Herb Morgan seeks California controller post Nov. 3

Republican Herb W. Morgan, a finance executive and investment adviser, is running for California controller in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. He faces Democrat Malia Cohen, according to BallotReady election data.

Asked why he is seeking the office, Morgan said in our candidate questionnaire: "California's finances lack the independent, real-time oversight the Constitution assigns to this post. The Controller is the state's chief fiscal officer and auditor, not a policy advocate. That role has not been used to its full extent."

On transparency, Morgan said in our questionnaire: "Voters deserve to know where every dollar goes before it is spent, not years later in a report few read. I will publish state payments on a public ledger, apply continuous audit tools to high-risk programs, and report waste, fraud, and control failures in plain language."

Candidate information

Party: Republican

Family: "Married 35 years, two adult children," Morgan said in our questionnaire.

Education: "My education is a B.A. in Economics with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz," Morgan said in our questionnaire. He holds a high school diploma from El Camino High School, according to BallotReady.

Background: Morgan said he grew up in Westminster and Oceanside, California, and attended local public schools, according to his campaign website.

Experience and public service

Morgan described his career in our questionnaire: "I am a finance executive and investment adviser with roughly forty years in capital markets. I began on Wall Street with Dean Witter, J.&W. Seligman, Dreyfus, and LPL Financial."

He continued: "In 2004 I founded Efficient Market Advisors, the first ETF-managed-account platform, which grew to about $1.5 billion in assets and was sold to Cantor Fitzgerald in 2017. I remained Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of that division until I retired to run for Controller."

Efficient Market Advisors had approximately $1.1 billion in assets under advisement when Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors acquired it in March 2017. Morgan also serves as a board member at The Private Shares Fund, according to BallotReady.

On his public service, Morgan said in our questionnaire: "I also served on the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System board, appointed in 2009 and reappointed in 2013, and served as both vice president and president of the board."

On the issues

Asked what accomplishments show he can handle the job, Morgan said in our questionnaire: "I built and sold a regulated investment firm that grew to about $1.5 billion in assets, then remained as chief investment officer after the sale, responsible for process, risk controls, and client reporting."

He said: "That work required the same discipline the Controller's office demands: custody of other people's money and clean, timely books. … Those roles are evidence I can read a balance sheet, enforce controls, and state plainly when the numbers do not add up."

On what sets him apart, Morgan said in our questionnaire: "I will publish state payments on a public ledger and apply continuous audit tools to high-risk programs so findings arrive while money is still moving. The current approach relies on periodic reports that appear long after the funds are gone."

Morgan said he would scrutinize the state's spending on homelessness if elected, according to CalMatters. He also proposes requiring every state-funded nonprofit purchase to enter a state database. AI tools would monitor those transactions and flag anything suspicious, according to CalMatters.