By admin 
In his recent memoir, Gov. Gavin Newsom made light of his time as lieutenant governor. While it is officially the state’s second most powerful position, he called it a “backwater” role that largely relegated its occupant to mundane proclamations like naming the avocado the state fruit.
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The lieutenant governor position is often seen as a placeholder for the governor’s mansion. Newsom briefly ran for governor in 2010, before pivoting to lieutenant governor when former Gov. Jerry Brown launched his own campaign.
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The next lieutenant governor, like the governor, will be a new officeholder, as Newsom and incumbent Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis are termed out and cannot run again.
Kounalakis did have one significant accomplishment while in office, becoming the first woman to sign a California bill into law. The bill she signed on April 1, 2022, extended eviction protection for some renters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom was out of the country at the time.
In addition to serving as acting governor when the chief is away, the lieutenant governor also chairs the State Lands Commission and sits on higher education boards including the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges systems. The officeholder also serves as president of the State Senate and can cast tie-breaking legislative votes.
Republican Gloria Romero and Democrat Fiona Ma will face each other on Nov. 3 after advancing out of the June 2 primary.
Who is Fiona Ma?
Ma, a certified public accountant, has been the state treasurer since 2019.
She previously served on the State Board of Equalization from 2013 to 2015, in the Assembly from 2006 to 2012, and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2002 to 2006. Before entering politics, she served as a district representative for former state Sen. John Burton and grew up in a Chinese immigrant family in New York.
Ma said she would continue to focus on affordability, citing her experience as the state’s banker, by streamlining housing production and business permitting, and making higher education more affordable.
She is supported by the California Democratic Party, California Federation of Labor, Equality California, and the California Professional Firefighters union.
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Ma, 60, is separated from her husband, former firefighter Jason Hodge, and lives in San Francisco.
She earned her undergraduate degree in 1988 from Rochester Institute of Technology, which gave her an honorary doctorate in 2023. She also has a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University and a masters of business administration from Pepperdine University
Who is Gloria Romero?
Romero is a former state senator who served as the Democratic majority leader from 2005 to 2008 before leaving public office in 2010. She also served as an education reform activist, earned a Ph.D. in psychology from UC Riverside, and taught as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and CSU Los Angeles.
In 2024, she switched party allegiances, citing disagreement with the Democrats on everything from public safety and COVID mandates to gas stoves. At a news conference hosted by Steve Hilton, the Republican now running for governor, she said, “this is not the Democratic Party that I once championed.”
If elected lieutenant governor, Romero said she would cut through government “bureaucracy and waste,” by halving the number of state commissions, streamline business regulations, and fight against antisemitism on college campuses.
“Reckless policies have made food, gas, housing, and energy unaffordable for ALL of us. The California Dream is fading,” her campaign statement read. “Because California needs a champion for the people. This is why I’m running for lieutenant governor. This office should not be a ceremonial title or a parking spot for failed career politicians.”
She is supported by the California Republican Party and Reform California.
Romero, 71, lives in Los Angeles. Her daughter, Soledad Romero Ursua, is a senior adviser for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Romero earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from California State University, Long Beach, in addition to her doctorate from UC Riverside.
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