California State Treasurer and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Fiona Ma met with me over video call last week where we talked about her campaign.
Ma has held many elected offices in California including as a member of the State Assembly from 2006-2012 and the California Board of Equalization from 2015-2019. Before that, she served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Ma is facing off against Republican Gloria Romero and Democrats Josh Fryday and Michael Tubbs, among others.
Ma explained to me that as lieutenant governor, she wants to spur economic growth and create high-quality jobs. I asked her about how she would get that done.
“So the lieutenant governor is chair of the [Commission for Economic Development]. And I don’t believe we should have one council because California is so diverse, 58 counties … So I’m going to create many different councils based on my relationships around the state.”
Ma explained that she will use these many councils to match investors and corporations with cities with their specific needs, thereby creating more jobs in those regions. The commission has been inactive in recent years so I suppose Ma will have to resurrect it before carving it up.
Ma also promised to make college more affordable using her duties as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of California system and the Board of Trustees of the Cal State University system. I noted that she’s facing a tall task given that the UC Regents approved a tuition hike last year that will increase every year for incoming students depending on inflation.
Unfortunately her plan was vague and, as with some of her other proposals, is difficult to scrutinize when she simply promises to somehow make things happen. In this instance, her plan involves attracting outside donations and investment, partnering with corporations and using the school’s properties more efficiently.
“I’ll give you an example since I just left Cal Poly. 20 years ago, they never asked their alumni for any money, for example, after they graduated. And now they have a very robust philanthropy alumni giving program … And the only way that we are going to keep tuition low is to figure out how, especially the CSUs, are going to be able to generate outside revenues, either through public-private partnerships, using their properties a little bit more efficiently.”
Even though she promised to use her accounting powers to, “[figure] out their financial statements, trying to dig deep in terms of what their revenue model is to increase revenue,” voters may be forgiven for being skeptical that she might be such a talented accountant that she would find enough meat on the UC and Cal State system finances that it would result in lower tuitions for students.
It was the same story when I asked her about her plans to build more housing and increase access to healthcare.
“So I am going to continue to work on housing because that’s what I do now at the state treasurer’s office. I oversee the tax credit and the bonds that goes to subsidize truly affordable housing units.”
Ma stated all of the many things she has done on housing as treasurer but provided no concrete plan given that she will not have the authority of the treasurer’s office as lieutenant governor.
On expanding access to healthcare, she again rattled off several things she had done in past roles but did not specify how she would use her power as lieutenant governor to fulfill her promise.
And so it went, which is partly explained by the fact the lieutenant governor of California has little authority.
The day before my interview with Ma was scheduled to take place, Politico reported on Ma’s link to Pegasus California School, a Chinese boarding school that was the focus of an audit commissioned by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez.
In 2017, Pegasus and the Val Verde Unified School District in Moreno Valley entered into an agreement where VVUSD would grant diplomas to Pegasus students. According to Business Insider, whose investigation prompted the audit, Pegasus was a pathway for Chinese students into California’s public universities.
According to the audit, high school diplomas may have been granted to students who did not meet the appropriate residency standards or course requirements and that, “There appears to be a pattern of favors, official acts, promises, and payments leading to the [state’s] endorsement of Pegasus and VVUSD’s approval of the diploma pilot program.”
Ma has had a decades-long relationship with the school’s founder, Steven Ma (no relation), who has donated about $37,000 to her various campaigns including $13,000 to her current run for lieutenant governor. He is also currently serving as the finance committee chair for her campaign.
In 2023, Ma visited the Pegasus campus in Qingdao, China to give speeches and, according to Pegasus’ website, “inspect” the school. A different post by the school’s website also stated that during her visit, Ma promised Pegasus students that she would help them find internships and “employment opportunities.”
All of this said, the audit did not attribute any wrongdoing by Fiona Ma, and I asked her directly about it.
“Did you provide any favors, conduct any official acts, or receive any payments that facilitated the partnership between the school district and Pegasus?” I asked.
“Absolutely not. I’m not involved. I’m not associated with it,” replied Ma. She also noted that the amount that Steven Ma contributed to her campaign is only a small fraction of the $8.5 million she has raised.
I noted to Ma that Tom Torlakson, the superintendent of public instruction at the time, also received campaign contributions from Mr. Ma and that the audit found that to be “evidence of potential bribes and/ or kickbacks.”
“So did Ma ever ask you to use your power or influence to help Pegasus in California? Or did you ever speak to anyone in local or state governments about Pegasus and the school’s interest in the diploma program?” I asked.
“No”, she replied.
“I did see that you promised to secure employment and internships in the U.S. for Pegasus students. Did that ever come to fruition? Did you help those students get internships or get into school?”
“No, I mean, you can’t promise, but wherever I am, whether – I just left students here and I said, hey, we have an internship program, you should apply. Right. Because we want kids to understand more about government and public service. I’ve had over a thousand interns come through my office. So that is just my pitch. I can’t promise anything. Depends how many slots there are and whether, you know, it’s usually competitive. So I didn’t promise anything.”
“I guess they misquoted you then?”
“Yes. Yeah. I mean, she wasn’t there and she also talked about gifts,” she said, likely referring to the author of the Pegasus post. “I got a little stuffed animal and a bouquet of flowers. That’s the gift she’s talking about, and I left them there. I paid for my trip myself as well. I took my dad to China because he wanted to visit his hometown. And Steven invited me to go by the school. And, you know, my job was to inspire them, encourage them to study hard, you know, if they can make it, come to the United States to go to school and, you know, pursue the California dream.”
Kunming, her father’s hometown is about a 1600-mile drive or a 3.5 hour flight from Qingdao where the school is located, according to a Google Maps search.
I asked her to clarify her relationship with the school and with Mr. Ma.
“I give speeches at a lot of schools. Do you follow me on social media? Okay. Well, if you follow me on social media, I go to a lot of schools. I give a lot of speeches. So Steven is a friend. I’ve known him for many decades.”
It’s worth reiterating that Ma was not accused or suspected of any wrongdoing in the audit. In an open letter, Steven Ma also defended Pegasus and denied all allegations related to the audit.
Where we can draw stronger conclusions is in Ma purely as a candidate for lieutenant governor. Despite her considerable experience in government, her responses lacked substance and were often composed mostly of recitations of her past actions in office.
As to her relation to Pegasus and Mr. Ma, I leave it to the reader to interpret as they please.
Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. He is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Rochester. You can reach him at rafaelperezocregister@gmail.com.