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Democratic incumbent · 2026 California State Controller

Malia Cohen

California State Controller since 2023, formerly a San Francisco supervisor and state tax-board member. Her career, education and first-term record.

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Reviewed October 10, 2026

Malia Cohen

Career history

The positions below trace Malia Cohen’s professional and public service experience, with dates and responsibilities for each role.

  • San Francisco supervisor

    Local elected office, including budget and finance responsibilities.

  • Board of Equalization

    Elected tax-board service before becoming Controller.

  • State Controller

    Began the statewide term following the 2022 election.

Malia Cohen has been California State Controller since January 2023. She reached the office through San Francisco politics and the state tax board. Her record includes budget and pension oversight; her degrees and earlier communications work took a different path from Morgan’s investment career.

Public-service background

Before becoming Controller, Cohen served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the California State Board of Equalization. Her official biography describes leadership of San Francisco’s budget committee and employee retirement board. The Board of Equalization is a tax body; it is not an equality or diversity department. [State Controller’s Office]

Education

Cohen earned a political science degree from Fisk University and a master’s in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon. Those qualifications concern government and public policy. Morgan’s economics degree and investment management career provide a different kind of preparation for the financial responsibilities of Controller. [State Controller’s Office]

Communications and public relations

In her Career Curves interview, Cohen discussed her communications career and PowerForward, her public relations business. That work involved communications and business relationships. Her experience directing budgets and overseeing pensions came through her government roles. [Career Curves]

How she described the job in 2022

In her CalMatters interview, Cohen connected the ordinary duties of accounting and audits with an expanded emphasis on equity and diverse leadership. She identified homelessness programs, EDD and the DMV for scrutiny. By October 2026, her office reported no homelessness audits. [CalMatters][Los Angeles Times]

The 2026 platform

Cohen’s campaign issues page includes housing, retirement, healthcare, reproductive access, equal rights and climate. Her official candidate statement emphasizes financial transparency and fairness. Her first-term record puts those commitments to a practical test: whether the office delivered its promised audits and dependable financial services. [Malia Cohen campaign][California Secretary of State]

The record to examine

Her first term gives voters something more concrete than a platform to judge: the delivery of promised scrutiny, a disrupted property-claims system and findings about controls inside her own office. The issues guide puts those records beside her commitments. [State Controller’s Office][California State Auditor][California State Auditor]

“transparency, accountability, and fairness”2026 candidate statement · Secretary of State voter guide
Read the issues and office record →

Full Malia Cohen biography and source history ↗

Campaign & public contacts

Official websites, published contact details and public profiles.

[Malia Cohen campaign][League of Women Voters · VOTE411][WomenCount][State Controller’s Office][California Secretary of State]
Campaign website
maliacohenforca.com
Campaign fundraising phone
Annie Eagan · (415) 269-5105
Campaign mailing address
1700 Tribute Road, Suite 201, Sacramento, CA 95815
State office website
sco.ca.gov
State executive office phone
(916) 445-2636
State office address
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1850, Sacramento, CA 95814
Illustration of the Los Angeles skyline and mountains

Questions about Malia Cohen’s experience

What experience does Malia Cohen bring to the race?

Malia Cohen became State Controller in January 2023 after serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2011 to 2019 and the California State Board of Equalization from 2019 to 2023. Her official biography describes leadership of San Francisco’s budget committee and employee retirement board.

Her education is in government and public policy: a political science degree from Fisk University and a master’s in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon. She also worked in communications and public relations. Those are different qualifications from Morgan’s economics training and investment career. Her first term adds a record of performance to those qualifications, including missed audit commitments and operational failures documented by reporters and investigators. [State Controller’s Office][Career Curves][California Globe]

Is the Board of Equalization an equality or DEI department?

No. The Board of Equalization is a California tax body, not an equality, diversity or inclusion department. Cohen’s elected service there involved property-tax administration. “Equalization” in this context concerns taxation, rather than the political meaning of equality.

Cohen has separately emphasized equity and diverse leadership as political priorities. Her 2022 CalMatters interview discussed those priorities alongside the Controller’s accounting and audit duties. Her emphasis on equity is a policy position, separate from the Board of Equalization’s tax responsibilities. [State Controller’s Office][CalMatters]