6, 2012, may serve a maximum of 12 years in the state legislature. These 12 years can be served entirely in the Assembly or a combination of service in the Assembly and Senate. So she’s a third of her way through her total career in the state legislature. When first elected, I thought she was a bit green, but she’s matured in office and has been reasonably effective. When there is a reasonably effective incumbent, I’m looking for a cogent argument from an opponent about why the incumbent must be replaced, and that opponent must have positions that resonate with my views. I’m also looking for a modicum of experience, although at the assemblycritter level, that experience can be at the city/county level and can even be organizer experience. Assembly positions are often the first step of a larger political career.

◯ Andreas Farmakalidis (R)

According to his bio, Andreas is the founder of California MusicBox in Northridge. He has degrees from Berklee College of Music, Brandeis University, and Harvard University. He has served as President of the North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce, and is an active Rotarian. He has served as a per diem advisor to the European Union, engaging with international policy and economic issues.

His “Action over Politics” page talks a lot about leadership, but does not give specifics on his positions on various issues. His pages do not give an argument about why the incumbent is ineffective or inadequate. On the plus side, he doesn’t explicitly talk about his support for Trump positions, even though he is running as a Republican. He indicates support by a number of organizations, but none of them seem to rise to the level of endorsements. Looking at his threads page, he seems to be getting momentum in Conservative circles.

From my point of view, his pages don’t provide a reason to vote for him, or to vote against Schiavo. He also doesn’t appear to have much government experience.

◯ Rickey Hayes II (R)

Reading through Hayes’ bio, there’s a fair amount of puffery and inflation. He was a Journeyman Lineman with IBEW Local 47, but the bio inflates that blue-collar worker position into “one of the most respected and demanding professions in the energy sector” and “an energy infrastructure leader and executive, [playing] a key role in building, maintaining, and modernizing California’s power grid.” He also served in the Marines. There is no evidence of community political activity. He was born and raised in Compton and Long Beach, but currently lives in Santa Clarita.

He does not have an issues page, nor does he discuss his legislative priorities. He has no endorsements. He makes no argument against the incumbent.

⚫ Pilar Schiavo ⭐INC (D)

Before serving in the Assembly, Pilar was a Nurse Advocate and Small Business Owner who helped provide access to healthcare—including abortion and reproductive healthcare—to more than one million people. She also co-founded an organization that has delivered more than 50,000 meals to people in need, helped secure homes for veterans and seniors experiencing homelessness, and kept our communities safe. As I recall, she moved to the district from Northern California. In the Assembly, she authored a number of bills, quite a few of which were chaptered (signed into law). None were vetoed.

Her campaign website does not have an issues or a priority page. Her legislative page shows that she’s on a fair number of standing and select committees. Calmatters has a good summary of who is funding her, gifts she’s accepted, and bills she has passed. She also has a good summary of what she had done on progressive safety. She has a courage score of 83, and seems to be rated well by other progressive organizations.

She has a large number of endorsements, including significant labor union support.

Back in 2022 during her first election, this is what I wrote:

Schiavo is a Small Business Owner and Nurse advocate, with 20 years in the labor movement, 13 of those with the California Nurses Association. She currently lives in Chatsworth.  She doesn’t appear to have prior political experience. During the primary, I didn’t like her issues page. The problem was not her positions. At a high level, they are solidly in the Democratic camp. However, they don’t show a depth of understanding of the issues, and everyone seems to be targeted with an endorsement (“… and this is why she’s endorsed by …”). Water conservation is a good example of this. Here’s what she says: “And finally, drought continues in California, with 2022 on track to be the driest year in California history. AD40 has been struggling with severe drought. We face a real threat that there may not be enough water for our local communities. Pilar will fight for state investment to ensure our community has the water we need – in water table infrastructure, rainwater capture, and water reuse. That’s why Pilar is endorsed by the Sierra Club and California Environmental Voters.” But the issue is much more complex in the district, from groundwater contamination from the Santa Suzanna labs, to the need for water for fighting brushfires. I fear she really doesn’t understand the issues well enough, but her heart is in the right place. She has strong Democratic, labor, and union backing.

Her Republican opponent is attacking her for being very progressive (i.e., in the Bernie camp, supporting single payer health care).  There is some truth to some of those claims. But I’d rather have that then the Republican values. Her linked in page shows her as being based in Oakland. An article from one of the Mother Lode papers shows her background is Northern California. She’s being pushed by a group to get moms in office.

◯ Elizabeth Wong Ahlers (R)

According to her bio, Ahlers has a BA in Linguistics, from UCLA, an MA in Applied Linguistics, from UCLA, and a Doctorate in Applied Theology. She served on the Crescenta Valley Town Council in office from 2022-2024 in Orange County, and ran for State Senate from Orange County in 2024. She’s now located in Santa Clarita, so the move must be recent and she is less familiar with the community (and not at all familiar with the San Fernando Valley).

Her issues page is problematic. She talks about how “Radical ideologies in our schools are stripping parents of their authority and exposing kids to harmful curricula” and she wants to “champion parental rights”. This is MAGA-code-speak for anti-LGBTQ+ position and opposition to teaching about civil rights.  She has the usual Republican complaints about “excessive taxes and regulations”. Other talking points are aligned with Conservative positions, and she does not offer specifics as to how she would achieve them. Her 2024 Senate page discussed how she “approaches life from a Christian worldview”. I don’t believe her positions align with mine.

She has endorsements from Republican organizations and the American Independent party.

📋 Conclusion

In some ways, this is an easy choice. I don’t like any of the Republican candidates, and there is no Democratic opposition. For all the folks running to unseat Brad Sherman: This is the race you should have been in; this is the stepping stone to further office and how you make a name for yourself and build your experience. As for Schiavo: I do wish she were a bit more obviously progressive, and that she had a clear statement of her positions and priorities. But she has been effective in the Assembly, bringing funds to the district. I can uncover no reason to vote against her, and especially no reason to replace her with a Republican (especially when I disagree with the positions of the Republican candidates).

Conclusion: ⚫ Pilar Schiavo ⭐INC (D)

🗳️

California Statewide Offices

Lt. Governor

Under California’s Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor serves as Acting Governor whenever the Governor is absent from the state, and automatically becomes Governor if a vacancy occurs in the Office of Governor. The Lieutenant Governor is also President of the Senate and votes in case of a tie.

The Lieutenant Governor serves as a voting member of the Board of Regents of the University of California, the Board of Trustees of the California State University system, and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges system. The Lieutenant Governor also sits on the Calbright College Board of Trustees.

The Lieutenant Governor also serves on, and rotates with the State Controller, as chair of the three-member State Lands Commission, which oversees the control and leasing of millions of acres of state-owned land, including offshore oil resources, as well as use and permitting for all navigable waterways in California. The Commission also manages state land-use planning and revenues, and related interstate issues. During alternate years, when the Lieutenant Governor serves as Chairperson of the State Lands Commission, she also serves as a member of the California Ocean Protection Council and as a non-voting member of the California Coastal Commission.

The current Lt. Governor is termed out, and is running for Treasurer, having opted out of the Governor’s race. So this is a wide-open race and there is a large field. For discussion, we’re going to break it into two tiers: The Top Contenders and the Others. I’ll note the LA Times and CalMatters have a good analysis of this race as well.

Tier 1: Top Contenders

These are the folks whose fundraising and spending show that they are investing significant effort in their campaigns.

⚫ Josh Fryday (D)

Fryday is the leading candidate in terms of fundraising, although as of the start of May, is being outspent by Fiona Ma. That might change.

According to his bio, Fryday is a Novato, California native, and has served as mayor of his hometown, as well as being a U.S. Navy veteran. He is currently serving as California’s Chief Service Officer, leading service, volunteer, and civic engagement efforts throughout California. Under his leadership, California Volunteers has grown to become the largest service corps in the nation—larger than the entire Peace Corps—providing more than 10,000 paid opportunities for Californians to serve their communities. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees at UC Berkeley, after which he volunteered for the United States Navy as a JAG Corps officer. He served overseas in Yokosuka, Japan, where he coordinated humanitarian and disaster relief efforts after the devastating 2011 tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. While stationed at Guantanamo Bay, he represented detainees and later testified before the U.S. Senate, urging Washington to honor the rule of law and close the detention facility. His “about me” page does recognize the specific duties of the role of Lt. Governor.

His issues page does continue his service oriented work, as well as emphasizing goals more in the wheelhouse of the Lt. Governor. Specifically, he wants to build the economy and strengthen public education. On the economy, he wants to accelerate the clean energy transition while creating good-paying jobs and lowering energy costs. In education, he wants to expand College Corps to provide a better path for students to attend college (UC, CSU), and he wants to make it easier for people to have a career in education. That has a number of ancillary aspects: More affordable housing so teachers can afford housing, better teacher pay, reducing student debt, funding public education, and so forth.

He has a large number of endorsements. Teachers, environmentalists, young Democrats, veterans, the Jewish caucus. He has the endorsement of the “Bee”s (newspaper chain). He has a number of elected official endorsements, notably Newsom, Buttigieg, Boxer, Henry Stern, Jesse Gabriel, and a number of Democratic Party Chairs. One gets the feeling that their goals is the traditional one for a Lt. Governor: Training the next Governor. That could be the goal here.

◯ Janelle Kellman (D)

Janelle has a B.A. History Yale (Varsity field hockey and lacrosse), an MSc, Environmental Management Oxford (Oxford basketball and rowing), and a J.D., Stanford. She is an environmental lawyer, small business owner, and former mayor (Sausalito). She has served as a planning commissioner and helped write climate policy. She runs a nonprofit focused on helping communities prepare for risks like fires, floods, and dealing with insurance companies. Her “about me” page talks the specific responsibilities of the Lt. Governor, and ties it into her policy goals to show why this is the right job for her.

In terms of policy, she has three major goals: (1) Cut Electricity Costs by 25%; (2) Reduce Wildfire Risk and Lower Home Insurance Costs; (3) Make Community College Free, These somewhat fit into the LG wheelhouse. Her main focus appears to be her climate credentials.

She has a small number of endorsements: East Area Dems, Legislative Jewish Caucus, the LGBTQ Stonewall Democratic Club. The only elected official endorsement I recognize is Jackie Goldberg.

◯ Fiona Ma (D)

Fiona Ma is the current Treasurer, and is termed out. She’s set her eyes on Lt. Governor, presumably as a stepping stone to the Governor’s mansion. The plans started early: In March 2019, she announced she would run for the 2026 California gubernatorial election. In March 2023, she pivoted and announced that she would be running for the 2026 California lieutenant gubernatorial election instead.

Her official bio notes that she was the first woman of color and the first woman Certified Public Accountant (CPA) elected to the position of Treasurer. Wikipedia notes that she previously was a member of the California Board of Equalization (2015–2019), the California State Assembly (2006–2012), and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2002–2006). She was the first Asian American woman to serve as California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore. She was selected as Chairperson of the California Board of Equalization in 2016, and ordered three external audits of the agency. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Rochester Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in taxation from Golden Gate University, and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

Wikipedia notes that in 2021, Ma was accused of sexual harassment and racial discrimination in a lawsuit filed by a former employee. The suit was settled in 2024 by the state of California for $350,000.

In terms of issues, the following is buried in her “Why I’m Running” page: “I’ll continue to fight to grow our economy, attract investment, and create high-quality jobs. I’ll work to make college more affordable and ensure seniors can age with dignity. Having lived with a pre-existing condition and seen my mother struggle with depression, I will continue the fight for healthcare access for everyone. And as the spouse of a firefighter, I will champion our first responders and public safety personnel so we can feel safe in our homes, work and walking on our streets. And as a real estate tax accountant, I am committed to build more housing so everyone can afford to live in our great state.” The problem is that most of these goals are not in the wheelhouse of the LG, other than as part of the economic plan.

She has some interesting endorsements, notably Eleni Kounalakis the current LG, and Shirley Weber, the current Secretary of State. She also has a lot of union endorsements. and  tons of organizational endorsements. She had the endorsements of our two local congresscritters, Brad Sherman and George Whitesides.  She is definately the leader on endorsements.

◯ Oliver Ma (D)

Oliver Ma is the Democratic Socialist candidate. He is a civil rights lawyer who has fought slumlords, ICE, and apartheid. He’s endorsed by a small number of groups, notably the Democratic Socialists and very progressive organizations, as well as some Asian-American groups.

His platform is a broad progressive one, and explicitly has a plank on Palestine (which is well outside of the LG wheelhouse). He writes “Oliver will push California to divest from companies that profit from Israeli war crimes and the occupation of Palestine.” He is firmly behind the boycott and divest movement. I cannot support that.

He supports single payer healthcare, taking large corporations, and fixing Prop 13 to prevent corporations from benefitting. As I said, a broad progressive agenda. The problem is that he fails to acknowledge the limitations of the office of LG. His site reads more like he is campaigning for Governor vs. LG, and that’s a problem.

◯ Gloria J. Romero (R)

Gloria J. Romero is a former California state senator from 2001 until 2010 and was the Democratic majority leader of the California State Senate from 2005 until 2008. She was the first woman to hold that leadership position. In 2024, she joined the Republican Party. Her name recognition from Democratic days may lead Democrats to vote for her, even though she is the leading Republican candidate. Oddly, her website lists no endorsements. It really is unclear where the Republican endorsements have gone in this race, as the only other Republican with any real endorsements is Ebie Lynch.

Reading through her issues page, there’s little to none of the Conservative agenda one would expect from a Republican candidate. Nothing about “parent choice” or “girls’ sports” or being anti-DEI. I suspect that her recent conversion to Republican is a political move: As the only Republican candidate with name recognition, she is likely hoping to collect the Republican votes who are voting based on party without digging deeper. That’s good for California if she holds onto Democratic values, but it is unclear if that’s her plan. According to the LA Times, “She registered as a Republican in 2024 after splitting with Democrats over the push to oust President Biden as the party’s presidential nominee. She then endorsed President Trump.” I can’t vote for anyone that endorsed Trump, even if she had Dem values.

◯ Michael Tubbs (D)

According to Wikipedia and his bio page, Tubbs attended Stanford University, graduating in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and a Master of Arts in Policy, Leadership and Organization Studies. As an undergraduate, he received a Truman Scholarship, and was the joint winner of the university’s Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel award for “distinctive and exceptional contributions to . . . the quality of student life.” During his time at Stanford, he also served as President of the school’s NAACP chapter, and interned at the White House. He was elected to the Stockton City Council in 2013, and became Mayor of Stockton in 2017. In 2021, he was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom as a special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity. As Mayor, Stockton was named the second-most fiscally healthy city in California and one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the nation. Because of initiatives, investments, and work spearheaded by Michael, Stockton’s unemployment rate was near a record low at around 5.7% in 2019 – down from around 15% in 2012. However, he wasn’t elected to a second term. According to Wikipedia, during the campaign, a social media page known as The 209 Times published numerous stories — many unfounded — accusing Tubbs of corruption. (The 209 Times was run by Motec Patrick Sanchez, who came in fourth in the June primary election, with 10.5% of the vote.) Some attributed Tubbs’s loss to the influence of The 209 Times stories, however, Tubbs was also opposed by police and firefighters’ unions.

His about page also talks about his passion issues, and they are disconnected from the LG role. These are: Education accessible to all without crippling debt; jobs that have wages sufficient to pay for the basic necessities of life; safe water and air; sufficient affordable housing; and ending poverty and keeping  people from becoming homeless through a guaranteed basic income. As I said, well out of the LG’s wheelhouse, which is the public universities, public lands, and broad economic planning.

He has a slew of endorsements, including YIMBYs, Young Democrats, LGBTQ+ clubs, and black caucuses. The only unions are SIEU and AFSCME. Notable elected and name endorsements include Lindey Horvath and Holly Mitchell (both LA County Supervisors) and Dolores Huerta.

His issues page ties things closer to the LG role. For example, on housing, he notes: “The Lt. Governor sits on the governing bodies of both the UC and CSU systems and chairs the State Lands Commission. These are positions of real authority over some of the most valuable public land in America — land that can be leased and developed into affordable housing for teachers, students, aspiring entrepreneurs, and our unhoused neighbors.” I’d imagine there will be pushback on that, similar to what happened in Berkeley with the new Student Housing. He also wants to address affordability by not raising tuition; additionally, he notes “More than 70% of California community college students, more than 50% of Cal State students, and 42% of UC students report being food insecure. That is unacceptable. I’ll push to connect CalFresh enrollment directly to the financial aid system, and I’ll work to identify unused land across UC, CSU, and community college campuses to build housing for students, faculty, and staff.”

Tier 2: The Others

These are the folks who have fundraised under $25,000, and thus have little chance of achieving the recognition to break through. Some have spent much more than they have raised.

◯ Rakesh Christian (—)

Christian doesn’t appear to have a page for his 2026 run. In 2024, he ran for Mayor of Antioch. That website indicates that he has a Bachelor’s in Education (Math, Science, & Statistics) and a Master’s in Chemistry. He was a Regional General Manager for a fast-food chain. He also worked as a Banking Supervisor. He seems to have a grudge against George Soros.

According to the LA Times, he hasn’t raised funds for this run. He does not give the impression of a serious candidate.

◯ David Collenberg  (R)

This fellow’s website does not contain a bio, but does note he is a fifth generation farmer. The Mad River Union notes that Collenberg grew up on a dairy farm in Arcata and now operates a hay and grain business in Siskiyou County. He is hoping to parlay his social media presence, slightly over 100,000 followers on his Facebook campaign page, and his policy platform focused heavily on rural concerns, water storage, forest management, and lowering the cost of living into the governorship. He has never held public office. That was back at the end of 2025; he seems to have pivoted to the Lt. Governor position given the large field running for Governor. He has also had legal issues that are detailed in the Mad River Union article.

His campaign pillars are VERY Republican. For example, he talks about ” the use of politically divisive instructional frameworks in K-12 classrooms”. His issues page is very detailed, but gives the overall impression that he doesn’t understand the role of the Lt. Governor. Instead, it reads like he is running for governor.  He does not list any endorsements. The California Republican Party is not backing him.

According to the Mad River Union, Collenberg has made water policy a central pillar of his plan, arguing that California’s water shortages stem from inadequate storage rather than lack of rainfall. He frames the issue as a failure of planning, not climate change.

◯ Sean Collinson (—)

His webpage states that “Sean Collinson is a professional mediator and trained hostage negotiator…”, but a little digging shows the “hostage negotiator” may be a bit of hyperbole. His business website shows that he is a family and civil mediator. It lists his credentials as “P.C. Parental Coordinator; Crisis Hostage Negotiator; Expert Consultant on Dr. Phil” He lists his education as “Mr. Collinson was trained at Loyola Law School “Mediating the Litigated Case” program and attended and completed the Harvard Law School Initiative Program on Negotiations, as well as completing the Florida Supreme Court’s Certified Family Law Mediation Program. ” In short: He really doesn’t have the experience for Lt. Governor: Either the executive experience or the state government experience.

In terms of his positions and priorities, they look to be on the slightly Conservative side of the middle. I see no obvious red flags, other than inexperience. He does seem to understand the position of Lt. Governor. He has no endorsements.

◯ David Fennell (R)

According to his bio page, he is an entrepreneur who comes from an extended family of inventors and early technology pioneers in Silicon Valley. He graduated from Santa Clara University in 1991 majoring in Science in Commerce with a degree in Marketing. He sold NeXT Computers for Steve Jobs, and worked at a Silicon Valley aerospace company. In 1993 he moved to Asia where he studied Chinese at the Beijing Language Institute in Beijing, China, and continued traveling and working in more than 30 countries. David received his Masters Degree in Asian Studies from the University of San Francisco, Center for the Pacific Rim with a research focus on transitioning economies. He then founded several technology companies.

He seems to clearly understand the role of the Lt. Governor, and focuses on the role of the Lt. Governor to write the economic plan for the state. He wants to bring jobs back to the state, and indicates he wants to meet with people across the state to do so, but does not detail the specifics of what he would put in the economic plan. He is also aware of the role of the Lt. Governor in the UC system, and wants to address what he sees as racism against Asians on campus. The good thing about his positions is that he doesn’t appear to be excessively MAGA.

He does not appear to have any endorsements. He ran for state senate in 2024. He had minimal endorsements then: county GOP organizations and the NRA. Although he has talked about travelling through the state, it is unclear whether he understands the urban needs well (although he clearly understands the rural side).

◯ Jeyson Lopez (D)

First off: Who writes their website in ALL CAPS these days? Really?

According to his bio, he was born in Los Angeles and raised in East Side San Josef, he graduated from California State University, East Bay with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Criminal Justice. In 2016, he witnessed characters who brought out the worst in people and violently characterized the immigrant community. That elections turned Jeyson political, and he started volunteering for campaigns. He volunteered for the Hilary Clinton Campaign, the Kamala Harris Campaign, and against the Newsom recall. He strongly believes that your employer should be held accountable for your quality of life, and if a corporation is profitable, its workers should not rely on social services to survive.

His positions appear to be very progressive, and he has one particularly interesting one: He wants the Lt. Governor to have more congressional responsibility. He has three primary goals: (1) address immigration reform; (2) create a Department of Industrial Relations to attack corporate greed; and (3) reintroduce the 2 year Bachelors degree. In terms of other positions, he is across the board. He states he is a Democratic Capitalist, not Socialist. He is in favor of universal healthcare. He is against the VMT. He wants to stop funding Ukraine and Israel. He supports the Billionaire Tax and wants to fund the police. He is pro-women and pro-LGBTQ+ rights.

He does not have any endorsements.

◯ Ebie Lynch (R)

First and foremost, her slogan on her website turns me off as a non-Christian: “CA_KISS – CALIFORNIA KEEP IGNITING SAVIOUR’S SPIRIT”. Religion should be a private affair, and elected officials should not be pushing specific faith articles in public spaces. Her website also has far too many annoying pop-ups: AI chatbots and merch marketing.

Her background page says precious little about her background, other than that her journey has been shaped by my roles, as a veteran, nurse, mother, labor advocate, and community worker. I was unable to find a more detailed biography.

Her positions seem to be standard Conservative positions, not excessivly MAGA. There are a few code words used, such as “protecting girls’ sports for girls and boys’ sports for boys”. Broadly, her push seems to be to cut regulations and encourage growth. She does want responsible growth for AI and crypto.

She has a few Republican group endorsements, such as Shasta County, Marin, Santa Cruz, and San Joaquin.

The main thing missing from her campaign website is any recognition or knowledge of the role of Lt. Governor. She also seems to show a lack of understanding of how state government works, probably due to lack of experience therein.

◯ Tim Myers (D)

Timothy Myers is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as a founding member of OneRepublic; he is also the founder of Palladium Records. He has had sixteen gold and platinum records that he has written or produced.

In April 2025, Myers announced his candidacy for the 2026 41^st congressional district as a Democrat, challenging incumbent Republican Ken Calvert. Myers withdrew from the race on July 7, 2025, announcing that he would instead be running for Lieutenant Governor of California in the 2026 election. His campaign website gives a privacy error due to an invalid certificate. According to Wikipedia, he opposes the Trump administration’s tax, health, and fiscal policies and administrative actions, in particular criticizing Elon Musk and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But according to Round Hill Music Royalty Partners, “Music is my passion. I eat, breath, sleep these songs. Every hour in my day is dedicated to it, not for fame but love. I just love to write and create and make music.” I think one could rightly question whether, given the lack of a campaign website, whether the campaign and public service is an equal passion. His campaign FB page shows no posts since he moved his campaign to Lt. Governor in 2025. His declaration for Lt. Governor does not show any understanding of what that position involves.

According to the LA Times, he has spent a fair amount of money on the campaign: $73K. This is about 10 times more than he has raised. Perhaps that’s due to the fact his fundraising website is broken.

◯ Skip Shelton (R)

Shelton does not appear to have a campaign website. According to the LA Times, he has spent under $1K on his campaign. There is a Skip Shelton who is a career foreign policy professional with experience in defense, diplomacy, and development. That could be this candidate. There’s also one whose Insta page shares articles about Ivermectin being more effective than Chemotherapy, although that fellow could be from Texas.

◯ Abdur Sikder (D)

This person does appear to have a website (s/·/./), votesikder·com, but it seems to redirect to a site Acronis identifies as malicious: https://ad·odakyu·qpon/. That’s fishy.

According to his linkedin page: “Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the Infotech and fintech industry. Skilled in Lecturing, Programming, Accounting, Bookkeeping, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Networking, Information system, Operations Management and Bioinformatics. Strong business development professional with a Master of Business Administration – MBA focused in Finance from Lincoln University (Oakland, CA) and a Ph.D. in computer science from University of Sydney.”  The translation is that he’s a techno-crat with no political experience. He appears to be a professor at San Francisco State, and did not get good ratings.

In 2024, he ran for Congress, District 12. He did not get past the primary. He ran for Alameda County Board of Education Trustee Area 1 in 2018.

◯ Alice Stek (P&F)

Stek is essentially the Socialist candidate (she says so on the front page of her website). She is a physician, educator, and socialist who has served as an Obstetrician, Gynecologist, and an HIV specialist for over 32 years. She is a lifelong activist and 30-year member of the Peace and Freedom Party, although her website emphasizes “Vote Socialist, California”.

Her positions are traditional socialist ones: Education for all, Healthcare for all, protect oppressed groups, and climate action. She says nothing about seizing the means of production, so she might fall more into the Democratic Socialist camp (demonstrating that she might not fully understand socialism). She does not talk specifics about the role of Lt. Governor.

📋 Conclusion

My general criteria for this office (other than not being a Trump supporter or endorsing MAGA policies) is that the candidate must recognize the limitations of the LG position (i.e., not overpromise as if they were running for another office). The candidate should demonstrate broad support through a wide set of endorsements, and should have views aligning with mine. After reading and looking into all the candidates here, the field narrows to two: Josh Fryday (D) and Fiona Ma (D). Ma has the lion’s share of the endorsements, but Fryday has some significant power ones: Newsom, Sherman, and Whitesides, for a start. The sense I get is that both Fryday and Ma are positioning themselves for runs at the Governors office after whoever is elected this year terms out. When considering my criteria of who is best for the LG position, I’m leaning towards Fryday. Ma has more experience, but her focus has been financial and accounting, not the environmental and public education aspects of the LG position. Further, other than running the Treasurer’s department, she has little executive experience. On the other hand, Fryday has been a mayor (executive experience), and he has considered his issues well enough to figure out how they will fit within the wheelhouse of LG. We won’t do bad if Ma is the candidate, and I’d certainly support her in the general election. However, in the primary, I think Fryday has the proper LG focus. Ma really should have run for State Controller, as the incumbent in that position isn’t doing a great job.

Conclusion: ⚫ Josh Fryday (D)

◊

Secretary of State

The California Secretary of State is an elected state executive officer established by the California Constitution. He or she serves as the state’s chief election officer, keeps the state’s key documents including the constitution and Great Seal, and keeps the state archives. Additionally, the secretary of state registers businesses in the state, commissions notaries public, and manages state ballot initiatives. The secretary of state is elected to four-year terms, concurrent with the other constitutional officers of California, and is restricted to two terms.

Given the shenanigans from the Republican party with elections, this is a vital office for California. I do not want a Trumpian Republican in this office. The current Secretary of State did a great job with the 2020 and 2024 elections. We need a Secretary of State that will vigorously defend the state’s election system from interference from the Trump administration and MAGA attempts to restrict who can vote, who will not put roadblocks or tests in the way of legitimate voters. I want a Secretary of State that will be fair and unbiased regarding the reporting of results. Our election system works in California, and I’m not inclined to change what isn’t broken.

The LA Times has an analysis of the race here.

◯ Gary Blenner (G)

Blenner has been an educator, union activist, and active participant in public life. From 2006 to 2010, he served as an elected Trustee of the Center Joint Unified School District, where he worked on budgeting, governance, and public accountability. He also ran for the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in 2012 and 2016 (the implication being that he wasn’t elected). Those campaigns reinforced his belief that structural flaws in our electoral system, not just individual officeholders, are the greatest barrier to good governance.

Blenner wants to bring in Ranked Choice Voting to all partisan public offices in California. He supports replacing the existing representative structure with four 13-member congressional districts, elected through proportional representation, in place of Proposition 50. He wants to expand the Assembly to 91 members, creating seven 13-member Assembly districts, with proportional representation. He also wants to get special interest money out of politics.

All of these are interesting ideas. None of them, however, are within the authority of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of States administers the elections as directed by the laws of the state. If he wants to write or change the laws, he should become a legislator.

His page says nothing about defending our electoral system against Trump shenanigins. He says nothing about making the system we have work. He says nothing about how he would address the push for SAVE-style voter ID. He misses the point of the position.

Note that Blenner ran for Secretary of State back in 2022. He has no endorsements listed.

◯ Michael Feinstein (G)

Michael Feinstein is a former City Councilmember and Mayor of Santa Monica. He served on the City Council for two four-year terms between 1996 and 2004, and as Mayor from 2000-2002. He majored in philosophy and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1982 from Carleton College in Northfield, MN.

His positions are similar to Blenner: • Electoral Reform • Ranked Choice Voting • Proportional Representation plan for the California State Legislature Per Capita Representation • Reform of the Recall Election Process • Repeal ‘Top Two’ elections • Democracy Holiday • Problem with Vote Centers, Early Voting • Right to Vote for 16- and 17-year olds. He also wants similar reforms in the Los Angeles City Charter. However, none of this is within the wheelhouse of the Secretary of State.

Some of his issues are within the wheelhouse of the Secretary of State: Having open source code for election systems, performing election audits, and ensuring there is no conflict of interest from the Secretary of State. However, he does not appear to claim that Shirley Weber has had a conflict of interest. With respect to Open Source Software: Despite what the philosophy major says, simply being open source doesn’t ensure the software is secure. Having access to all the source code is important, as well as ensuring it is under strict configuration control. At that point, independent assessment of the source code is required, using a combination of tools (and, today, that would include AI analysis tools such as the new Mystic). You can have secure code that is proprietary, as long as it is all available for review and is independently assessed. He has no endorsements listed.

◯ Donald P. Wagner (R)

Wikipedia notes that Wagner currently serves as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, 3^rd district. He is the current board chair. He previously served as mayor of Irvine, California and as a Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing the 68^th district, which includes portions of Orange County. Wagner received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Juris Doctor in 1987 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and was admitted to the California Bar in the same year.

Wagner’s website indicates that he fully supports the Voter ID initiative that just qualified for the ballot. If voters approve it, they would be required to show a government-issued ID each time they go to the polls, while mail-in ballots would need the last-four digits of an ID, such as a driver’s license. The secretary of state and county election offices would also be required to verify voters’ registration each time they vote. Currently, voters only need to provide an ID and Social Security number when they register to vote. Voting rights groups say the initiative will suppress turnout among eligible voters who don’t have the documents on hand, many of whom are disproportionately poor and people of color.

Wagner has also also raised concerns about the time-consuming ballot counting process, particularly how mail-in ballots can take more time with signature matches. His answer seems to be dialing back mail-in ballots. He has said he would roll back the practice of sending universal mail-in ballots to every voter, which the state made permanent during the COVID-19 pandemic, though that would require legislative approval. He said he’d also support legislation to move up the deadline to certify election results. Providing the last 4 digits of an ID without further verification actually increases the risk of fraud. Weber has argued that accuracy is more important than speed: it’s important to count every ballot and that most outcomes are known before she certifies the results anyway.

Wagner’s website says nothing about whether he will stand up to the Trump administration (i.e., would he be sending California voter rolls to DC for verification, which has a bad record of kicking out valid voters, as well as exposing private information). Being Republican, I doubt that he would.

He also wants to streamline small business applications, which seems reasonable.

He has a shitload of endorsements (and here), all Conservative, and driven by his support of Voter ID and the MAGA obsession with election integrity.

⚫ Shirley Weber (D) ⭐INC

Her Secretary of State bio notes: Shirley Nash Weber, Ph.D., was nominated to serve as California Secretary of State by Governor Gavin Newsom on December 22, 2020 and sworn into office on January 29, 2021. Voters elected her for a full term on November 8, 2022. Dr. Weber is California’s first Black Secretary of State and only the fifth African American to serve as a state constitutional officer in California’s 175-year history. Dr. Weber attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she received her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees by the age of 26. Prior to receiving her Doctorate, she became a professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) at the age of 23. She also taught at California State University at Los Angeles and Los Angeles City College before coming to SDSU. She retired from the Department of Africana Studies after 40 years as a faculty member and serving several terms as department chair. Before her appointment, Dr. Weber served four terms as an Assemblymember representing California’s 79th Assembly District, which includes parts of the City of San Diego as well as several cities and communities in the San Diego region. Dr. Weber also served as a Member and Chair of the San Diego Unified School District and has twice served as a California Elector, including chairing the California College of Presidential Electors on December 14, 2020. She has fought to secure and expand civil rights for all Californians, including restoring voting rights for individuals who have completed their prison term.

Her priorities page indicates that her first priority is to defend voting rights. She wants to fix delayed financial filings in the SOS office, enforce rules equally, and ensure early bipartisan support for being fair and principled. She wants to encourage Californians to Vote: Running and aggressive outreach campaign to every corner of the state to urge Californians to get involved in the electoral process — from registering high school and college students to vote to helping members of the public get involved in our elections. She wants to work with local elections officials to strengthen, protect, and expand access to the ballot; to improve transparency in our elections, lobbyist registration, and campaign finance systems so that every Californian can make an informed decision about what issues, causes or candidates to support; to monitor and upgrade the Secretary of State’s cybersecurity policies to ensure our elections are protected from attempts to undermine our democratic processes; and to revamp the voter education outreach programs for the formerly incarcerated, especially in light of the passage of Proposition 17, which ensured Californians on parole have the right to vote, to ensure all Californians have a voice in upcoming elections.

She has pushed back against GOP attempts to restrict voters rights, and defended the right to voter privacy by refusing the Trump administration’s request for voter rolls (the lawsuit from the administration against her was subsequently dismissed).

She has a large number of endorsements, including unions, Democratic clubs, and elected leaders (although, surprisingly, not Newsom).  She has been endorsed by the SF Chronicle.

📋 Conclusion

This is one of the easier races. The two Green Candidates are trying to do things that are not within the purview of the Secretary of State. Wagner has given into the MAGA hysteria about elections and the need to show ID, implying fraud that isn’t there. Unstated by Wagner is a desire to disenfranchise or scare voters. Weber has done a good job, and it working to make the office better. She’s also defending California against the Trump administration. There’s really only one choice here:

Conclusion: ⚫ Shirley Weber (D) ⭐INC

◊

Attorney General

The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official, protecting and serving the people and interests of California through a broad range of duties. The Attorney General’s responsibilities include safeguarding Californians from harm and promoting community safety, preserving California’s spectacular natural resources, enforcing civil rights laws, and helping victims of identity theft, mortgage-related fraud, illegal business practices, and other consumer crimes. The AG also defends California’s laws when they are challenged in court.

The current AG, Rob Bonta, was appointed when Xavier Becerra departed to become U.S. Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration. This is a position where I do not want a Republican, for I wouldn’t trust a Republican AG to defend laws that are Democratic priorities. I also would not trust a Republican AG to defend California against Trump administration excesses.

⚫ Rob Bonta (D) ⭐INC

Before serving as Attorney General, Bonta spent more than eight years serving in the State Assembly. Before that, he worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the City and County and its workers, and fought to protect Californians from exploitation. Before that he worked in private practice, where he protected Californians from racial profiling. Bonta was the first person of Filipino descent to serve as California Attorney General. Born in Quezon City, Philippines, Bonta immigrated to California with his family as an infant. Bonta grew up and attended public school in California before working his way through Yale University and earning his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
(Source: AG Bio)

On his campaign website, he states that his goals are to keep standing up to stop unlawful power grabs by the federal government, defend our immigrant communities, protect reproductive freedom, hold greedy corporations accountable, keep our communities safe from gun violence and fentanyl trafficking, safeguard our environment, and so much more. The site notes that whenever Trump and his administration attack our California, he steps up to defend Californians — taking the President to court more than 50 times in the past year to defend our most fundamental rights and protect billions of dollars in critical federal funding. Every single time Trump breaks the law or violates the Constitution, Rob sues — period.

I’ll note that I get the Attorney General’s newsletter, and he is keeping on top of the fight.

He has a large number of endorsements, including the governor, both senators, the Democratic members of the Congress from California, the Democratic members of the Assembly and Senate, and major city mayors. He also has backing from unions, labor leaders, and other progressive groups.

◯ Michael Gates (R)

Gates began his legal career in private practice as a litigator and trial attorney defending high profile cases for police and medical doctors in malpractice cases in court, eventually becoming a partner at an Orange County law firm. After establishing himself as an accomplished trial attorney, in 2014, he left a successful private practice to serve the public as the elected City Attorney of Huntington Beach, a position he held for ten years after winning citywide elections in 2014, 2018, and 2022. In 2025, Michael was appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he oversaw approximately 100 attorneys across Employment, Voting and Elections, Housing and Civil Enforcement, and Criminal sections.

According to his issues page, his focus will be full implementation of Prop 36 across the State. He writes, “The will of the people will be heard, crime will be illegal again.” Very Trumpy. He also wants to protect communities from Sacramento (he claims overreach). He wants to support law enforcement, pretty much unconditionally. He wants to combat fraud, waste, and abuse. He wants to “aggressively enforce and defend all federal laws to protect our young girls and parents in our sports and education systems.” He wants to tackle homelessness, viewing it primarily as a drug and mental illness issue. He’s concerned about election integrity and second amendment issues. He wants to enforce environmental laws at the local level.

You know what is missing from his issue page? Civil rights. Protecting the rights of citizens. Protecting the rights of legal immigrants. Protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ folks. He also doesn’t talk about protecting consumers from fraud. His focus is protecting business, not people.

Needless to say, he has loads of Republican and law enforcement endorsements.

◯ Marjorie Mikels (G)

Mikels is a grandmother pursuing justice as an attorney/peace activist. She has a Law Degree from UCLA. Her first foray into politics was in 1968 while a Sociology graduate student at University of Washington. I walked door-to-door in Seattle registering voters for Eldridge Cleaver, an Oakland Black Panther Peace and Freedom candidate for President. She’s been a licensed attorney in California for forty-four years, and certified to practice not only in all the State Courts of California, but in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal and before the United States Supreme Court.

Her priorities are: (1) Shutting down and preventing censorship; (2) Resisting “Big Tech”‘s takeover; (3) Moving from nuclear and fossil fuels to clean energy; (4) Upholding freedom of speech and going after those “complicit in genocide”; (5) justice for all; (6) ending imperialism; (7) fighting facism and fighting the rich. The problem is that many of these are not within the purview of the AG’s office. Others stray into that “anti-zionism” rhetoric I’m worried about that borders on anti-Israel.

She lists no endorsements.

📋 Conclusion

Again, this office is an easy choice. The Republican candidate is MAGA and clearly unacceptable. The Green candidate doesn’t understand the office. The Democratic candidate has the endorsements, the skill and the record.

Conclusion: ⚫ Rob Bonta (D) ⭐INC

◊

Insurance Commissioner

The California Insurance Commissioner (1) oversees and directs all functions of the Department of Insurance; (2) licenses, regulates, and examines insurance companies; (3) answers public questions and complaints regarding the insurance industry; (4) enforces the laws of the California Insurance Code and adopts regulations to implement the laws; (5) and enforces the department mission to ensure vibrant markets where insurers keep their promises and the health and economic security of individuals, families, and businesses are protected. The position is especially important right now, with the ACA and Health Insurance marketplace issues.

But note that the focus of the job is insurance. This is not a job that deals with things like homelessness or public safety. This is also one of those positions that does require a legal background, as well as the ability to deal with numbers (although a CPA is not required). Lastly, the position requires someone who is not to close to the Insurance industry.

Useful Resources:

• Calmatters: “Who wants to be California’s insurance commissioner? Your guide to the candidates“
• LA Times: “Your guide to the California insurance commissioner’s race: Who will replace Ricardo Lara?“
• Insurance Guide: “California Insurance Commissioner Race Has Diverse Field Amid ‘Insurance Crisis’”

◯ Eric Aarnio (R)

Aarnio doesn’t appear to have a website that I could find. I also couldn’t find any biographical information on him.

◯ Ben Allen (D)

Ben Allen represents the 24^th Senate District, covering the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County. Ben was first elected in 2014 and is now serving his third term in the State Senate. Ben chairs the Senate’s Budget Subcommittee #2 (Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy) and co-chairs the Legislature’s Environmental Caucus, is a member of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, chairs the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Arts, and the Senate Select Committee on Aerospace and Defense. He previously served as Chair of the Environmental Quality Committee (2019-2024), Chair of the Education Committee (2017-2019) and Chair of the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee (2015-2016). Prior to his election to the Senate, Ben served as President of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, lecturer at UCLA Law School, and worked as an attorney at the law firms of Bryan Cave LLP and Richardson & Patel and at the nonprofit Spark Program. While at law school, Ben served as the voting student member of the University of California Board of Regents and was a summer judicial clerk with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Prior to law school, Ben worked in Washington DC for the Latin American team of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and then as Communications Director for Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY). Ben has a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in History from Harvard University; a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Cambridge; and a Juris Doctor degree from UC Berkeley.
(Source: 24^th District Senate Biography)

Before I explore further, the one thing that strikes me about this biography is that there is precious little experience or interest related to insurance and insurance issues. Three terms in the State Senate means he is termed out. This strikes me less of a desire to be Insurance Commission, and more the desire to retire a position in Sacramento. However, according to the LA Times, he represents the Palisades fire zone and, since the blazes, has authored bills that provide tax relief to fire victims and raise payments for personal property losses.

He does appear to have an insurance related plan. His ideas are a lot of what was discussed in the CBS Governors Debate: modernizing rate-setting; faster rate reviews; community hardening; data driven resilience; and climate accountability. He wants to improve insurer compliance, increase transparency, and get people off the FAIR plan. All of these are good ideas.

According to Calmatters, he “would take a more comprehensive approach to risk reduction, including by creating funding sources such as state-backed loans for hardening homes, and by bringing together insurers, builders, local governments, firefighters and the state to work on solutions. As part of reducing risk, he wants to restrict new construction in high-risk zones, saying developers who are building in such areas are “basically freeloading off the rest of us.” He also wants to “carefully and sensitively” find a way to incentivize those already living in risky areas to move elsewhere.”

According to the Insurance Journal, Allen “believes California’s insurance system is at a crossroads. To restore a solvent, competitive marketplace while keeping rates fair and affordable, we must strike the right balance between protecting consumers and ensuring insurers can sustainably operate in the state. [He] will stabilize the insurance market by modernizing rate setting and streamlining rate review timelines so decisions are made within months, not years, [wanting] to keep insurers in California and be able to write policies people can afford.” In terms of immediate changes, he would expand our on-the-ground claims support during disasters. He would bring more predictability to the rate review process, resolving filings in months, not years, with clear timelines and consistent standards. He would also implement forward-looking catastrophe models, with transparency and strong oversight.

He has a significant number of endorsements, including unions, environmental groups, significant elected leaders (both Senators, both congresscritters that cover Northridge). He seems to be the favored Democratic candidate.

◯ Steven Bradford (D)

Steven Craig Bradford served in the California State Senate from 2016 to 2024, representing the 35^th district, encompassing parts of Los Angeles County. Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Bradford served in the California State Assembly and on the City Council in the City of Gardena. Throughout his tenure in the legislature, Bradford has served in a range of leadership positions, including as Chair of the Senate and Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee, Chair of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, Chair of the Senate Labor and the Senate Public Safety Committee.  He also served on the Insurance Committee. He worked at IBM and Southern California Edison before entering politics full time. He authored a bill that created the first statewide process to decertify police officers who commit wrongdoing.

His issues are both similar and different than Allen. He also supports fixing pricing and transparency, and modernizing the Department of Insurance. He want to reward people that protect and harden their homes, and wants to establish a gold standard for home safety. He wants a public-private partnership to repair high-risk markets, and encouraging those in high risk areas to move. Most importantly, he wants to address equity in insurance markets so that it isn’t just the wealthy that can get insurance.

In the Insurance Journal article, he indicated that he would focus “on building a regulatory environment where insurers can operate sustainably and consumers are genuinely protected—because those goals aren’t in conflict.” He supports “modernizing how we assess and price risk. Carriers need to use forward-looking catastrophic modeling that reflects today’s climate reality, and the regulatory process should move at the speed that requires.” He’ll also push for a real risk mitigation credit system—giving insurers the data and confidence to re-enter markets where homeowners and communities have invested in resilience, believing that reduced risk should mean expanded coverage. Lastly, he’ll work to stabilize the FAIR Plan so it functions as a true transitional market, not a growing liability. His goal is healthier private market, partnering with the industry to get there.

In terms of endorsements, he also has a lot of union support and Democratic elected leader support, but a bit less than Allen.

◯ Keith Davis (Amer Indep)

Davis’ website provides few specifics other than the fact he has been in the insurance industry for 10 years. However, his instragram indicates he is from Winchester CA, and there is a Keith Davis who sells Farmers Insurance in Sun City. That’s likely him. According to the Insurance Journal, he has been selling and managing everything from auto and homeowners coverage to commercial policies. That fits with a Farmers Agent.

The Insurance Journal notes that he said that “if elected, one of the first things I’d focus on is taking a hard look at how fireline scores and boundaries are set. Right now, too many areas are labeled high-risk, forcing homeowners to pay higher prices even when their specific situation doesn’t justify it. I think we’ve overreacted in some cases, leading to fewer options and higher costs. We need a fairer and more accurate system so people can actually find and afford coverage. I also really want to focus on education. Many people don’t fully understand their policies, things like BI/PD limits, 50/100 coverage or loss of use. If we can break that down in a simple way, it helps people make better decisions at renewal.  And I’d like to sit down with carriers to explore premium credits for safe drivers. It may not be easy, but if there’s a way to reward people with clean records and actually lower their premiums, it’s definitely a conversation worth having.”

His issues page notes the following prongs of his plan: (1) Lower Costs & Improve Availability; (2) Independent Review of Denied Claims; (3) Affordable Insurance for All Californians; (4) Faster, More Fair Claims Handling; (5) Balanced, Practical Regulation.

His website does not list any endorsements. He seems to have minimal campaign spending.

◯ Merritt Farren (R)

Farren primarily worked at Disney and Amazon. At Disney , he rose to Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Disneyland Resort , overseeing Legal, Guest Claims & Security; at Amazon , as Associate General Counsel for Media and New Technologies , he played a key role launching Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle, eBooks, and Amazon Studios , and served as Chief Legal Officer for Audible. He also held senior roles in Corporate Development at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He earned his degree with honors from Stanford University and graduated from Berkeley Law. He was also an Official Consumer Advocate at the State Farm Rate Proceedings.

His issues page notes three main thrusts of his plan: (1) A Technology-Centric Reinvention of Insurance Regulations; (2) Implement CAL Reinsure to Eliminate the FAIR Plan; and (3) Aggressive Leadership on Community Safety & Root Cost Drivers. The notion behind CAL Reinsure is to allow the state to provide a backstop for insurers. The entity would be funded by a fee charged by insurers and would eliminate the need for the FAIR Plan because companies would be more inclined to write policies, he told CalMatters. The authority could issue bonds that could be sold in the commercial market, and would be backed by the state, like municipal bonds. Would this get insurers into the market? Only an actuary would know, because it might not reduce their exposure sufficiently.

The LA Times notes that Farren a lifelong Democrat who switched parties to run for insurance commissioner as a Republican. He is a newcomer to political office whose campaign leans heavily on his personal experience of losing his Pacific Palisades home in the fire. The Insurance Journal article indicates a very executive approach: “I’ll use the skills I learned at Disney, Amazon and Sony Pictures to innovate, taking a stronger lead in using the position’s executive functions to jump in and create clear and immediate results consumers need—and will also get experts together to go line by line in insurance—home, auto, business, workers’ comp, health—to root out the key drivers of increasing insurance cost and to tackle them—to get us all the insurance we need at a price we can afford.”

Farren’s website does not list any endorsements.

◯ Robert P. Howell (R)

Howell is a Cybersecurity Manager and an elected delegate to the Santa Clara County Republican Party. He ran unsuccessfully for Insurance Commissioner in 2022, losing to Lara by 20%. Howell is founder of the Tea Party Patriots of Silicon Valley. He ran for the State Senate, District 15, in 2024 and lost.

His plan has 5 priorities. (1) Protecting homeowners by holding insurers accountable for unfair cancellations and hidden fees, guaranteeing a clear path to coverage for  homeowners who take wildfire-mitigation steps, requiring insurers to provide real notice and documented reasons before nonrenewing a policy, stopping companies from penalizing families for asking questions or filing legitimate claims, and increasing transparency by requiring public reporting of cancellation and nonrenewal data. (2) Increasing accountability and reform by increasing transparency and combating insider influence and industry favoritism. (3) Increasing consumer protections. (4) Expanding resources for wildfire preparedness and prevention. (5) Supporting small business.

He is endorsed by the conservative California Republican Assembly. He also claims endorsement by the American Independent Party, which is odd because there is an American Independent Party candidate running.

◯ Jane Kim (D)

Kim is a former San Francisco Supervisor. She also served as the California Political Director for Bernie 2020 and as a Senior Fellow at both the Sanders Institute and the Young Elected Officials Network, a program of People for the American Way. Over the last four years, Jane Kim served as the California Director for the Working Families Party. She received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law.

According to Calmatters, Kim “has three main proposals around more government involvement, the main one to create “natural disaster insurance for all.” It would be funded by a portion of policyholder premiums that insurance companies would pass along to the state. The state would manage the fund, which would guarantee fire and flood coverage. Insurance companies would continue to provide coverage for other risks. It’s not her idea — New Zealand has the same system, and it allows the country to invest the premiums in preventive measures, she said. Establishing such a system in California could allow the state to invest profit from premiums that would have gone to insurers’ shareholders in its communities instead.” She would also establish a public option for auto insurance by expanding eligibility for an existing program that provides low-cost insurance to drivers who make less than $38,000 a year, and she wants to provide Medicare for kids believing that California should centralize all insurance authority within the insurance department instead of having managed health care handled by the Managed Health Care Department.

In their endorsement of Wolff, the SF Chronicle noted this about Kim: “The most aggressive is former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, the California director of the Working Families Party, who wants to effectively blow up the system by establishing a state-run single-payer disaster insurance program with guaranteed coverage. She would also require insurers to pay interest on delayed or underpaid claims and push the state to offer guaranteed health care coverage for children.” The Chronicle noted that “her proposals are almost certainly dead on arrival — the fiercest consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog, opposes the disaster insurance idea.”

She’s endorsed by Bernie Sanders and a different set of unions and elected officials.

◯ Stacy Korsgaden (R)

Korsgaden is a financial advisor in the SLO area. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; as well as a certificated degree in Professional Financial Planning from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Korsgaden has held an active California Insurance license (#0750748) since 1988 and has spent more than 37 years helping families and small businesses navigate complex insurance policies, devastating losses, and an increasingly broken regulatory system. Her full-service insurance agency services nearly 8,000 policies. Korsgaden attended the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol but said she abhors the violence that took place.

She has a detailed plan to bring insurers back and fix the market. This includes allowing expanded product availability, changing the focus of the department to be service focused, cracking down on fraud, ensuring accurate cost estimates, streamlining rate approvals, strengthening wildfire prevention, reducing reliance on the FAIR plan, and having a unified disaster center. She feels that the current failures are the result of an “all‑systems failure to serve the market because of suffocating regulation and rigid price controls that punish success and drive insurers out. Another major factor is the refusal of state leaders to aggressively mitigate fire risk and to crack down on crime. These choices, combined with the policies of the Department of Insurance, have made California hostile to insurance companies and left ordinary Californians paying the price.”

She has endorsements from a large number of Republican elected officials and Republican organizations. She is the top Republican candidate in terms of fundraising.

◯ Sean Lee (R)

Dr. Sean Lee is a Financial Services Executive. With over 28 years of experience, he has helped individuals and business owners understand insurance coverage, manage financial risks, and make informed financial decisions. Earlier in his career, he conducted scientific research at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory through Caltech, developing a strong analytical and data-driven approach to solving complex problems. He doesn’t give much detail on his website, but just enough to find his linked-in profile. He seems to be the President and CEO of Antai Global, a one-stop financial service firm for small and medium enterprises (SME). He’s also a real-estate broker with Coldwell-Banker, and did a postdoc at JPL/Caltech on Oceanography (he got his degree in that area at Texas A&M).

HIs core solution is something called California Catastrophe Reinsurance Partnership (CCRP). CCRP creates a public-private reinsurance layer that spreads catastrophic wildfire risk across insurers, reinsurers, and capital markets. This reduces extreme losses for individual insurers and encourages them to remain in California. His broad priorities are to (1) Stabilize the insurance market; (2) Protecting homeowners; (3) addressing wildfire risk; (4) supporting small business; and (5) improving transparency.

He lists no endorsements, and didn’t respond to the LA Times questions or the Insurance Journal. According to the LA Times, he is at the lower end of fundraising, around $40K as of May 1.

◯ Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas (P&F)

Vargas has been a teacher at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for the past five years. He teaches biology and environmental science to high school students. He is also a member of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and is a fierce advocate for his students. In 2023, Lalo along with thousands of other teachers went on strike in solidarity with SEIU Local 99 to better learning conditions at LAUSD. When Lalo isn’t teaching he spends his time organizing alongside different working class communities to fight for what they deserve. This includes organizing after the wildfires.

His program, according to his website, is: (1) Freeze Rate Hikes & Lower Premiums; (2) Investigate the 10 largest insurers; (3) Full Compensation for Fire Survivors; (4) Justice for Black Altadena & All Black Policyholders; (5) Hold Insurance Executives Accountable for Exploitative Practices; (6) Build a Public Insurer: Abolish the Insurance Companies; (7) Free universal healthcare; (8) Overhaul the FAIR Plan; (9) Working Class Leaders At The Helm; and (10) Save Our Planet From Capitalism. This follows through to what the Insurance Journal says: “Under socialist leadership, the Department of Insurance would operate under a simple principle: the needs of people must always be prioritized over the profits of the insurance industry. That means prioritizing enforcement and holding insurance companies accountable for exploitative business practices and claims procedures. As Insurance Commissioner, I also pledge to deny all further rate hikes until insurance companies cease their exploitative business practices and pay the survivors of the Los Angeles fires the full compensation needed to rebuild and repair their homes.”

According to the LA Times, he has minimal spending, around $15K. He has no endorsements, but is part of “Vote Socialist California”.

⚫ Patrick Wolff (D)

Wolff is a financial analyst who lives in San Francisco and has never held public office. He obtained an insurance license ahead of his run for commissioner. A chess grandmaster who once played professionally, he pursued a career in finance, founding a hedge fund, working at a family office and building the auto and home insurance brokerage business of Capital One. He has invested his own money in his campaign — $600,000, according to campaign finance records — and simply wants to help fix the problems he sees in the insurance market.

According to Calmatters, Wolff would create a report card that would grade how insurers handle claims based on existing market conduct annual surveys of insurance companies, which is now anonymized but which he would push to be identifiable. He said that would let the insurance department help customers decide which insurers to reward or punish for their behavior. He would consider allowing auto insurers to use telematics, which companies use in other states to track driver behavior for underwriting purposes. He said it could help for more accurate underwriting and possibly even lower auto insurance premiums, but acknowledged privacy concerns around the technology and said insurance companies should be prohibited from sharing or selling driver information. He would also roll out a dashboard that would disclose complaints about providers of life insurance. The insurance department is not making that data public, and he doesn’t see why not.

He has a much smaller set of endorsements, primarily from the LANG papers (which tend to run Conservative). He does have the endorsement of the SF Chronicle, which notes: “Wolff knows California insurance regulations better than any other candidate: He not only built an auto and home insurance brokerage but also obtained his insurance license before entering the race. Instead of immediately reinventing the system, Wolff wants to do the hard work of making it run well. In an endorsement interview, he told us that California insurance commissioners have historically focused on micromanaging every rate filing instead of regulating insurers’ broader market conduct — whether they’re appropriately underwriting policies and effectively handling claims. He also committed to following the 60-day timeframe established by Prop 103 in which certain rate change requests are deemed approved. The department has historically required insurers to waive that provision, often leading to requests being stuck in limbo for months. Wolff’s mission is to “reform the credibility of the office itself” — which is desperately needed after Lara’s history of ethical scandals and jetting off on lavish trips with oft-undisclosed funders. While Wolff doesn’t have prior political experience, we’re convinced his deep understanding of insurance and financial markets, as well as his evident passion for the work, will go a long way toward getting stakeholders on board.” This is an interesting take.

📋 Conclusion

Having done the investigation of the candidate, the field narrows quite a bit. Eric Aarnio can be dismissed out of hand. Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas and Jane Kim want to blow up the system, and that’s not realistic. Sean Lee, Robert P. Howell, and Merritt Farren really don’t have the experience or background for this job. Keith Davis has the background, but doesn’t appear to have a detailed plan or to be working hard enough for it. That leaves Ben Allen (D), Steven Bradford (D), Stacy Korsgaden (R), and Patrick Wolff (D). I’m eliminating Korsgaden because she attended Jan 6^th. She may abhor violence, but even attending that rally shows poor judgement. That leaves Allen, Bradford, and Wolff.

Allen and Bradford are termed-out legislators who are turning their attentions to the Insurance Commissioner office. Wolff is someone who knows the Insurance Industry by building his own brokerage, but who has no experience working with the legislature to achieve specific goals, or navigating the arcane halls of Sacramento to get things done. Narrowing this down further, I think Allen knows more about the Insurance world and its regulation than Bradford, although I do like Bradford’s notion of equity in the availability of insurance, as that is a significant issue.

This leaves us with a decision between Allen and Wolff (the same decision the Chronicle faced). For an effective Insurance Commissioner, which is more important: The ability to work in Sacramento, to work with the legislature and the Governor… or the ability to know how the Insurance Industry works from the inside. I would tend to think the ability to work with Sacramento. However, to try to decide this, I decided to look into the funding.  Ben Allen’s funding profile is interesting: Real Estate PACs, unions, teachers, nurses, lots of PACs, Fanduel (sports betting, for some odd reason), gambling organizations, tourist organizations.  Patrick Woff’s funding profile is different: Almost all individuals, with really no PAC funding and just a little entity funding. I had been leaning towards Allen until looking at the funding profile. Why are all these PACs supporting him, especially the gaming PACs? They are clearly expecting decisions to go their way. That feels off to me.  For the hell of it, I looked at Bradford’s funding profile. Again, lots of construction and gaming PACs, with the top contributor being RJ Reynolds Tobacco? The funding profiles just make me uncomfortable. I don’t think we would go wrong with Ben Allen, I think the better, more independent candidate, would be Patrick Wolff.

Conclusion: (1^st Choice):  ⚫ Patrick Wolff (D). (2^nd Choice): ◯ Ben Allen (D)

◊

Controller

The State Controller is the Chief Fiscal Officer of California, the sixth largest economy in the world. She helps administer two of the largest public pension funds in the nation and serves on 78 state boards and commissions. These are charged with duties ranging from protecting our coastline to helping build hospitals. The Controller is the state’s independent fiscal watchdog, providing sound fiscal control over more than $100 billion in receipts and disbursements of public funds a year, offering fiscal guidance to local governments, and uncovering fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Is this a good position for a Republican? I’m unsure. I’d be worried about their sabotaging the works. That’s the level of distrust they have created these days. To the (R) candidate I say: Convince me.

Useful Sources:

• LA Times, “Your guide to the California state controller race: Democrat Malia Cohen faces challengers“

◯ Meghann Adams (P&F)

Meghann Adams is a school bus driver, community organizer, and union leader with nearly a decade of experience in the fiscal management of her union. Meghann has a 20 year history of organizing in the anti-war movement with the ANSWER Coalition, and has written about the need for a new political system that prioritizes people over profit through her contributions to the Breaking the Chains Magazine. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Her broad program is (1) Address the Affordability Crisis; (2) Crack Down on Corruption; (3) Medi-Cal For All; (4) Expand our Public Services; (5) Invest in California, Divest from Foreign Wars; and (6) Protect our Environment. As most of these are not within the purview of the Controller’s office, I drilled down into the one that was potentially related: corruption. There, she says that she will “audit every corporate tax incentive in California. Using city and county disclosure reports she will publish exactly who got what, how much it cost, and what was delivered. The report will show all of the missed promises, and what public money should be taken back from private hands. It will also name the biggest recipients and tally what these tax giveaways cost to each of our communities. As Controller, Meghann will also sit on the Board of Equalization, where she will expose corporate fraud in the housing market. The Board of Equalization oversees property taxes. Big corporations use shell companies to hide the extent of their property ownership, securing lower tax rates for their wealthy owners — communities lose millions in the cost to their public services like schools and infrastructure, and working class homeowners have to make up the difference. On the Board of Equalization, Meghann will target the underassessment of large corporate property, stop the shell company games, and close the tax loopholes so communities get what they’re owed.”

According to the LA Times, she proposes audits to target large corporations to reveal which “bulk buyers and corporate landlords” have bought properties and raised rents. She also would audit all corporate tax incentives and push for a statewide public utility to replace private monopolies. She also would seek to divest holdings such as fossil fuels, weapons manufacturers and surveillance technology from state employee pension funds. She wants more transparency around the state’s finances. If the public could see how its dollars are being spent, she argues, there would be more support for spending on healthcare and social services, for example.

She is endorsed by the “Vote Socialist” folks.

⚫ Malia Cohen (D) ⭐INC

Malia M. Cohen was elected in November 2022, following her service on the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), the nation’s only elected tax commission. She was elected to the BOE in November 2018 and was Chair in 2019 and 2022. As Controller, she continues to serve the Board as its fifth voting member. Prior to being elected to the BOE, Controller Cohen served as President of the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. As a Supervisor, she served as Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Audit and Oversight Committee. During this time, she also served as President of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS), which at the time was a $23 billion pension fund. Cohen was born and raised in San Francisco and attended public schools. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Fisk University and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She also worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
(Source: Controller Office Bio)

Cohen’s issues page shows a large number of issues. Reading through all the issues, they seem to conflate accomplishments from her time as San Francisco supervisor with what she can do as controller. There is precious little described on her pages about her acting in her role as fiscal watchdog.

The LA Times notes “The state’s fiscal watchdog oversees the intake and outtake of public funds and audits departments across the state. Unlike the state auditor, the controller has political independence and doesn’t answer to the state legislature. The controller uses audits and reports to hold entities and other governmental agencies accountable.” The Times notes that she has fallen quite a bit short from her campaign promises. When asked for her accomplishments, Cohen said her accomplishments include getting the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) published closer to its due date; for years, this report has been published months after it is due. A 2024 CalMatters report said it had been late for at least six years. Cohen said part of the issue is that departments are late in handing over their information. She also led a task force that was convened by court order following a massive fraud scheme involving charter schools in San Diego. However, she failed to audit homelessness programs and determine whether the billions of dollars the state is investing is addressing the crisis. She failed to investigate the Employment Development Department, the Department of Motor Vehicles and homelessness programs, claiming the state legislature already was reviewing the agency.  She also faces criticism over her handling of a controller-led program that returns uncashed checks, funds from old bank accounts and other money owed to state residents.

She has a large number of endorsements: primarily Democratic elected officials, unions, and associated progressive and Democratic PACs and organizations.

◯ Herb Morgan (R)

Morgan is an investment professional with nearly four decades of experience in financial markets. He founded Efficient Market Advisors (EMA), one of the nation’s earliest ETF-based investment firms, which grew to manage $1.5 billion in assets under his leadership. He was appointed by Mayor Jerry Sanders to the San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System (SDCERS) Board, where he collaborated with fellow trustees to overhaul financial reporting and restore robust corporate governance. He was subsequently elected Board Chair twice by his peer trustees. He is a Board Member of The Private Shares Fund. His employment record is spotty, with lots of short stints at various investment firms. He has a BA in economics from UC Santa Cruz. The Anthem Financial Club describes his background as: “Prior to becoming CEO of EMA, Mr. Morgan held the post of Senior Vice President of Advisory at Linsco/Private Ledger Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Morgan was also Sr. Vice President with Dreyfus as well as Sr. Vice President with ING Funds group. (Then known as Pilgrim Funds) From 1990 to 1996 Herb held positions with J&W Seligman & Co. Herb Morgan graduated from The University of California, Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. (Honors)”

Morgan wants to launch a Cal-DOGE to root out Fraud, Waste, and Abuse. We all saw how well that worked at the Federal Level. A central pillar of his plan is to implement a open ledger, blockchain-based public finance platform. Every state agency ledger would be published online and on-chain in real time, giving every Californian immediate access to spending data. He wants to implement meaningful, outcome-based audits, not years after losses occur, but while programs are operating. He wants to empower the public — journalists, watchdog organizations, academics, and everyday citizens — with direct access to financial data that has long been buried behind delays, bureaucracy, and technical barriers.

According to the LA Times, Morgan would use the controller’s office to develop a real-time reporting system that would use blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, allowing the public to review the price and recipients of contracts. He wants the Controller’s office to withhold funds from departments until there are improvements at the agencies. He also wants to be “far more aggressive” about issuing warnings to the governor and the state legislator when budgets are presented that rely on questionable financial assumptions and projections.

He has a large number of endorsements from Republican elected leaders, and Republican organizations.

📋 Conclusion

Malia Cohen has been a disappointment. It is clear she has failed in her responsibility as a fiscal watchdog, and needs to do more audits and oversights as part of her role. This would have been an ideal time for a candidate with appropriate financial background to take over the role: for example, this would have been great for Fiona Ma given her CPA background. But, alas, we don’t have that good alternative. Adams is a socialist who doesn’t really understand the Controller’s office and its responsibility; further, she just simply doesn’t have the finance or government background. Morgan’s problems are in a different area. He does have economics experience, but only at the BA level. His experience is not in audits, but in investmange management and banking. His notions about using blockchain to solve all problems are (1) idiotic, and (2) so five-years ago. Blockchain is a log of transactions; it doesn’t provide magic transparency. Further, his mention of a Cal-DOGE loses me immediately, as I think DOGE was a complete and utter mistake. Given that there were only three candidates in the race, this leaves only one option.

Conclusion: ⚫ Malia Cohen (D) ⭐INC

◊

Board of Equalization, 3^rd District

The State Board of Equalization (BOE) was created in 1879 by constitutional amendment and charged with the responsibility for ensuring that county property tax assessment practices were equal and uniform throughout the state. Through the years, legislative changes expanded the BOE’s role to administer additional taxes and fees. Effective July 1, 2017, the BOE returned to its Constitutional responsibilities. The BOE is responsible for property tax programs, alcoholic beverage tax, tax on insurers, and private railroad car tax. The BOE is also constitutionally responsible for the Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Tax on Insurers. By way of agreement, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), performs billing and audit services for those programs.

Being on the Board of Equalization, which traditionally has been an office that was ignored, has recently become a stepping stone to other financial offices—notably, State Controller and State Treasurer. Hence, the large field of candidates when there isn’t an incumbent in the way.

◯ Carlo Basail (R)

Basail’s website says “Carlo Basail has dedicated his career to public administration and community advocacy. ” However, I could find no specifics of experience in public administration or public service.

His main policy position seems to be “Advocating for clear communication and openness in tax policies and board proceedings.”

He has a small number of Republican endorsements.

◯ Rudy Bermudez (D)

Bermudez represented the 56^th District in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2006, where he served as Chair of the Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee. In that role, he led oversight of California’s tax laws, property tax policy, and taxpayer protections. He also served as Vice Chair of the California Board of Accountancy, helping oversee financial and professional standards that protect the public. He has also been a taxpayer advocate before the BOE. I tried to find his educational background and whether he had an accounting or economics related degree. I couldn’t.

While researching Bermudez’s background, I came across this interesting LA Times article from 2007:  “Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has appointed a former Democratic legislator to the state board that regulates accountants, despite the ex-assemblyman’s sponsorship of a controversial bill last year on behalf of the accounting profession. The bill sponsored by two-term Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez (D-Norwalk) would have gutted state accounting regulations and exposed Californians to illegal tax shelters had it been passed in its initial form, consumer groups and former Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer warned at the time. Now Bermudez, who left the Legislature after losing a Senate bid last year, is one of eight public members on the 15-seat Board of Accountancy, which by law is supposed to protect consumers. Bermudez received nearly $50,000 over five years in contributions from accountants, more than most legislators collected from the industry in that period.”

I also found an OC Register article from 2012 that noted: “State officials are investigating whether an Orange County assemblyman illegally funneled thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to a political ally and former O.C. lawmaker. The Watchdog has obtained a letter from California Fair Political Practices Commission confirming that it has launched an investigation into a series of contributions involving Assemblyman Tony Mendoza and Assembly candidate Rudy Bermudez, a former lawmaker. The transactions in question are legal under state law — if they were not coordinated. If they were, the contributions could constitute money laundering to avoid campaign contribution limits. The penalty for such a violation would be a maximum $5,000 fine, per count, and any ill-gotten funds would have to be turned over to the state. Mendoza has denied any wrongdoing; Bermudez has not responded to five phone calls from the Watchdog. The investigation was sparked by a compliant filed by Leslie Rodriguez, the campaign manager for Ian Calderon, who is running against Bermudez for the Assembly. Gary Winuk, chief of enforcement for the Fair Political Practices Commission, wrote Rodriguez a letter on Monday that said the commission “has initiated an investigation” into her complaint. Bermudez represented the current 56th Assembly District, which includes Buena Park, from 2002 until 2006, when he was defeated by Ron Calderon (Ian’s uncle) in a Senate race. Mendoza succeeded Bermudez as the representative for that district, and, now that Mendoza is termed out in November, Bermudez is seeking to return to the Assembly in the new 57the Assembly District, which does not include any parts of Orange County . Mendoza has endorsed Bermudez’ campaign. Both are Democrats. Until early March, Mendoza served as the chairman of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.  It was during his final days as caucus chairman that the transactions began. The caucus, as its name implies, works to “protect and preserve the rights of Latinos throughout California.” Among its various efforts, the caucus raises money for an independent expenditure committee called Yes We Can. Under state rules, the caucus itself can’t directly control the committee, but it can make recommendations on where the committee spends its money.”

His campaign page lists no issues, no plans, no promises. There are no endorsements. It almost seems like his campaign is really just advertising for his Tax Adocacy work.

◯ Mike Gipson (D)

Gipson was elected to the Carson City Council in 2005. He served as Mayor Pro Tempore before running for the California State Assembly in 2014, where he has served since. Today, Assemblymember Gipson represents the 65^th Assembly District which includes the areas of Watts, Willowbrook, Compton, Carson, North Long Beach, Harbor Gateway North & South, Harbor City, Wilmington, and San Pedro. In 2015, Assembly Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon appointed Gipson to serve as his right hand in the role of Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair. He served until July 2023, making him the longest-serving Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair in California State history. Gipson has since been appointed to chair the Revenue and Taxation Committee by Speaker Robert Rivas. Gipson also Chairs the Select Committees on Ports and Goods Movement. He also serves on the select Committees on Domestic Violence; Automation and Workforce Development; California-Mexico Bi-National Affairs; Los Angeles County Homelessness; Nonprofit Sector; Restorative Justice; Social Determinants of Health; State Parks; Status of Boys and Men of Color; and the California Creative Economy Workgroup. Gipson is also an active member of the California Legislative Black Caucus as well as Chair of the 76^th Council of State Governments West (CSG West) which currently represents 13 states. Gipson is now serving as Vice-Chair for the Council of State Government National (CSG). Gipson also serves on the Standing Committees of Governmental Organizations and Insurance. He attended LA Southwest College, and got a BA from the University of Phoenix. It appears he is termed out of his assembly district.

His campaign website states “Throughout my career in the State Assembly, as City Councilmember and as a Police Officer, I have been a committed champion for my constituents in providing resources and funding for important programs in communities that have been historically underserved. As the longest-serving Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair in California history, I helped lead our state through significant budget shortfalls, while always protecting working families and our most vulnerable communities. That’s why I’m running for Board of Equalization, to ensure big corporations pay their fair share, protect taxpayers, and increase transparency at the BOE.” However, his website says absolutely nothing about what he specifically plans to do on the BOE.

He also does not appear to be playing fair or campaigning fair. He has exaggerated his record as a police officer. There are claims he supported an opponent in this campaign because her name was similar to his strongest competitor. And just as I was posting this, his campaign did a FB post: “Mike Gipson stood up to ICE and fought to protect abortion rights. Yvonne Yiu was a Trump Republican during his first term who refused to vote for abortion rights and was sued for financial misconduct.”. Well, I looked up whether Yiu was a Republican. She ran as a Democrat in 2024 for SD 25; and as a Democrat in 2022 for Controller.  I could find absolutely no evidence that Yiu was a Republican.

He has a large number of endorsements: labor unions, Democratic clubs, the black caucus, police and fire, and a large number of elected officials.

◯ Stephan Hohil (R)

Hohil does not appear to have a campaign website. It appears he was a candidate for Assembly District 51 in 2024.

◯ Zhijing Liu (D)

Liu is an undergraduate at the University of Southern California. She does not appear to have a campaign website. Her linkedIn Profile says that she is an undergrad at USC working on a BS in Accounting and Finance, scheduled to finish in 2028. She has worked part-time at US Bank as a client-relationship consultant.

According to Politico via the Western Electrical Contractors Political Advocacy Arm, an opponent of Assemblymember Mike Gipson’s bid for the Board of Equalization is accusing Gipson’s campaign of recruiting a candidate with a similar last name to confuse voters and split the Asian vote. The candidate in question is Zhijing Liu, an undergraduate at the University of Southern California who will be listed on the ballot as a “banker!” Gipson’s campaign flatly denies recruiting her, and a representative told POLITICO it had never heard of her. Yvonne Yiu, a former Monterey Park City Council member, who is running against Gipson, ties Liu to Gipson through Jose Ugarte, who used to consult for Gipson and was paid by his campaign as recently as last April, according to campaign finance records. Liu’s papers were filed by another USC student, Amir King, who has volunteered for Ugarte. But both Ugarte and Gipson’s campaigns say Ugarte, who is running for the Los Angeles City Council, had no involvement in Liu’s candidacy. King says the explanation is simple. It was Liu’s own idea to run, and the two got connected through a mutual friend. Liu said in an email that she’s been “working at a bank and wanted to run to explore our state’s tax policies to advocate for a better system. I thought the Board of Equalization was a good fit to do that,” she said. She did not respond to additional questions about the allegations, saying she needed to focus on school until finals were over.

Whether or not the charge from POLITICO is true, it appears that Liu is inexperienced for this position.

◯ Marie Manvel (—)

Manvel has a website that talks about her MBA, but her campaign website “about me” gives a 404. Her LinkedIn profile notes that she was  Vice Chair of the Human Services Commission for the City of Santa Monica, a Treasurer for the Salvation Army, a Financial Arbitrator for FINRA, and was a Social Services Commissioner for the City of Santa Monica. She was also an interim CEO at various places. She has MBAs in Real Estate Finance and Entreprenurship from USC Marshall School of Business.

Her campaign website states that she is for Fair & Transparent Taxation, Fiscal Accountability, and Supporting Small Business.

Her endorsements are unnamed.

◯ Rey Portela (R)

Portela’s campaign website is an Instagram site. Sigh. OK. And that appears to be all the information there is.

◯ Baru Sanchez (D)

Sanchez’s campaign website is an Instagram site. Sigh. OK.

Based on his LinkedIn page, Sanchez is a CPA who works as a VP, Internal Audits at PennyMac Bank. Before that, he was an IT Risk Manager at RSM US LLP, and a SOX IT Manager at Armanino LLP. He has a BS in Accounting from CSU Long Beach.

His sites present no positions or reasons to vote for him. He has no endorsements.

◯ Samuel Sukaton (D)

Sukaton has a BA in History from UCLA. He directed Senator Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign in Inland Southern California. He’s led climate budget investment and redistricting campaigns with California Environmental Voters. Most recently, as Lead Organizer for AFT Local 1521, the LA Community College Faculty Guild, he’s organizing students and representing faculty in the Los Angeles Community College District — the largest community college district in California He’s worked before with the California Public Utilities Commission, Energy Commission, Air Resources Board, and Natural Resources Agency, gaining first-hand experience with how California’s investments in clean energy, climate resilience, and innovative land use move us all toward a sustainable and healthy future.

He’s one of the few whose website talks about the Board of Equalization in somewhat specific terms. He states that at the BOE, he will focus on: (•) Fair and uniform assessments – making sure homeowners and small businesses are treated equally across counties. (•) Transparency and modernization – upgrading systems so taxpayers can see where every dollar goes, as well as opportunities to raise new revenue with things like split-roll. (•) Fiscal responsibility – ensuring state and local revenues are managed efficiently and ethically. (•) Equitable growth – supporting policies that strengthen local economies while safeguarding the environment.

His website doesn’t list any endorsements.

⚫ Yvonne Yiu (D)

Yiu attended UCLA and earned a degree in Economics, later obtaining an MBA from Loyola Marymount University. Yvonne also earned a CRCP designation from Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and holds 10 FINRA securities licenses. She opened her own Broker-Dealer with over $1 billion in assets under her management – all before the age of 40. She previously served as a financial advisor at Charles Schwab and Citibank, Branch Manager at E*Trade and as a Regional Manager at Merrill Lynch where she oversaw 5 international branches, 53 financial advisors and $4 billion in assets. She later served as a Monterey Park City Councilwoman. She is the former mayor of Monterey Park, and is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of the Local Agency Investment Fund. She previously ran for State Controller.

She states that she is running to bring her years of fiscal expertise to the job and deliver for communities across California.

There are some complaints that she essentially self-funded her campaigns for State Senate in 2024 and Controller in 2022. However, if we accept Tom Steyer funding his campaign for Governor, we can’t complain about other Democrats doing the same.

She has a fair number of local elected official endorsements.

📋 Conclusion

Reading through the candidates for this position, one gets the impression that there are a lot of folks looking for an easy stipend for meeting attendance, and possibly public office that allows them to move up (or suck at the public teat). Most of the folks running have no qualifications for this office other than that they breathing. It only looks like there are two qualified candidates: Mike Gipson and Yvonne Yiu. Gipson is only qualified because he was chair of the Revenue and Taxation Committee; his educational background has nothing to do with taxation. Further, there is the odd claim regarding Zhijing Liu, which may or may not be true. There’s also his dirty politics about trying to claim Yiu was a Trump Republican when that can’t be substantiated.

What is true is that Yvonne Yiu has a real financial background, and is the most likely to actually understand taxation and tax policy, and valuations of assets. She also understands politics from her experience in Monterey Park. She seems the most qualified.

Conclusion: ⚫ Yvonne Yiu (D)

◊

Supt. of Public Instruction

The superintendent oversees the California Department of Education (CDE) and, by extension, all of the state of California’s public schools. He or she executes the policies of the California Board of Education, which is the school system’s primary governing body. The superintendent also manages the operational side of the school system; he or she licenses teachers, maintains school property, and fulfills other administrative duties. The CDE and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction are also responsible for enforcing education law and regulations; and for continuing to reform and improve public elementary school programs, secondary school programs, adult education, some preschool programs, and child care programs.

Note that this is officially a non-partisan position; however, if the analysis indicated a leaning I’ve noted it.

Useful references:

• LA Times, “Your guide to the California state schools superintendent race: wide-open race to replace Tony Thurmond“
• Calmatters, “Superintendent of Public Instruction“

⚫ Richard Barrera (NP/Leans 🐴)

Barrera is a longtime school board member in San Diego Unified, the state’s second-largest school system, a senior advisor to Thurmond and before that was a local labor union executive. He has a BA in History from UC San Diego, and an MA from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education. He has an extensive bio on LinkedIn.

Per his website, his priorities are (1) Build a Strong, Sustainable Teacher Pipeline; (2) Expanding Early Childhood Education; (3) Secure, Sustainable Funding for Stronger Schools; (4) Empowering Communities to Fund Their Schools—Because Our Kids Can’t Wait; (5) Making Housing Affordable for Educators; (6) Building Schools Where Every Student Belongs; (7) Prioritizing Mental Health in Every School; and (8) Delivering Equity: Real Opportunities for Every Student. This is a great set of priorities.

He has four measures to achieve goals: (1) a sustained, statewide instructional push in early literacy and math that is treated as an implementation focus, not a short-term initiative; (2) to treat attendance as part of the academic strategy; (3) stabilizing the educator workforce; and (4) make college and career readiness a central, measurable outcome ofK–12 performance, not a secondary consideration.

He is the leader by far in fundraising. The LA Times shows him having raised 1.3 million by 5/1; his closest rival, Al Muratsuchi (NP/D) has only raised $734K. He’s only spent around $300K. He has an extensive list of endorsements, including the current SPI, Tony Thurmond, loads of elected and public officials (most school based), school administrators, the Bee family of newspapers, Democratic clubs, a number of unions (most importantly, the California Teachers Assn).

◯ Wendy Castañeda-Leal (NP/Leans 🐴)

Casteneda-Leal (CL)’s website is poor; her Instagram is better. Sigh. CL has pursued a career in more rural areas, currently serving as superintendent for the Semitropic Elementary School District, which has one TK-8 school with about 140 students off Highway 46 in Kern County. She’s also been director of whole child education for Roseland School District and a secondary alternative school principal.

Her priorities are: (1) Closing the Equity Gap; (2) Support for Multilingual Learners; (3) Wraparound Services for Low-Income Families. She does have a full detailed platform. She has some interesting ideas.

In terms of measures to improve academic performance, according to the LA Times: “would be to ensure all students achieve early literacy proficiency by third grade through evidence-based reading instruction and targeted intervention, as this is foundational to long-term success. In addition, strengthening high-quality instruction in math with consistent statewide standards, coaching, and support for teachers would help address ongoing achievement gaps. We also need to increase the monetary resources allocated to schools, because at the state level we set ambitious goals and demands, but there is often little follow-through, accountability, or support at the district level. Focusing on providing adequate funding, targeted support, and clear accountability for districts is essential to ensure these initiatives translate into measurable academic gains for all students.”

She lists no endorsements on her site.

◯ Nichelle Henderson (NP/Leans 🐴)

She starts her website by promoting her Democratic leanings. Her career in public education spans 30 years, beginning as a parent volunteer in her child’s pre-K classroom, then becoming a teaching assistant and CSEA member in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). She later taught sixth-grade math and science as a CEA/NEA member in the Compton Unified School District. Today, she teach teachers, mentoring and supporting future educators as a Faculty Advisor and Clinical Field Supervisor in a state-funded teacher preparation program in the California State University system. The is an active union leader in the California Faculty Association (CFA/SEIU 1983), where she served on the Statewide Representation Committee, chaired the Faculty Rights Team at Cal State LA, participated on the statewide bargaining team, and represented educators as a delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. In 2020, she was elected to the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees (which is why I recognized her name).

She has a set of priorities on her campaign webpage, but what stands out first is the line: “divestment from ongoing genocides in Palestine”. I find such lines problematic, as they echo a problematic agenda and a simplistic view of a very complex situation. But she is right that it is out of her purview. Her priorities are: (1) Fully funded, fully staffed public schools; (2) Learning over testing; (3) Student mental health, special education, and whole-child support; (4) Early Childhood Education and school readiness; (5) College, career, and workforce pathways; (6) Academic Freedom and AB715 (which deals with the state taking over complaint processes from local districts); and (7) Charter school accountability.

She told the LA Times that her main plan to improve academic performance is a reform of standardized testing. Changing the way that students are tested, the frequency of testing and determining how student and school data is utilized and reported to stakeholders will build trust and ensure that intentional metrics are in place to support students

She has a large number of Democratic endorsements: Democratic clubs, Black caucuses, loads of elected officials. Trustees of other community college districts. Trustees of school districts. No teacher union endorsements.

◯ Frank Lara (NP/Leans ☮🗽)

Lara was born to immigrant parents and raised in the working class border-town of Calexico. He first began organizing for immigrant rights as a student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he graduated in 2008. He earned his teaching credential with bilingual authorization shortly after, knowing he wanted to work in San Francisco’s Mission District in a multilingual environment. Frank quickly took on leadership roles at his school, becoming a union steward, as well as a master teacher, mentoring new bilingual teachers and supporting them as they entered their challenging and fulfilling roles as educators. In 2015, he was awarded the Teacher 4 Social Justice “Thank-a-Teacher” Award and the 826 Valencia “Teacher of the Month” Award. His “about” page details how he has been involved in a large number of fights for student, racial, and immigrant justice. He has served as the Executive Vice President of United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) since 2021.

His website details a 10 point program for California schools: 1. Fully Fund California Public Schools; 2. Free Childcare and Universal Pre-K; 3. Small Class Sizes for All; 4. Community Schools and Comprehensive Support for Students’ Needs; 5. SPED Justice: Quality Special Education Services for All; 6. Free College! Expand Adult Education and Technical-Trade Programming; 7. Racially Just Education: ICE and Cops Out of Schools!; 8. Stop the Overtesting of Our Kids; 9. Culturally Responsive Education for All—Expand Language Pathways and Defend Ethnic Studies!; 10. No Public Money for Private Schools

According to the LA Times, his specific measure to improve schools would be smaller class sizes and fully funding schools so to provide adequate staffing, wages, and stability to our students and for our schools.

He has the endorsement of a small number of teachers and UESF. He also has the “Vote Socialist” and Green Party endorsement.

◯ Ainye Long (NP/Leans 🐴)

Long’s campaign website has no background information on her, nor does it detail any priorities or endorsements. She has minimal spending.

Her background, according to the LA Times, is as California public school student: 1992 – 2007; 2009; 2014-2016; a 5^th Generation Public School Teacher: 2007- Present; and a Peer Health Educator: 1998-2002.

The Times identified four priorities in her plan: (1) Expanded Learning Opportunities, such as Career and Technical education; (2) Safety; (3) Accountability: Measuring what we did against what we said we were going to do; and (4) Creative sustainable funding. The one thing she thinks would most improve academic performance is standards-based grading that measures student’s understanding, growth and mastery of a particular standard, sub-standard or skill.

◯ Gus Mattammal (NP/Leans 🐘)

Mattammal is the Director of Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley, a tutoring company. He is also an elected member of the Midcoast Community Council and serves on countywide boards dealing with transportation and with tax oversight. He is also President of SHIFT-Bay Area (www.shift-ba.org), a nonpartisan policy advocacy group focused on regional issues in the Bay Area. He supports charter schools, homeschooling and other alternatives to traditional public schools.

His policy is laid out in a whole book, but he lays out the highlights on his website. For Students: (1) Specific content-driven reforms in reading, mathematics, and history/ethnic studies. For Parents: (1) Robust support at the California Department of Education (CDE) for school choice options that operate within the public school system, including public charter schools, magnet schools, open enrollment, and microschools. (2) Creating a team at the CDE to take in observations from parents about happenings within their local schools so that there is a clear channel of communication for parents from the grassroots level to the CDE. For Teachers: (1) Performance-based teacher compensation that rewards star teachers in struggling districts far more aggressively; (2) Defined contribution retirement plans for new teachers, half of whom leave the profession before the current defined benefit system provides any value to them.​ For Schools: A complete redesign of the supplemental/concentration grant funding system, which will add $20 billion in funding to the state’s most struggling schools without raising taxes.

The specific measures, according to his LA Times interview, that would most help schools are: (1) Publish a science-of-reading model curriculum made available to all districts and aggressively promote its adoption statewide; (2) Revise the statewide math framework to prioritize advanced mathematics and to balance abstract reasoning with procedural fluency; (3) Redesign the Local Control Funding Formula’s supplemental and concentration grant structure to significantly increase resources for medium- and high-need districts with unduplicated pupil percentages above 10%; (4) recruit more teachers than ever to dramatically reduce class sizes; and (5) offer statewide supplemental merit pay to high-performing teachers choosing to teach in high-need districts, incentivizing skilled educators to work where they are needed most.

He is endorsed by a number of Republican leaders, but no education groups or teachers unions.

◯ Al Muratsuchi (NP/Leans 🐴)

Al Muratsuchi is an educator, former local school board trustee, and State Assemblymember. As Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, Muratsuchi makes education policy impacting California’s nearly six million public school students. In the Legislature, Muratsuchi has led the fight for billions in increased funding for our schools, universal preschool and afterschool programs, closing the digital divide, mental health services, and free school meals. He has authored ground-breaking legislation that delivers for all California students, including a $10 billion statewide school bond, raising teachers’ salaries, fighting book bans at public libraries, and teaching real-world skills for future jobs. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA before settling in the Los Angeles South Bay.  Muratsuchi is an adjunct professor at El Camino Community College, where he teaches government, and he is a proud member of the American Federation of Teachers, Local 1388.  He has also served as a civil rights lawyer and Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice, and on the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education, the Southern California Regional Occupational Center Board of Trustees, and the State Allocation Board, which distributes state funds to build and repair public schools.

His campaign website does not list priorities. According to the LA Times interview, they are: 1. Fully fund our schools to reduce class sizes and promote student success;2. Attract and retain good teachers throughout the state;3. Early childhood education. The measures he would use to most improve education are (1) early childhood care and learning; and (2) evidence-based educational best practices like promoting the science of reading.

He is endorsed by the California Federation of Teachers, the California School Employees Association, California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), and a number of elected officials.

◯ Josh Newman (NP/Leans 🐴)

Newman is an Army veteran, entrepreneur, educator, non-profit leader, father, husband, and former State Senator for California’s 29^th District. He served as Chair of the Senate Committee on Education. He served as principal co-author of a bond that will provide $10 billion in funding for desperately-needed investments in California’s schools, as well as authoring a landmark bill assuring every elementary student in California the right to recess. He is currently a Senior Fellow/Instructor at the UCI School of Social Ecology (2025-Present), and was a Middle School Teacher(1990-1992)

His priorities are: (1) Literacy & Numeracy; (2) Workforce Readiness; (3) College Readiness; and (4) Civic Readiness. The specific measures he would implement to improve schools, according to the LA Times, are (1) strengthening evidence based instruction in literacy, math, and science; (2) educing chronic absenteeism by better aligning the school day with the needs of working families; (3) creating coherent pathways from K–12 into community college, apprenticeships, and high quality careers.

In terms of endorsements, he has a lot of union trade endorsements, some Democratic clubs, elected officials, and a lot of Orange County-based educators and board trustees.

◯ Anthony Rendon (NP/Leans 🐴)

His primary background, according to the LA Times (because he doesn’t say much on his website) is (1) Assembly member 2012-24 (including Assembly Speaker from 2016-2023); Executive Director, Plaza de la Raza Child Development Services Inc. 2009-2012; and Chief Operating Officer, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation 2001 – 2005. This is mostly legislative and executive experience.

His top priorities are (1) Limit Screentime and AI in the Classroom; (2) Standing Up to the Attacks on Public Education From Washington; (3) Building a Cradle-To-Career Education System. According to the LA Times interview, his top measure to achieve success somewhat ambiguous: “effective collaboration with school districts, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders allows us to find the best current methods and tools to improve academic performance.”

In terms of endorsements, the key ones are the Education Workers of SEIU California, and the California Faculty Association. He has a lot of Democratic clubs and Democratic officials. He has a fair number of education board members.

◯ Sonja Shaw (NP/Leans 🐘)

Shaw’s bio raises a number of red flags, so I’ll quote and flag them: “…when California sidelined parents 🚩 during debates over closures and mandates, she could no longer just stay a spectator. Sonja’s resilience and faith drove her to fight for our families. Starting out by attending local school board meetings to advocate for her daughters, Sonja’s fight for our children grew into a movement. Elected Chino Valley Unified School Board President in 2022, she championed parental rights 🚩, winning landmark battles against Sacramento’s extreme policies 🚩, including a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta. Backed by countless parents, she proved families, not politicians, should steer education. Now running for California State Superintendent in 2026, Sonja aims to fix a system where only 46.7% of students read at grade level, transforming schools into launchpads for dreams. A wife and mom guided by faith 🚩, she’s committed to fighting for every child’s future.”

Her issues: (1) Protect Our Daughters; (2) Fix Our Schools (“Radical ideologies distract from learning”); (3) Put Families First (“Mask and vaccine mandates ignored families’ well-being”). Her measures, according to the LA Times, to bring success are: (1) Start with reading; (2) Give teachers time to teach–too much of their time is spent on paperwork that has nothing to do with student learning; (3) be honest about results.

She is endorsed by the usual Republican groups, and Republican leaders, and a small number of School Board leaders.

📋 Conclusion

This is a large field, so lets see if we can winnow it down a bit. Let’s first get rid of the folks with skimpy or weak websites: If a teacher can’t communicate their goals, they will be bad in this job. That cuts out Wendy Castañeda-Leal and Ainye Long. Next, let’s cut out the MAGA agenda: bye, bye Shaw. Next, let’s eliminate those with skant teaching or educating experience, who seem to be using this position more as a stepping stone. That cuts out Rendon, Newman, and Mattammal. Lastly, let’s cut out those who have have weak teacher endorsements: Henderson and Lara.

That leaves Barrera and Muratsuchi. Muratsuchi seems to be using this more as a stepping stone: He has the educational background and endorsements, and some good ideas, but his main credential is being a state assembly critter. Barrera has union ties, school board ties, and has worked with the SPI (and so knows the SPI apparatus). That leads me to the following choice:

Conclusion: ⚫ Richard Barrera (NP/Leans 🐴)

◊

Treasurer

The Treasurer provides financing for schools, roads, housing, levees, public health facilities, and other crucial infrastructure projects. The Treasurer managed in excess of $3.2 trillion of banking transactions in 2021. One of the primary duties of the Treasurer is to provide transparency and oversight for the state’s investment portfolio and bank accounts. Funds held in the treasury that are not needed immediately are invested in safe, liquid securities designed to use the state’s financial resources efficiently. As such, the Treasurer oversees an investment portfolio that has averaged more than $100 billion, about one-third of which are funds beneficially owned by more than 2,200 local governments in California. In addition to these banking and investment activities, the Treasurer serves as the agent for the sale of all state bonds and is the trustee on a majority of the state’s outstanding debt.

Useful reference:

• LA Times, “Your guide to the California state treasurer race: Who will replace Fiona Ma?“

⚫ Anna Caballero (D)

Caballero sat on the Salinas City Council for 15 years and was elected as the first woman mayor in 1998, after spending a career representing farm workers as an attorney in rural California. She was then appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to serve as Secretary of State and Consumer Services (SCSA), now the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. In 2018, she won a long held Republican State Senate seat stretching from the Central Coast to the Central Valley. She chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture. She also served in the state Assembly.

She has a broad plan, but it is unclear how much of it is within the purview of the state treasurer. As you open each, there are some treasurer specific items. For example, on increasing access to housing, it says “As Treasurer, Anna will build on that legacy by cutting red tape and streamlining regulations in the Treasurer’s office to accelerate affordable housing construction. She will work to expedite projects funded by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee to expand access to tax-exempt private activity bonds — key tools for financing housing.” That’s reasonable.

Most interestingly, she has an ICE OUT plan, using financing to enforce state sanctuary laws and to prevent state funds from being used to support ICE.

She wants to partner with financial institutions to develop a system for unbanked individuals, meaning those who don’t use traditional banks or credit unions, to start earning a credit rating and score. She said monitoring their use of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which are used for food stamps or unemployment, could be a way to assign a rating.

She has a fair number of endorsements, including a small number of union endorsements.

◯ Jennifer Hawks (R)

Hawks is a retired businesswoman. She serves as president of Palo Alto Republican Women Federated, an organization that uses educational activities and community engagement to encourage women to participate in government. She does not have a more detailed bio available.

Her emphasis appears to be finding waste, fraud, and abuse. She believes there is $435B in waste in California, and she focuses in on high-speed rail, transportation and road spending, and homelessness. [Knowing, as I do, how transportation spending works I think she is wrong, and just doesn’t understand what leads to the high spending]

She wants to prioritize oversight and accountability, transparency, debt discipline, and fiduciary responsibilities.

She has a small number of Republican endorsers, including Carl DeMaio (a MAGA hero), the American Independent Party, and a number of county Republican party organizations. She is also endorsed by CA-GOP.

◯ Eleni Kounalakis (D)

EK (it is easier than remembering how to spell Kounalakis) had been planning on running for Governor as she termed out of Lt. Governor, but pivoted when the Governor field grew and she saw there was no path.

It is hard to condense EK’s experience from her “about” page. She earned an MBA from UC Berkeley, then joined her father in building one of California’s most respected housing development firms, AKT Development. In 2010, she was appointed by President Obama as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. After her return to California, she was elected Lt. Governor.

She indicates that her top priorities would be to manage the state’s finances with responsibility and experience, and to build more housing and the infrastructure to support it, to protect our pensions and manage our investment portfolio with transparency and accountability.

Her website does not give a lot of details on her plans. In terms of negatives, she does have some ethical concerns regarding blind trusts, leasing office space to the state, and renovation fundraising.

She has a lot of significant endorsements. These include Governor Newsom and the outgoing Treasurer, Fiona Ma. She also has significant National and Labor endorsements. She has a slew of elected officials and Democratic organizational endorsements.

◯ David Serpa (R)

Serpa is a real estate agent and Marine Corps veteran. He also has written plays and books discussing autism, spirituality and business, according to his professional website. On X, he has described himself as a Nationalist, writing “America Only | California First 1️⃣ | Christ is King ✝️”. That is a problem: Christian Nationalism does not belong in government.

His platform is expressed in a series of one-sentence platitudes: For example, for “Reduce”, he says: “Cut waste, interest costs, fees, and hidden drivers of higher living expenses.  Historical function: Treasury offices were built to lower the cost of government, not disguise it.” He does not give more specifics.

Serpa emphasizes the need for stronger auditing of government programs, including the use of artificial intelligence to identify fraud, waste, and inefficiencies. He also highlights support for fully funding Proposition 36 and reallocating resources if necessary to prioritize public safety and accountability.

He has no endorsements.

◯ Glenn Turner (G)

 Glenn Turner is the former owner of a pagan and metaphysical shop. He has worked alongside community organizations including the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force, Family Advocates for the Seriously Mentally Ill (FASMI), Berkeley Copwatch, and the Public Bank of the East Bay campaign.

His basic Treasurer goals are listed on his website as: STOP THE IRAN WAR  / DIVEST PENSION FUNDS / SAFETY NET FOR THE 99% / HEALTHCARE FOR ALL / HIGHER WAGES / BILLIONAIRE TAX / STUDENT DEBT JUBILEE / PUBLIC BANKS TO HELP FUND HOUSING. Most of these are not within the purview of the treasurer.

He is part of the “Vote Socialist” and “Peace and Freedom” slates, but has no endorsements.

◯ Tony Vazquez (D)

Vazquez is a member of the Board of Equalization, 3^rd District, and is one of the older candidates (70). He is a former teacher who also served for about 10 years on the Santa Monica City Council, including a one-year stint as mayor in 2016. He says this would be his last stint in politics.

His issues are affordable housing, education, and being a champion for the Latino community. He would invest more in California, using the combined $1 trillion in assets of  CalPERS and CalSTRS. He thinks it would be a “good goal” to start divesting from fossil fuels. He also would prioritize building partnerships. He said many housing-related nonprofits would eagerly leverage their resources with the state to build more homes.

He has a lot of elected member endorsements, but no Democratic clubs and no unions.

📋 Conclusion

Let’s eliminate the easy folks first: Turner simply doesn’t understand the job. Serpa is a Christian Nationalist. Hawks subscribes to the MAGA Fraud Waste and Abuse mantra, and doesn’t really understand how government works.

That leaves us with the three Dems. I think Vazquez is too old and doesn’t have a strong plan for the job. That leaves the decision between Caballero and Kounalakis. Kounalakis clearly has the support of the Democratic establishment, but has a weak plan and doesn’t do a great job of selling herself.  Caballero has a good plan, and provides specific details on how to achieve that plan within the capabilities of the Treasurer’s office. Further, she has a specific plan to address the problem of Trump attacking immigrants legally in California, as well as Trump’s abuse of the power of ICE. Although I won’t have a problem if Kounalakis makes the general, I think Caballero is the stronger candidate with respect to the current DC administration and California’s values.

Conclusion: ⚫ Anna Caballero (D)

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🗳️ June 2026 Primary Election Ballot Analysis (II): Other State/National Offices by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.