By admin 
Californians will , and while the governor’s race is on the top of many voters’ minds, they’ll also decide who will be the state controller.
Read more Mike Johnson, Bernie Sanders to campaign in Central Valley for 22nd District race
The state controller is one of eight elected constitutional officers in California. They are responsible for the disbursement of public dollars and release reports on local entities’ financial health.
Whoever wins the election will also serve on the board for California’s two largest public pension funds — California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System — and monitor unclaimed property.
Malia Cohen was elected to the position in 2022 and is running for reelection. The Democrat faces Republican Herb Morgan.
Cohen led the primary election with 54.7% of the vote compared to Morgan’s 41.1%, which qualified both for the general election. Peace and Freedom Party candidate Meghann Adams garnered 4.2% of the vote.
Who is Malia Cohen?
The incumbent Cohen isn’t new to politics. Before taking over as state controller, she was on the California Board of Equalization from 2019 to 2023, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting. She was also on the San Francisco Board of Education from 2011 to 2019.
Cohen wants to address California’s housing crisis. According to her campaign website, she’s creating incentives and policies to bolster affordable housing supply, such as approving $804 million in bond authority for affordable student housing.
She also wants to find a balance for the public pension funds to ensure a strong fiscal future while delivering retirement and health benefits.
Endorsements include Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Democratic Party, California Legislative Women’s Caucus and NorCal Carpenters, according to her website.
Read more Will Newsom veto California bill to ban former ICE agents from certain jobs?
The San Francisco native earned a bachelor’s degree from Fisk University and a master’s degree in policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Who is Herb Morgan?
Morgan started the investment firm Efficient Market Advisors, a company that Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald acquired in 2017.
He also served on the San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System Board from 2009 to 2013 after his appointment by then-Mayor Jerry Sanders, according to his campaign’s website.
If elected, Morgan wants to implement public finance platform that would publish the ledger for each state agency in real time, according to his website, in hopes of bolstering transparency.
He also wants to be more proactive about outcomes, rather than what he called “post-mortems.” These audits would focus on high-dollar, high-risk programs with standards beyond a compliance check.
The University of California, Santa Cruz graduate’s endorsements include the California Republican Party, California Rifle and Pistol Association, and state Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks. He grew up in Southern California.
Campaign finances
Cohen leads the fundraising game, as of Sept. 19, with more than $1.6 million in cash compared to Morgan’s roughly $140,000, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Labor unions have put money behind Cohen while Morgan primarily benefits from individual donors.
Read more Cirian Villavicencio epitomizes a life-long commitment to service and students