State Controller Steve Westly: Fixing California Politics

Steve Westly is the California State Controller and one of three leading Democrats likely to run for Governor of California in 2006. As Controller he is the chief financial officer of the state, the world's fifth largest economy. He has the power of audit over all state agencies and makes sure the taxpayers' money is well-spent.

Westly has a B.A. and M.B.A. from Stanford, and taught public management at the GSB for five years. He then went into the private sector, becoming a senior vice president of eBay. He returned to the public service as Controller in a campaign staffed in large part by Stanford students. He has since maintained a close relationship with the Stanford Democrats.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for Governor last year he promised to cut waste from the state budget. He couldn't find any fat to trim because Steve Westly was doing his job. Instead, Schwarzenegger went after higher education. As a business leader in high-tech, Steve Westly believes that higher education is the engine of California's economy, and that's the last thing we can afford to cut.

A fiscal conservative, Steve Westly reached across party lines and led the fight to put the state on sound fiscal footing with propositions 57 and 58. He has been a pragmatic leader in advocating for political reforms such as open primaries and nonpartisan redistricting to revitalize California's democracy.