Controller

Posting

Controller

The State of California is seeking an accountant and bookkeeper to oversee the payout of public funds for the next four years.

Qualifications:

Fiscal responsibility: Writes the checks for state government – about 49 million a year for employee pay, retiree payments, Medi-Cal, personal income tax refunds, and payments to vendors
An eye for detail: Conducts independent audits of how state agencies spend their money
Excellent coordination skills: Issues payments to local governments and schools, plus budgeting and accounting guidelines for all 58 counties and more than 4,900 special districts
The ability to multitask: Serves on commissions including public land management and crime victim compensation; finance and oversight authorities such as the Franchise Tax Board; and on the boards of the nation’s two largest public pension funds
Also safeguards unclaimed property: bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance benefits, wages, stocks, bonds, and safe deposit box contents

Compensation

$174,843 a year Individuals who aren’t afraid to take policy stands are encouraged to apply. Current Controller Betty Yee has weighed in on single-family home zoning and low-income housing restrictions, as well as divestment from for-profit prisons.

About the hiring process:

Incumbent Betty Yee is termed out, which has made the open statewide seat one of the more competitive races this election.

While it’s always a challenge for any Republican to win statewide office, policy analyst Lanhee Chen – who has worked on several high-profile U.S. political campaigns, including Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid – finished first in the June primary with 37% of the vote. Chen hopes to sell voters on the idea that someone outside the majority party will be an effective check on the state’s finances.

He’s up against Malia Cohen, the Democratic Party’s favorite and chairperson of the California State Board of Equalization. Cohen bested a crowded Democratic field that included state Sen. Steve Glazer from Orinda; Ron Galperin, the city controller of Los Angeles; and Yvonne Yiu, a city councilmember from Monterey Park in Southern California. While she finished second with 23% in the primary, she now has the advantage of running in a heavily Democratic state in November.

The major applicants emphasize the position’s watchdog role, but also want to expand the job description. Chen says he would use the office’s bully pulpit to bring public attention to problems with state spending, while Cohen says she wants to advocate for equitable use of state money.

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Applicants

Lanhee Chen

fiscal advisor / educator

Learn More >

Malia M. Cohen

Elected

California State Board of Equalization member

Learn More >

Democratic
Republican
American Independent
Green
Libertarian
Peace & Freedom
No Party

Here’s where Lanhee Chen and Malia Cohen, applicants for controller, stand on the big questions about California’s budget, pensions and taxes.

Key Topics

Where Candidates Stand on the Issues

While the state budget is awash in surplus cash, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office and other watchdogs have repeatedly questioned whether all that money is being spent wisely or effectively.

Which areas of the state budget would you focus on to make sure spending is effective?

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Lanhee Chen

“Where the challenges are is pretty manifest given the amount of money, for example, we spend on K through 12, on issues relating to health care, whether it's Medi-Cal or IHSS or behavioral health care and mental health care.”

Malia Cohen

The Employment Development Department, corrections agencies, the homeless initiatives. “I'd like to know if we're spending good money. Are we throwing good money after bad?”

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What specific strategies would you employ to prevent waste and fraud?

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Lanhee Chen

“Let's be really precise about where the fraud is happening. In EDD, we know there was fraud and we know what the amount roughly is….Waste is a little tougher to quantify, because one person's waste is another person's treasure.”

Malia Cohen

Legislative hearings with all the stakeholders, audits. “And then I would come back and make public my findings and if there are recommendations, make the recommendations.”

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Even though the economy is rebounding from COVID, California still has among the nation’s highest jobless rates and hasn’t recovered all the jobs lost. Experts say the pandemic widened the gap between California’s rich and poor in some ways, despite unprecedented direct relief.

Would you support another broad stimulus payment? What about the gas tax rebate?

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Lanhee Chen

“My concern with one-time type solutions is precisely that they are one-time type solutions, that if the conditions persist we will be talking about six months from now another one-time solution, which doesn't get at the fundamental question of where's the flow of funds in the taxes and fees we charge on a gallon of gas right now?”

Malia Cohen

“No, I don't have a position on either one of the policy options….Just find a way… to get those checks to Californians as quickly and as efficiently as possible, ensuring that there isn't any fraud, any loss or anyone receiving money when they don't qualify.”

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The pandemic has highlighted how much the state relies on the wealthy for tax revenues that are fueling record budget surpluses — and raised again the issue of whether the tax system needs an overhaul. Conversely, some progressives are pushing to increase taxes on the rich.

Do you support any changes in income taxes or sales taxes to account for the shift to a service economy?

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Lanhee Chen

“Okay, so do we have a tax system designed for the transition to a service-based economy? Probably not. And so we need to take a good, hard look at what that means for our state taxation system.”

Malia Cohen

“I do believe that we are moving towards a gig economy. I do think there does need to be some sort of a restructuring of economic power and empowerment. Otherwise, I think that we will continue to see wage gaps growing, we will see a growing poor class.”

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Do you support a “wealth tax” or increases on tax rates on upper-income residents? If so, what would the revenue be used for?

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Lanhee Chen

“I do not. I believe if you look at our tax collections have increased year over year over the last several years, California has the revenue it needs to be a successful and good, compassionate state….I'm not even sure it's constitutional quite frankly.”

Malia Cohen

“I have supported a wealth tax in the past, particularly coming out of San Francisco. and that wealth tax was more geared and centered around property….Voters passed an initiative that I was supportive of.”

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In the short term, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators are urging the state’s two huge public employee pension funds to divest from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. In the longer term, CalPERS and CalSTRS both face huge amounts of unfunded debt, forcing them to consider riskier investments in search of higher returns.

How would you reduce the unfunded debts of CalPERS, CalSTRS and local governments?

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Lanhee Chen

“We have made promises to state employees and teachers, we need to keep those promises. But we will be unable to keep them without, in my view, massive tax increases….Can we pay down some of those long term obligations? The Legislature's done a little bit of that to their credit, and the governor has agreed, but we need to be doing more.”

Malia Cohen

“State employees that have worked really hard, teachers that have worked really hard, I do believe that they should be able to retire and to count on their retirement. But I don't think we can naively continue being blind and relying on the robust state government or the robust budget and the governor to continue to pay the unfunded liability.”

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Do you think the state should divest from Russian companies or funds due to the Ukraine war?

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Lanhee Chen

“I believe as a general matter that these calls to divest in one thing or another are misguided…With specific reference to the situation in Russia I would favor some removal of state investment in those resources….First of all, it's a very small percentage of our total investments….And the notion that we are assisting the Russian war machine I think creates a fundamental national security challenge.”

Malia Cohen

“Divestment is always a hot issue, and it's an issue that I think that we have to be thoughtful and judicious about….There are many ways to begin to register your protests before a full divestment….I don't know how much money is invested into Russia.”

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Would you change any specific investment policies of CalPERS or CalSTRS?

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Lanhee Chen

“I don't have any specific recommendations at this time, but I believe one of the things a controller should do is take their role on both the PERS and STRS board seriously.”

Malia Cohen

“I don't have a deep understanding of exactly their pension strategy. I haven't met with anyone so I don't have anything to offer in terms of change today.”

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Media Endorsements

Lanhee Chen

Malia Cohen

San Francisco Examiner

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Controller

Qualifications:

Compensation

About the hiring process:

CalMatters is nonpartisan and nonprofit.

Applicants

Media Endorsements

Lanhee Chen

Malia Cohen

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