Eleni Kounalakis
Chair, California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment
Chair, California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment
Plans to invest in clean energy projects, fund climate resilience initiatives, and increase carbon emissions regulations.
Opposes banning abortion medications like mifepristone, supported AB 260 abortion medication access, and defends patients from out-of-state legal action.
Pledges to safeguard public funds while planning to finance major infrastructure projects and invest in clean energy projects.
Supports expanded firearm background checks and expanded red flag laws, and backs voluntary assault-style weapons buyback programs.
Supports expanding college savings accounts, tuition-free public college funding, and educational investments for youth.
Advocates for collective bargaining rights and fair wages.
Co-sponsored AB 379 increasing sex trafficking penalties and supports sex trafficking survivor services.
Supports affordable housing development incentives, transit-oriented development housing expansion, and owner-occupancy requirement elimination for ADUs.
Supports fewer restrictions on welfare benefits and urges treatment for welfare recipients testing positive.
Calls for a simple path to citizenship and supports state-subsidized healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
Backs a single-payer healthcare system for everyone and supports state-subsidized healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
Plans to finance roads, transit, and clean water, and would direct bond funds toward modernizing infrastructure.
Supported AB 260 abortion medication access and AB 379 sex trafficking penalties.
Pledges to safeguard public funds, invest responsibly for working families, and maintain California’s strong credit.
Supports legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana.
Backs raising minimum wages for workers and supports a four-day workweek with overtime pay.
Supporters see a strong mix of governing experience, fiscal credibility, and the ability to use the treasurer’s office to address major state challenges. Endorsers point especially to a record of public service and confidence in using state financing tools to expand affordable housing, invest in climate solutions, and support long-term economic opportunity.
Kounalakis chairs the agencies that allocate tax-exempt bonds and federal affordable housing tax credits. She's the only candidate who has actually built housing and managed large-scale investments privately (nearly two decades at AKT Development). She's set measurable two-year targets: more housing financed faster, pension returns that meet benchmarks, and growth in CalSavers/CalKIDS enrollment. Her private-sector financial expertise matches what this office demands more than rival Anna Caballero's legislative background.
Eleni Kounalakis is not currently treasurer, that’s Fiona Ma whom I endorsed in 2022. The treasurer’s job is to carefully decide which bonds that the voters have passed that get issued. When we vote on a bond, the debt isn’t automatically incurred, that goes to the Treasurer’s office who doles them out as needed. Should we issue bonds before they’re ready we would take on an enormous debt load for money that isn’t ready to be spent. Eleni Kounalakis has said she’ll maintain our debt to revenue ratio of 6% (oooh fiscal discipline) by only issuing bonds that are needed. Additionally, this office administers federal tax credits for building affordable housing, and she likes housing, so give her YIMBY points for that. As a second, Tony Vazquez has enough finance experience to be a credible candidate but I don’t see a clear agenda out of him for this job, which makes me wonder if this is the job he really wants.