PUT CALIFORNIA’S MONEY WHERE OUR VALUES ARE

California must not be complicit in another catastrophic war.

Escalation with Iran would bring devastating human consequences and economic shockwaves that working people will bear. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint, makes clear how quickly conflict can drive up the cost of food, transportation, and basic necessities here at home.

We need to shift away from war and toward diplomacy and de-escalation. 

This moment also exposes our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels (which are rapidly dropping) and fragile global supply chains.

We must invest in a more resilient future: prioritizing essential goods like food and medicine, expanding public transportation, and reducing overreliance on private automobiles through sustainable alternatives.

As State Treasurer, I will advocate for divestment from war-driven industries and fossil fuels, and reinvestment in systems that support peace, stability, and everyday needs.

Our pension funds, California Public Employees' Retirement System and California State Teachers' Retirement System, manage billions on behalf of public workers.

Yet these funds remain invested in:

• Weapons manufacturers
• Corporations supplying arms to the Israeli military
• Fossil fuel giants driving climate collapse and profitting from war

I support full divestment from:

• Corporations arming the Israeli government’s military operations
• Weapons manufacturers that profit from endless war
• Fossil fuel companies fueling environmental destruction

These investments are not only morally indefensible, they are financially risky in a rapidly changing global economy.

Divesting from war and fossil fuels protects both our conscience and our pensions.

California’s public wealth should protect the 99%, not bankroll violence or climate catastrophe.

A real safety net means guaranteeing the essentials of life: food security, healthcare, stable housing, education and access to local services that keep communities strong. 

Public wealth should be used to ensure that every Californian has the foundation they need to live with dignity.

Healthcare is a human right.

Our public investments should strengthen community health systems and mental health services, not insurance conglomerates that deny care while generating record profits.

As Treasurer, I will support financial strategies that help move California toward universal healthcare and ensure public dollars prioritize care over corporate gain. 

California workers create the wealth of this state. Federal jobs, grants and funding have been cut and unemployment is increasing.

We need living wages that reflect the real cost of living and better support for our workers. 

As Treasurer, I will champion investments in worker-owned enterprises, union jobs, and community-based businesses, not corporations that extract profit while suppressing wages.

California is home to extraordinary wealth and staggering inequality. Our state should work for the many, not the few.

While working families struggle to afford rent, healthcare, and groceries, billionaires grow richer off a system designed in their favor. I support bold taxation on extreme wealth to fund housing, climate resilience, public education, and healthcare.

As Treasurer, I will use the voice and influence of the office to advocate for tax justice, ensuring the ultra-wealthy and multinational corporations pay their fair share.

Student debt is a lifelong burden for millions of Californians.

Public funds should not be invested in predatory lenders that profit from crushing educational debt. I support creative public financing strategies and debt relief initiatives that move us toward a student debt jubilee.

Education should be a liberation.

Housing is a human necessity, not a speculative commodity. Public dollars should build homes, not hedge fund portfolios.

I support the development of public banking alternatives, including efforts like the Public Bank of the East Bay. Public banks can redirect our state’s financial power toward affordable housing, climate adaptation, and small business development instead of Wall Street speculation.

One example is in North Dakota, which weathered the 2009 recession because of it is a state public bank. It did not invest in the subprime home loans.

Berkeley is actively working on this.