Posts Tagged: lieutenant governor

A woman in California’s top job — briefly

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, serving as governor while Gov. Newsom is out of the state, signed a law to extend eviction protections to renters. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

by CHUCK McFADDEN posted 04.13.2022

When the vacationing Gov. Gavin Newsom returned to California this week, it marked an end to a remarkable two-week period in the state’s history — the Golden State had been run by a woman. That woman is Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and she became the first woman in the state’s 171-year history to sign a bill into law — a remarkable fact, given the state’s track record in recent decades of electing women to high office, including constitutional offices, Congress and the U.S. Senate.

Treasurer, controller, Lt. Gov., all women, to run for governor

Left to right: Controller Betty Yee, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and Treasurer Fiona Ma at the Sacramento Press Club. (Photo: Press Club)

by CHUCK MCFADDEN posted 03.27.2019

All three women holding statewide offices in California say they’ll run for governor. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Treasurer Fiona Ma and Controller Betty Yee — all Democrats — appeared together at a we’re-all-friends lunchtime panel discussion sponsored by the Sacramento Press Club.

Say hello to Eleni Kounalakis

Eleni Kounalakis speaks to the Sacramento Press Club in August. (Photo: Associated Press/Steve Yeater)

by LISA RENNER posted 11.27.2018

Eleni Kounalakis bristles at the suggestion that she won the election for California lieutenant governor because of her wealthy father’s support. It’s true that her father Angelo Tsakopoulos is a very rich land developer. But his mother couldn’t read or write and he spent his early years working in the fields after arriving in this country from Greece.

A look at Capitol hearings, sessions and floor action

Chamber of the state Assembly in the Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov)

by CHRIS MICHELI posted 03.15.2017

This is the third in a series of detailed articles dealing with the inner workings of the California Legislature. In this installment, we focus on the rules surrounding committee hearings, floor actions and special sessions.

CA120: High diversity, but low turnout looms in 2018

A Ventura County voter casts a ballot in the June 2016 primary. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

by PAUL MITCHELL posted 03.15.2017

Any sound voter analysis tries to identify prior events that hopefully serve to predict future voter behavior. For this we examine several past elections, including the gubernatorial elections we mentioned in Part I, and other recent presidential primaries. But each appears somewhat flawed as a predictor of what the 2018 primary will look like.

Villaraigosa to announce political plans

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the 2009 opening of Madame Tussauds Hollywood. (Photo: Jaguar PS, via Shutterstock)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 11.01.2016

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, long viewed in the Capitol as a potential Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, said Tuesday that he will announce his political plans “within a few days” of the Nov. 8 election. He stopped short of making a formal announcement, but left little doubt about his plans. “I think everybody knows where it’s headed,” he said.