Democrat Yee Elected As California Controller
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Betty Yee, a Democrat who has made a career of understanding arcane state finance rules, will be California's next chief fiscal officer.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: 2014 Election Results
Voters chose Yee over Republican Ashley Swearengin in the race for state controller by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent. Swearengin, who is mayor of Fresno, was seen as one of the GOP's best hopes to break the Democrats' monopoly on statewide offices.
The controller manages California's cash flow, audits government programs and administers pension funds. Due to term limits, Democratic incumbent John Chiang could not run again.
Yee said her experience on the state tax body called the Board of Equalization and work as a top budget official in the administration of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis positioned her to navigate California's complex finances.
On Wednesday, she thanked Swearengin for "elevating the issues of economic development and sound fiscal management" and ticked off priorities that included patching the balky payroll system for state workers and making sure that wasteful spending identified under prior audits has stopped.
She also welcomed voters' passage of Proposition 2, which revamped the state's "rainy day fund" to provide a cushion against future economic downturns.
Swearengin tried to woo independent voters and persuade Democrats to cross party lines by emphasizing her stewardship of finances as mayor of Fresno, which veered toward but avoided bankruptcy during the recession. She had said as controller she would try to reduce the state's roughly $300 billion in long-term liabilities and improve its business climate.
Swearengin said she wanted to focus on filling out the next two years of her term as mayor, but indicated she still has her sights on elected office beyond Fresno.
"I do enjoy public service," she said.
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