The state spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and keeping track of it all is a tall order.
Here in California, it’s the job of the controller to track all public funds as the state’s accountant and to provide oversight of how taxpayers’ dollars are spent by auditing and reviewing state operations.
In addition, the controller administers the payroll system for state government employees and serves on dozens of boards and commissions, from the Board of Equalization (also known as the state’s tax commission) to agencies overseeing state teachers’ and public employees’ pension funds to authorities that deal with alternative energy and educational facilities.
Being the state’s chief fiscal officer is no small job. But three people each believe they’re up to the task.
Incumbent Malia Cohen, a Democrat who previously served on the state Board of Equalization, is seeking a second term as controller.
Challenging her for the seat are Meghann Adams, a union leader who belongs to the Peace and Freedom Party, and Herb Morgan, a Republican who works as a senior managing director and chief investment officer.
A school bus driver from San Francisco, Adams is also president of a local chapter of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
As controller, she said, she’d focus her efforts on ending waste and abuse of public funds, exposing corruption and advocating for a budget that addresses the needs of Californians and the environment.
“My goal as the only socialist candidate for this position is … to make sure our tax dollars are used for the benefit of the majority of people, and that the vast wealth of our state is used to fund basic needs and a dignified life for all our residents,” she said.
Adams said she’d prioritize the auditing of state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure no tax dollars are used to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
In addition, she wants to conduct a statewide housing affordability audit to identify corporate landlords and show where corporations have purchased properties in bulk, then link those purchases to show where rent hikes and vacancies are occurring. This would provide policymakers with information to adopt policies to keep companies from driving up housing costs, she said.
Meanwhile, Morgan said his extensive business background in both the public and private sectors would serve him well as controller. He cited boardroom experience and his tenure as board president of the San Diego City Employees Retirement System among his experiences.
Similar to Adams, Morgan said protecting state resources from waste, fraud and abuse is one of the most important roles of the controller.
He said he’d make it a priority to audit non-governmental organizations that receive state funds to check for compliance and to monitor their performance.
Cohen did not participate in the Southern California News Group’s Voter Guide, but her campaign website notes she was the first Black woman to serve on the state Board of Equalization. She also previously served as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and, while chair of the San Francisco Employee Retirement System, led an effort to move away from fossil fuel and thermal coal investments and transferred $100 million into a fossil fuel-free index fund.
Some of her priorities include addressing the state’s housing crisis and ensuring retirement security, affordable healthcare and access to reproductive care.
Asked if state pension funds should divest from Israel, Morgan said pension assets are managed by third-party managers.
“As an investment officer myself, I am keenly aware of the negative impact political decisions have on investment results,” he said. “Trustees of public pension plans have an obligation to avoid political bias in the manager and selection process.”
Adams, though, said she would “vehemently advocate” for such divestments and would redirect capital into social housing, community energy and storage, school modernization, water and wildfire resilience and transit.
On the issue of Proposition 13, which limits California’s property tax increases, and whether the law should be changed so that commercial properties are assessed at market rate rather than at the limit set by Proposition 13, Adams said she would support the change.
“Closing this tax loophole that businesses have enjoyed for decades would generate billions in tax revenue that we could use to meet the essential needs of working people,” she said.
But Morgan offered a different solution.
“California continues to rank near the bottom in being business-friendly or promoting economic opportunity,” said Morgan.
“Instead of raising our already uncompetitive tax rates, California should be proactively implementing policies designed to attract businesses that provide good-paying jobs,” he said.
Voters have until June 2 to cast their ballots for the primary election. The top two vote-getters in the race advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.