On the record with Fiona Ma

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THE BUZZ: Fiona Ma doesn’t pull any punches.

In a candid, hour-long interview with POLITICO on Wednesday, the state treasurer and lieutenant governor candidate told us she’d “vote no on all” the warring tax measures heading for the November ballot; that she’s not running for governor because it costs too much and she doesn’t “hang out with billionaires"; and that she’s confident in her prospects for 2026: “I haven’t lost yet.”

Ma got her start in San Francisco city politics and worked her way up through the Legislature before becoming the chief banker for the world’s fifth-largest economy. Now running for lieutenant governor in 2026, she’s hoping to shatter records and become the first Asian Californian to get the gig.

So far, she’s got state Sen. Steven Bradford and (possibly) former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs to contend with, but with two years until the election, we’re expecting the field to grow more crowded.

Here are some top takeaways from Ma’s views on California’s most pressing political and policy issues.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

On why she wants to run for the second-top job in the state — The number one job of the lieutenant governor is to be able to take over if the governor cannot. So I am the most experienced candidate that will be running.

I’ve been on the ballot 20 times and haven’t lost yet. I think I have the best experience from local, regional, tax board and now treasurer. And I’m still a certified public accountant — since 1992.

On why she doesn’t want to run for the No. 1 job — Honestly, I don’t have $30 to $100 million. I come from humble means and don’t hang out with billionaires.

On the potential bonds coming out of the Legislature — Issuing bonds are really for long-term projects that can’t get funded by other means. I think having a responsible amount is good, but not to fill the gap of an operating budget — because you can’t get out of debt with more debt.

On which bond measures she thinks should be the top priority — Housing is definitely the priority. Secondly is climate. We know that time is ticking not only in the air but also in the ocean. I’m leading the effort to fight Exxon Mobil. I’ve been standing with climate youth in trying to divest from fossil fuels and companies that are not doing the right thing to transition.

So climate is definitely the priority. And then education. They’re all priorities.

On how she views UC students’ calls to divest from Israel — I believe in free speech. As long as it is not violent, and it’s not threatening. We have to protect the health and welfare of our students on the campuses.

Israel has always been an ally of ours, so I would not support divestment from Israel.

On whether California needs to move away from taxing top earners to end the boom-and-bust budget cycle — If you’re going to take away a tax, what are you going to replace it with? And that’s the difficulty, nobody wants to tax anything else.

We tax tobacco at a very high rate, we have tried to put like a nickel or a penny a cent on drinks, sugar tax, candy, we try everything and then what happens? It doesn’t pass. If we’re going to change the tax system from the way it is, we have to figure out what we can replace it with so we aren’t too highly dependent on personal income tax and corporation tax and sales tax.

On the multiple warring tax ballot initiatives — I would vote no on all of them. I don’t like the initiative process. We have a legislature and it’s working. That’s why we elect legislators.

On whether there’s been a shift in the conversation about public safety — I know in San Francisco there has been a shift. After the Asian hate crimes, our DA at the time did not do anything, would not step up, stand up or take any of these cases on. So we recalled the DA, [Chesa Boudin], and that was mostly the Chinese community.

So in San Francisco, the Chinese community is leading the effort with what’s happening in the city. They’re not happy with all the retail theft, they’re not happy with the car break-ins. We’re not happy with our safety on the streets and we’ll see what happens in November when we elect our mayor.

On the behind-the-scenes discussions with other politicians that come before launching a campaign — If we’re friends, we will say ‘hey, we have musical chairs, right? We have term limits. Everyone has to figure it out. What are you interested in doing? Let’s get it out early.’

Initially I said I wanted to run for governor, kind of off the cuff at a media thing because Betty [Yee] was like, ‘well, I’m definitely in,’ then Eleni [Kounalakis] was like ‘OK, me too.’

If I get elected lieutenant governor, I’ll be the first Asian woman elected and that’ll break the ceiling because normally Asians only get elected to treasurer and controller. They’ve never risen above that.

So, you know, we sit around and we talk about it.

GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.

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WHERE’S GAVIN? At the Vatican for an international meeting on the climate crisis.

STATE CAPITOL

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: STARS FOR FOOD SAFETY — Several Hollywood big-timers are among those lining up behind a bill by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel that would prohibit schools from serving foods that contain certain synthetic food dyes, like like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

Producers Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary today join the backers of Assembly Bill 2316, along with California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the California Medical Association and the California Federation of Teachers.

The bill, which is one of hundreds being considered on the suspense file in the appropriations committees today, targets six food dyes that often appear in processed foods and drinks: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3, as well as titanium dioxide. Gabriel argues such chemicals have been linked to cancer, DNA damage, and neurobehavioral issues.

“When we found out our schools were serving our kids foods containing chemicals linked to serious health problems, we were shocked,” Freeman and McCreary said in a statement. “If the European Union and countries around the world have banned or require products with these chemicals to have a warning label, we should not be serving them in our schools.”

HAPPENING TODAY: WAITING IN SUSPENSE — Speaking of, today is “suspense day” at the state Capitol — when lawmakers and lobbyists anxiously await details about the fate of hundreds of bills. It’s a procedural bottleneck when the appropriations committee in each chamber decides whether to advance or kill bills that include spending provisions.

This session, there’s a widespread expectation that more bills will die than usual because legislative leaders are trying to tighten the belt on new spending amid a $27.6 billion state deficit. And given the large number of bills introduced this year, many Capitol insiders tell Playbook they’re bracing for a bloodbath.

Among the top bills that POLITICO’s California team will be closely watching:

— Assembly Bill 1831, Marc Berman: Criminalizes AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

— AB 2286, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry: Requires a trained human operator in trucks equipped with self-driving technology that weigh over 10,000 pounds.

— AB 2930, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan: Sets rules for automated decision-making tools.

— AB 2751, Matt Haney: Grants workers the right to disconnect from non-emergency business calls and texts after hours.

— Senate Bill 954, Caroline Menjivar: Requires the state’s public high schools, grades 9-12, to provide free condoms to students.

— SB 1012, Wiener: Allows for the therapeutic use of magic mushrooms and certain other psychedelics.

— SB 1047, Wiener: Creates a sweeping set of regulations for the developers of the largest artificial intelligence models.

— SB1053, Catherine Blakespear (AB 2236 in Assembly): Expands the state’s ban on plastic bags in stores by excluding thicker plastic bags that stores deem “recyclable.”

— SB 1116, Anthony Portantino: Allows striking workers to file for unemployment benefits after two weeks.

— SB 1403, Steven Bradford: Would create the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency, a new state agency to oversee efforts to provide reparations to Black people.

SAFETY FIRST — Some of the bills we’ll be watching today are backed by the California Labor Federation as a “worker-centered approach” to protecting jobs against AI. But several lawmakers behind those bills say their focus is on public safety, more than saving jobs.

“Safety is a hard thing to argue with. Worker displacement is sometimes a tougher sell, but safety is not a tough sell. Everybody wants to be safe,” said Silicon Valley state Sen. Dave Cortese, whose bill would bar autonomous vehicles from engaging in commercial activity like ride-sharing without the permission of the city and county where it operates.

Selling safety over tech threats highlights how big the issue has become amid concerns about crime, especially as lawmakers look for ways to ensure their bills survive Suspense Day with topics that resonate.

“Seventy percent of my constituents and of my colleagues all agree that this is a safety concern more than anything else,” said Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry about her bill, AB 2286, on self-driving trucks. A similar bill by Aguiar-Curry was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year.

A third bill from Democratic state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, SB 1446, would force grocery and drug stores to limit how many self-checkout stations an employee can monitor as well as conduct a statewide study of job losses caused by the retail technology.

While Smallwood-Cuevas said the bill, coined The Retail Theft Prevention and Safe Staffing Act, would help protect jobs, she also stressed its ability to combat retail theft — a major worry voiced by voters and industry.

“We think there’s a solution that brings these two things together,” Smallwood-Cuevas told POLITICO. — Ariel Gans

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

SLOG TO 2026 — California’s next governor’s race is an Odyssey with no giants, POLITICO’s Christopher Cadelago writes in a deep look at the behind-the-scenes jockeying to succeed Newsom in the proverbial horseshoe. The competition for money and powerful supporters is heating up, offering a revealing snapshot of California in the 21st century: Candidates engaged in a race to the left where all of the competition is in the Democratic Party, no political heavyweights are lying in wait and none of the candidates have more than a regional base of support.

ON THE AGENDA

FLOOR SESH — The state Senate and Assembly will hold floor sessions at 9 a.m.

APPROPS — Immediately after floor session, the appropriations committee in each house will meet to decide the fate of bills on the suspense file.

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

IT’S A GAS — Out-of-state objections are mounting to California’s consideration of a cap on oil refinery profits — and Newsom had a sharp retort yesterday to Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo‘s concerns. The skirmish is happening well before any actual decision — but just in time for summer’s high gas prices. Read more in last night’s California Climate newsletter.

TOP TALKERS

— Sonoma State’s president was put on leave for “insubordination” after meeting Gaza protesters’ demands. (POLITICO)

— Meanwhile, University of California student workers voted to strike amid Gaza protest furor. (POLITICO)

— A federal court dismissed a challenge by cisgender female inmates against a California law that places transgender women in prisons consistent with their gender identity. (Bloomberg Law)

— Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden will tap California donors on dual fundraising trips to Los Angeles next month. (East Bay Times)

AROUND THE STATE

— A bird with a seven-inch wingspan is rebounding in an area of northeast Los Angeles following an ongoing habitat restoration project. (Los Angeles Times)

— Homeless activists are suing Sacramento for its plans to close a roughly 50-person homeless camp after some of its residents camped in tents outside of the site’s city-issued trailers. (The Sacramento Bee)

— The country’s most valuable office tenant, Nvidia, dropped $374 million to acquire a majority of its Santa Clara headquarters to become its own landlord. (The San Francisco Standard)

— California workers routinely suffer wage violations while on the job, including a lack of overtime and pay under minimum wage, a new study found. (Los Angeles Times)

PLAYBOOKERS

PEOPLE MOVES — Lawyer Dario Frommer, a former majority leader in the state Assembly, has rejoined the Los Angeles firm Mayer Brown, as a partner in its public policy, regulatory and government affairs practice. He previously led Akin Gump’s California public law and policy practice.

BIRTHDAYS — Jodi Seth

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated the status of Senate Bill 961 within the Legislature.