(Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)
Top work: California Controller
The biggest stir: During Yee's tenure as controller, her agency uncovered tens of millions of dollars in misappropriation of funds by local governments and questionable financial practices at state agencies.
Detailed report: Yee, 66, was born to Chinese immigrant parents and grew up in San Francisco, where the family lived in a one-bedroom apartment behind their dry-cleaning business. Yee lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs. She is a Democrat.
Campaign launch: March 2024
Yee served as state budget director under former Gov. Davis before winning a seat on the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 and again in 2010. She was elected state comptroller in 2014. Her audits and investigations from the comptroller’s office, she said, found more than $4 billion in misused funds. She won reelection in 2018, and her second term ended in January 2023.
Yee has emphasized his financial and budgetary experience, two assets that could appeal to California voters at a time when the state is facing historic deficits. Budget projections suggest the next governor could face a challenging fiscal environment if state revenues do not recover.
When she announced her campaign, Yee spoke of how her modest beginnings crystallized her focus on the importance of financial health. As a child, she managed the accounts for the family business and saw firsthand how a bad week meant cutting back on groceries and other essential expenses for herself and her five siblings, she said.
A 2022 Times report details how Yee provided behind-the-scenes advice to a politically connected company seeking a $600 million no-bid government contract to provide COVID-19 masks and raised questions about his involvement. Yee has said he had no financial interest in the contract and that the advice was the same as he would offer any business owner.
Yee serves as vice chair of the California Democratic Party.
