Eleni Kounalakis

The Los Angeles Times' general-election guide to the Treasurer race describes Democrat Eleni Kounalakis as the front-runner against Republican Jennifer Hawks. It summarizes her background and her stated priorities, including her stance on clean-energy investment versus pension returns.

• The Times calls Kounalakis the front-runner and a major Democratic donor who launched a governor campaign in 2023 before switching to treasurer in August 2025.
• She told The Times in May she would prioritize responsible management of state finances, housing and infrastructure, and protecting pensions through transparent oversight.
• She favors more clean-energy investment balanced against protecting pension returns.
• The guide says her backers include national and state Democratic leaders, major labor unions, and environmental, LGBTQ and housing groups.
• It notes no Republican has won a statewide office in California since 2006.

CalMatters' 2026 voter guide page for the California Treasurer race describes the office and profiles the two general-election candidates, Republican Jennifer Hawks and Democrat Eleni Kounalakis, with their top endorsements. For Kounalakis it notes two terms as Lieutenant Governor, board experience, and votes against tuition increases on the UC Regents and CSU Trustees.

• CalMatters describes the treasurer as the state's chief banker who manages and invests unspent taxpayer money and oversees borrowing and debt.
• CalMatters says Hawks most recently served on the executive team at Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton and is a local Republican Party activist; Hawks says her background gives her skills and independence to check state government.
• CalMatters says Kounalakis, on the UC Board of Regents and CSU Board of Trustees, has regularly voted against proposed tuition increases.
• CalMatters says Kounalakis came to politics through fundraising, is the daughter of developer Angelo Tsakopolous, and was named ambassador to Hungary under President Obama.
• Hawks endorsements listed: California Republican Party, California Republican Assembly, Reform California.
• Kounalakis endorsements listed: California Labor Federation, Teamsters California, National Union of Healthcare Workers.

LAist's primary-election guide (by CalMatters staff) to the California Treasurer race profiles Anna Caballero, Jennifer Hawks, Eleni Kounalakis and Tony Vazquez, with brief mentions of David Serpa and Glenn Turner. It describes Kounalakis's board experience, tuition votes, family background and earlier governor bid.

• Hawks: occupation retired businesswoman; touts lack of elected-office experience; key endorsements California Republican Party, California Republican Assembly, Reform California.
• Kounalakis: occupation Lieutenant Governor; regularly voted down proposed tuition hikes on UC and CSU boards; key endorsements California Labor Federation, Teamsters California, NUHW.
• Caballero is described as a relative moderate who vowed to simplify affordable-housing subsidy applications.
• Related links include a CalMatters story on Kounalakis leasing offices to the state.

KPBS republishes CalMatters' candidate overview for the state Treasurer race (published May 4, 2026, updated September 14, 2026). It gives the same profiles as CalMatters' guide, adding that Kounalakis originally ran for governor before dropping that bid, and lists each candidate's top endorsements and website.

• Hawks: Republican, retired businessperson; no elected-office experience; formerly on the executive team at Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton; local Republican Party activist.
• Kounalakis: Democrat, Lieutenant Governor; two terms; regularly voted down proposed tuition hikes on the UC Regents and CSU Trustees.
• The overview says Kounalakis was a big spender in Democratic Party politics in the early 2000s, which it says helped land her the ambassadorship to Hungary.
• Top endorsements: Hawks — California Republican Party, California Republican Assembly, Reform California; Kounalakis — California Labor Federation, Teamsters California, National Union of Healthcare Workers.

The Los Angeles Times' primary guide to the six-candidate Treasurer race includes interview quotes from Eleni Kounalakis on why she switched races, her priorities, and fossil-fuel divestment at CalPERS and CalSTRS.

• Kounalakis on switching from the governor's race: "I am very happy because it is so closely aligned with my skill set."
• On divestment from fossil fuels, she said her approach would be to "lean in" to clean investments, balanced against the importance of CalPERS and CalSTRS returns for pensions.
• Her stated top priorities: manage finances with responsibility and experience, build housing and infrastructure, protect pensions, manage the portfolio with transparency and accountability.
• The guide describes the treasurer's duties, including the Pooled Money Investment Account and seats on the CalPERS and CalSTRS boards.

The Secretary of State's official general-election candidate-statements PDF. In the Treasurer section, Kounalakis pitches business, finance and Lieutenant Governor experience and four priorities: public-finance housing, children's financial future, defending health care and immigrant communities, and protecting pensions.

• Priorities: affordable housing via public finance; children's and families' financial future; defend health care and immigrants; protect pensions.
• Cites nearly two decades building housing and financing infrastructure.
• Claims votes as Lieutenant Governor delivering 60,000+ college housing beds.
• Frames herself as the only Democrat in the race and a check on Donald Trump.
• Names Newsom, Padilla, Schiff and Pelosi as supporters.

Long document: only the first 17,594 characters were summarized.

The Secretary of State's archived voter guide for the June 2, 2026 primary reproduces Treasurer candidate statements from six candidates. Eleni Kounalakis's primary statement lists four priorities and her endorsements and describes her business and Lieutenant Governor record.

• Kounalakis describes herself as "a businesswoman, financial expert and daughter of Greek immigrants."
• She says she wants to be "a disciplined, responsible manager of California's finances."
• Listed goals: build affordable housing using public finance; fight Trump's attacks on health care and immigrants; protect pensions; invest in the financial future of children and families.
• She cites endorsements from Newsom, Padilla, Schiff and Pelosi and "over 450,000 California teachers."
• She cites creating clean-energy jobs, managing public lands, and voting to approve more than 60,000 new campus beds.
• Other candidates with statements: Glenn Turner (Green), David Serpa (R), Jennifer Hawks (R), Tony Vazquez (D).

Kounalakis's own X post of August 8, 2025, at the time she left the governor's race. The stored text contains only the post's one-sentence caption and some replies; the attached statement image is not captured.

• Post text: "I remain as committed as ever to serving the people of California and ensuring that our state continues to lead the nation."

The "Meet Eleni" biography page on Kounalakis's treasurer campaign site describes her family history, business career, ambassadorship and Lieutenant Governor roles, and claims a record of results.

• Says she led AKT Development through its largest period of growth, developing communities that house over 200,000 families in the Sacramento region.
• Says as chair of the State Lands Commission and a voting member of the UC Regents and CSU Trustees she helped oversee billions in public assets.
• Claims results from advancing clean-energy jobs to approving over 60,000 campus beds.
• Describes her ambassadorship as involving international economic partnerships and financial diplomacy.

The home page of Eleni Kounalakis's treasurer campaign site. It contains a short biography, a donation appeal, and an endorsement pull-quote; it offers no issue platform.

• Describes her as "Leader. Advocate. Mother." and the daughter of a Greek immigrant who came to California as a refugee.
• Says she strives to build a future where everyone, "regardless of race, class, or immigration status," has the same opportunity.
• Lists Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Labor Federation as endorsers and quotes an endorsement saying she has a "thorough grasp of the treasurer's complex duties."

The California Secretary of State's official voter guide page for the November 2026 general election reproduces the candidate statements for state Treasurer. Eleni Kounalakis's statement, written and paid for by her campaign, presents her as a businesswoman, financial expert and Lieutenant Governor and lists her priorities for the office.

• Kounalakis says she is running to "responsibly manage California's finances, strengthen our economy, and make smart investments."
• Stated priorities: build affordable housing through public finance; invest in the financial future of children and families; defend health care and immigrant communities; protect pensions.
• She cites nearly two decades in private-sector homebuilding and infrastructure finance.
• As Lieutenant Governor she says she helped create clean-energy jobs, managed public lands, and voted to deliver more than 60,000 new college housing beds.
• She describes herself as the only Democrat in the race and says she will stand up to Donald Trump's attacks on the state.
• She lists support from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and teachers, firefighters, health care workers and union members.
• The page also describes the office: the state's banker, manager of state investments, administrator of bond sales, and payer of state funds.

The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board endorses Eleni Kounalakis for treasurer (April 23, 2026, reaffirmed after the primary). It weighs her against Anna Caballero and other candidates and quotes her from its endorsement interview.

• The board says Kounalakis "made a convincing case" for using her diplomatic skills to make the office more effective.
• Kounalakis, quoted: on stalled affordable housing projects, "I will pick up the phone and call any city planner and call any elected official and call any community group … to move things forward."
• She said she would build a "trusting relationship" with bond agencies to improve the state's credit rating.
• The board expects her finance and human-rights background to help forge compromises on pension-board divestment pressures.
• It criticizes Caballero's hydrogen focus and a bill on a treasurer-office nonprofit, and calls Tony Vazquez's comment about accepting lower returns disqualifying.
• It notes Jennifer Hawks declined its interview request.

The endorsements page of Kounalakis's treasurer campaign lists her endorsers by category: national and state leaders, labor, members of Congress and the Legislature, Democratic clubs, local officials, and organizations.

• National: Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, Pete Buttigieg.
• State: Gov. Gavin Newsom, Treasurer Fiona Ma, Controller Malia Cohen, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Toni Atkins.
• Labor includes California Labor Federation, Teamsters California, CTA, CFT, SEIU Local 87, California Professional Firefighters.
• Organizations: Equality California, Sierra Club, Reproductive Freedom for All, California YIMBY, California Environmental Voters, California Council for Affordable Housing.
• Also: former State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper.

A 2022 Los Angeles Times Q&A with Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, conducted while she was acting governor, about her relationship with Gov. Newsom, the Lieutenant Governor's role, and her ambitions to be governor. It predates her treasurer candidacy.

• She describes her working relationship with Newsom as "one of the most positive in generations."
• She says she is the first Lieutenant Governor in decades with a legislative agenda, focused on environment, higher education, equity and women's issues.
• "We have never had a woman governor of the state of California. If I don't try to organize a campaign to be the first, who will?"
• She notes in March 2022 she became the first woman to sign a bill into law as acting governor.

A one-page profile by Stateside Associates, a government-relations firm, of Democratic nominee Eleni Kounalakis. It summarizes her background and campaign themes, largely paraphrasing her campaign materials.

• Background: president of AKT Development; U.S. Ambassador to Hungary under Obama; elected Lieutenant Governor in 2018 as the first woman in the office.
• Cites her claimed accomplishments: clean-energy jobs and approval of over 60,000 campus beds.
• Says her campaign focuses on using public finance for affordable housing, infrastructure, clean energy and economic growth while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Notes she campaigned for governor for over two years before pivoting to treasurer in 2025.

The Bond Buyer reports preliminary June 2, 2026 primary returns showing Eleni Kounalakis first in the Treasurer race with 34.3%, followed by Republican Jennifer Hawks at 27%. It recaps Kounalakis's background and quotes her stated priorities from a Los Angeles Times interview.

• Preliminary results: Kounalakis 1,616,720 votes (34.3%); Hawks 1,272,871 (27%); Caballero 707,878 (15%); Serpa 681,724 (14.5%).
• Kounalakis quoted (via the LA Times): her priorities are to manage the state's finances "with responsibility and experience," build housing and infrastructure, protect pensions, and manage the portfolio "with transparency and accountability."
• Background: MBA; former president of AKT Development, founded by her father; appointed ambassador to Hungary by President Obama in 2010.

CalMatters reporter Ben Christopher surveys the six-candidate June 2026 primary for Treasurer, framing it as mainly a contest between Democrats Eleni Kounalakis and Anna Caballero. It covers Kounalakis's advantages (name recognition, endorsements, campaign cash), her family wealth and donor history, her switch from the governor's race, and policy areas where she and Caballero agree.

• CalMatters reports Kounalakis had nearly nine times as much campaign cash on hand as the other five candidates combined.
• It says she entered Democratic politics as a major donor, which helped her secure the Hungary ambassadorship, and that she is endorsed by Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom.
• Her campaign did not respond to CalMatters' interview requests; she told the San Francisco Chronicle she craved a technical role after years "standing in front of a podium with a visiting dignitary."
• Both Kounalakis and Caballero support simplifying affordable-housing subsidy applications, treasurer initiatives on renewable energy and the CalSavers retirement program, and a proposal (AB 801) to require more lending in lower-income communities.
• As a State Lands Commission member, Kounalakis is described as an avid advocate for offshore wind.
• Caballero said, in a "not-so-subtle dig" at Kounalakis, "I'm not on a stepping stone up to something else."

A YouTube page titled "2026 California State Treasurer Candidate Forum," linked by CalMatters as a source for Kounalakis's and Caballero's views. Only the page title and YouTube boilerplate were captured; no transcript or description is stored.

• Page title identifies a 2026 Treasurer candidate forum.
• No content of the forum is available in the stored text.

The Los Angeles Times reports Kounalakis's August 2025 switch from the governor's race to the treasurer race, quoting her statement and describing her donor ties and fundraising.

• Kounalakis said as treasurer she can "make the greatest impact by focusing on California's financial future," and that the role would let her focus on "fiscal responsibility, economic opportunity and strategic investment."
• She was the first well-known candidate to launch a governor campaign, in April 2023.
• In 2016 she was a California co-chair of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
• Her campaign said most of the millions she raised for governor could transfer to the treasurer race.
• The Times describes the Lieutenant Governor post as largely ceremonial.

The San Francisco Standard reports Eleni Kounalakis's August 2025 decision to leave the 2026 governor's race and run for treasurer, quoting her statement and putting the move in the context of polling, fundraising and Kamala Harris's decision not to run.

• Kounalakis said: "This decision was not made lightly... At this moment, I believe I can make the greatest impact by focusing on California's financial future."
• The Standard says she had raised about $9 million in state campaign accounts, most transferable to the treasurer race.
• Polling showed her trailing Katie Porter; she had said she would not run for governor if Harris entered.
• Nancy Pelosi had appeared to endorse her days earlier on CNN.
• Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf suspended her treasurer campaign and endorsed Kounalakis.
• The pivot had been discussed with allies as early as March, per Politico.

The Bond Buyer reports Eleni Kounalakis's August 2025 exit from the governor's race and entry into the treasurer race, quoting her statement and recapping polling and her background.

• Kounalakis: as treasurer she would bring "a deep commitment to fiscal responsibility, economic opportunity and strategic investment" in priorities from affordable housing and clean energy to infrastructure and education.
• An Emerson College poll released that day showed her in seventh place in the governor's race.
• She emphasized her housing-developer experience; she worked 18 years at AKT Development.
• Gov. Newsom appointed her the state's representative for international affairs and trade.
• Education: Dartmouth College (1989), MBA UC Berkeley Haas (1992).

CBS News Bay Area reports Eleni Kounalakis ended her 2026 governor bid and launched a treasurer campaign, quoting her statement and Libby Schaaf's endorsement.

• Kounalakis: "At this moment, I believe I can make the greatest impact by focusing on California's financial future."
• Libby Schaaf suspended her treasurer campaign and endorsed Kounalakis, saying she believed Kounalakis shared her vision for using the treasurer's financing powers on housing and climate.
• Background: first woman elected Lieutenant Governor; ambassador to Hungary 2010-2013; formerly headed AKT Development.

CalMatters reports that Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis dropped her governor bid in August 2025 while trailing in polling and fundraising, and would run for treasurer, quoting her statement on housing.

• Kounalakis: "I will ensure that we efficiently leverage every dollar at our disposal to increase housing production."
• CalMatters reports an Emerson College poll had her sixth with 3% support in the governor's race.
• It reports she raised only about $100,000 in the first six months of 2025 for her governor campaign.
• She emphasized her housing-development experience and said affordability would be a focus as treasurer.

CalMatters reporter Alexei Koseff examines Kounalakis's property investments, reported on her financial disclosure, including downtown Sacramento office buildings leased to lobbying groups and state agencies, and her campaign's pledge to use a blind trust if elected governor.

• Her campaign said: "If elected governor, the LG commits to placing any assets that may present a conflict of interest into a blind trust." It did not say which assets.
• Her disclosure shows she is a partner in Meridian Plaza, across from Capitol Park, receiving at least $10,000 in rent from each of 34 tenants, most of them lobbying firms or groups.
• At least two state agencies rent space there; through a family partnership she received rent including at least $10,000 from the UC governing board, on which she sits.
• CalMatters calculates she earned at least $1.39 million from investments in 2024.
• Spokesperson David Beltran said she is a minority owner, is not involved in day-to-day operations, and has taken measures so her assets do not impede her work.
• Ethicists differ: Santa Clara's John Pelissero said the optics are "troubling"; Loyola's Jessica Levinson saw low tenant-conflict risk and called the blind-trust response better than alternatives.