Kounalakis seeks California treasurer seat Nov. 3

Eleni Kounalakis, California's lieutenant governor, is running for state treasurer in the Nov. 3 general election. The Democrat faces Republican Jennifer Hawks.

Kounalakis was the first woman elected lieutenant governor, sworn in Jan. 7, 2019. She announced a run for governor on April 24, 2023, but withdrew from that race on Aug. 8, 2025, and announced her candidacy for treasurer, according to CalMatters.

Candidate information

Party: Democratic
Born: March 3, 1966
Education: Dartmouth College (1989); MBA, UC Berkeley (1992); honorary doctorate of law, American College of Greece and University of Piraeus
Background: Kounalakis said she is a native Californian. Her father immigrated to the United States as a refugee from Greece, she said on her campaign website.

Experience and public service

Kounalakis served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013 under the Obama administration, according to the lieutenant governor's office. She also served as chief deputy director for budget at the California Department of Finance, according to BallotReady, and as a senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group, according to CalMatters.

As lieutenant governor, she chairs the California State Lands Commission and serves as a voting member of the University of California Board of Regents and the California State University Board of Trustees, Kounalakis said on her campaign website. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed her California's representative for international affairs and trade by executive order in 2019, according to the lieutenant governor's office.

Before entering public service, Kounalakis said she led AKT Development as president through what she called its largest period of growth, spearheading communities that now house over 200,000 families in the Sacramento region.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Kounalakis' responses to the Bay Area News Group's primary questionnaire and her campaign website.

State debt and credit ratings: Kounalakis said California holds strong AA-level credit ratings and her goal would be to protect and improve them. She said she would time bond issuances strategically, standardize bond structures and refinance when advantageous. Her stated target is keeping the state's debt-service-to-General Fund revenue ratio below 6%.

Housing: Kounalakis said she would modernize the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, streamline bond financing and accelerate affordable housing construction. She said she would prioritize projects near jobs and transit, which she said are considered lower financing risk, to deliver more units with the same public investment.

Savings programs: Kounalakis said she would strengthen and expand CalSavers, CalKIDS, ScholarShare 529 and CalABLE so families can save for education, retirement and long-term financial security.

Retirement security: Kounalakis said protecting and strengthening CalPERS and CalSTRS is critical to the retirement security of millions of public employees. She said integrating climate risk, labor practices and corporate governance into investment decisions manages risk rather than sacrificing returns.