STATE: Treasurer – 2026 Primary Election

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Treasurer – Vote for (1)

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(Calmatters) “As the state’s chief banker, the treasurer manages and invests unspent taxpayer money and oversees the state’s borrowing and debts. Though much of the work is technical, the official can make policy waves by launching new financial initiatives or influencing where the state invests its extra cash.“
(MSN) Practical ways California’s treasurer can influence state finances and policy

  • Treasurer can invest state funds in international renewable energy projects, as Bill Lockyer did through the World Bank.
  • Treasurer oversees major public employee pension funds, influencing shareholder rights and investment decisions.
  • Treasurer can act as a fiscal foil to governors, shaping state financial priorities.
  • Treasurer ensures professional staff manage state funds responsibly, safeguarding taxpayer interests.

We agree with this summary of the candidates :

(CAhighways.org)”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)”

READING:

  • (Calmatters) In the six-way race to be California’s treasurer, it likely comes down to two Democrats

Eleni Kounalakis (D) – Lieutenant Governor of California

RECOMMENDATION: NO. We think that Caballero is a better choice.

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Reading:

  • (Sacbee) In the election for state treasurer, McClatchy endorses a Sacramento leader | Opinion
NATIONAL WOMEN'S CAUCUS
equality CA
Adam
GAVIN NEWSOMFiona Ma
JACQUI IRWIN
Henry Stern
CA Teachers association
NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTH WORKERS
UAW

(cahighways.org) 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.

ENDORSED Anna M. Caballero (D) – California State Senator

RECOMMENDATION: YES.

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  • Anna M. Caballero
  • Party: Democratic
  • Age: 71
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation:
  • Education: –
  • Funding:
  • Instagram: instagram.com/
  • Website: https://www.annaforcalifornia.com

Sample of endorsements:

dem. party of san fernando
California Young Democrats
Latinas Lead
PORAC
CONGRESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTSSTATE WIDE ENDORSEMENTS
Congressmember Zoe Lofgren BOE Member Sally Lieber (District 2-Statewide)
Congressmember Mark DeSaulnier
Congressmember Jim Costa
LEGISLATIVE ENDORSEMENTSLEGISLATIVE ENDORSEMENTS
California Latino Legislative Caucus* Senator Henry Stern
Speaker Robert RivasSenator María Elena Durazo
*Senate President pro Tempore Monique LimónAssemblymember Majority Whip Mark Gonzalez
Mike McGuire Senate pro Tem EmeritusAssemblymember James Ramos
Assemblymember Maggy Krell * Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin
Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías  Assemblymember Juan Carrillo
Assemblymember Matt Haney Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains
Assemblymember Mia Bonta Assemblymember Dawn Addis
Assemblymember Liz OrtegaAssemblymember Gail Pellerin
Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria

(LAlist)”A longtime politician from Salinas, Caballero served as the city’s mayor, assemblymember and state senator before moving east to Fresno after the state’s electoral map was redrawn in 2021. Along the way she’s developed a legislative reputation as a leader on agriculture and housing policy, the latter of which she bolstered during her stint as the state’s top housing official under then-Gov. Jerry Brown. A relative moderate in the Democratic caucus, she has occasionally bucked her party’s progressive wing on environmental regulation and criminal justice issues. In this campaign, she has vowed to simplify the application process for affordable housing subsidies and steer state resources away from federal immigration activities.“

(CAhighways.org) 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.”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.…

…Summary (repeated from the top)…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)”

Tony Vasquez (D) – Member, State Board of Equalization

RECOMMENDATION: NO. Tony looks like he’d be a hoot to party with, but he states, that at 70, this term would be his last rodeo.

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  • Tony Vasquez
  • Age: 70
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation: member of the Board of Equalization, 3rd District
  • Education: –
  • Funding:
  • Instagram: instagram.com/
  • Website: https://vazquez4treasurer.com

Sample of endorsements here

STONEWALL DEMOCRATS

David Serpa (R) – Businessman/Author/Father

RECOMMENDATION: NO. Don’t let friends vote for Christian Nationalists!

Question: Does he look a little like fellow Christian Nationalist – Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hegseth – to you?

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Huh! We’re not the only party that fights amongst ourselves?! Holy smokes! Look at this “X” post: https://x.com/Serpa4Treasurer/status/2046678260998975818

The GOP is apparently taking some steps to curb their little Nazi problem, and one of them appears to involve discouraging the more polite versions, Christian Nationalists, from letting their hair down. Mr. Serpa is sad that the party is steering everyone to less obviously toxic Jennifer Hawks, who is better at hiding the qualities that gave her a 4-star rating on “Election Watch.” Watch his rant here: https://fb.watch/H1_LgHHpJV/)

Website: https://serpaforca.com

(CAhighways.org): “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  | 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.“

Since this was written, the Jefferson Club has crept up through the miasma to endorse him, along with the other most toxic candidates on the ballot.

Jefferson Club

Jennifer Hawks (R) – Retired Businesswoman

RECOMMENDATION: NO. OMG, look at her supporters!

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Website: https://hawksforus.com

(LAlist)“Hawks doesn’t have experience in elected office, a fact she touts proudly. Instead, the longtime Silicon Valley retiree most recently served on the executive team at Sacred Heart Schools, an Atherton Catholic school favored by the Bay Area’s venture capitalist elite. Hawks is also a local Republican Party activist. Both her career background and her politics make her an outlier for a job that has been exclusively held by Democratic career politicians going on three decades. Hawks said that gives her the skills and independence to provide a check on the rest of the state.”


Carl DeMaio

Jennifer got 4 stars from the Election Forum folks! That’s bad.

Glenn Turner (G)

RECOMMENDATION: NO. She is absolutely adorable. But no, do not spend your vote here.

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Website: https://glennturner26.org!

(CAhighways.org):“Glenn Turner is the former owner of a pagan and metaphysical shop. She 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.

Her basic Treasurer goals are listed on her 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.

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

Her party’s slate has stepped up to the plate with endorsements that are sweet, but so inappropriate, their names should instantly “poof” off the ballots – see them here:

Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Vargas
For Insurance Commissioner		Marjorie Mikels
For Attorney General		Alice Stek
For Lieutenant Governor
Gary Blenner
For Secretary of State		Frank Lara
For Superintendent of Public Instruction

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