Malia Cohen | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| 33rdController of California | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2023 | |
| Governor | Gavin Newsom |
| Preceded by | Betty Yee |
| Member of theCalifornia State Board of Equalization from the 2nd district | |
| In office January 7, 2019 – January 2, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Fiona Ma |
| Succeeded by | Sally Lieber |
| President of theSan Francisco Board of Supervisors | |
| In office June 26, 2018 – January 7, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | London Breed |
| Succeeded by | Norman Yee |
| Member of theSan Francisco Board of Supervisors from the 10th district | |
| In office January 8, 2011 – January 7, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Sophie Maxwell |
| Succeeded by | Shamann Walton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-12-16)December 16, 1977 (age 47) San Francisco,California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Fisk University (BA) Carnegie Mellon University (MA) |
Malia M. Cohen (born December 16, 1977)[1] is an American politician serving as the 33rdController of California since 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, Cohen previously served as Chair of theCalifornia State Board of Equalization from the 2nd district from 2019 to 2023 and as President of theSan Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 10 from 2011 to 2019.
She is the seventh African American to hold statewide office followingWilson Riles,Mervyn Dymally,Kamala Harris,Tony Thurmond,Shirley Weber andLaphonza Butler.
Cohen was born inSan Francisco on December 16, 1977. The eldest of five girls, she grew up in theRichmond District in San Francisco and graduated fromLowell High School.[2] Her mother was a social worker and her father a telecommunication worker.
Cohen earned a bachelor's degree in political science fromFisk University and a graduate degree in political science fromCarnegie Mellon University.[2]
Cohen worked as a field organizer forGavin Newsom in the2003 San Francisco mayoral election and as his confidential secretary for two years when he was mayor.[2] After leaving Newsom's office, Cohen worked as a legislative aide forSan Mateo County supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson.[3][2]
In the2010 election for District 10 of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, she was third in receiving first place votes out of a field of 22, but eventually won the election based onranked choice voting.[4][3]
In October 2013, Cohen introduced legislation that expanded an existing San Francisco law making it illegal to sell firearms with magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. The gun-control legislation passed unanimously.[5]
In 2013, Cohen andJane Kim authored the Fair Chance ordinance, a "ban the box" legislation barring employers and landlords from asking applicants to state their criminal history on applications, which passed the Board of Supervisors unanimously.[6]
In 2014, Cohen was re-elected for a second term to represent District 10 after being challenged by Marlene Tran and Tony Kelly.[7]
In 2015, Cohen publicly defended San Francisco'ssanctuary city laws, which drew the attention ofFox News HostBill O'Reilly.
Cohen succeededLondon Breed as president of the Board of Supervisors on June 26, 2018, following Breed's election asmayor of San Francisco.[8] Later that year, she was elected to represent District 2 on the California State Board of Equalization.
Cohen ran in the2022 election forCalifornia State Controller against RepublicanLanhee Chen winning the race with 55% of the vote, the lowest margin of victory for any statewide candidate that election cycle.[9][10][11] In September 2024, Cohen announced new recommendations aimed at preventing and detecting charter school fraud.[12]
After the death of SenatorDianne Feinstein in September 2023, Cohen was discussed as one of several possible people to serve the remainder of Feinstein’s term.[13][14]
She married workers' compensation attorney Warren Pulley in May 2016.[15]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Malia Cohen | 723,355 | 38.7 | |
| Republican | Mark Burns | 502,143 | 26.9 | |
| Democratic | Cathleen Galgiani | 480,887 | 25.7 | |
| Democratic | Barry Chang | 163,102 | 8.7 | |
| Total votes | 1,869,467 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Malia Cohen | 2,482,171 | 72.8 | |
| Republican | Mark Burns | 927,949 | 27.2 | |
| Total votes | 3,410,120 | 100.0% | ||
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Republican | Lanhee Chen | 2,533,305 | 37.22% | ||
| Democratic | Malia Cohen | 1,542,397 | 22.66% | ||
| Democratic | Yvonne Yiu | 1,024,707 | 15.06% | ||
| Democratic | Steve Glazer | 756,518 | 11.11% | ||
| Democratic | Ron Galperin | 690,484 | 10.15% | ||
| Green | Laura Wells | 258,053 | 3.79% | ||
| Total votes | 6,805,874 | 100.0% | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Malia Cohen | 5,936,852 | 55.35% | ||
| Republican | Lanhee Chen | 4,789,340 | 44.65% | ||
| Total votes | 10,726,192 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theSan Francisco Board of Supervisors from the 10th district 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of theSan Francisco Board of Supervisors 2018–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Controller of California 2023–present | Incumbent |