Laura Wells has over 21 years experience in financial systems – investments, pension funds, union dues accounting, and real estate loans. She holds a B.A. from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI, Phi Beta Kappa), and an M.Ed. from Antioch University. She lives in Oakland and is the proud mother of Natalia, a 23-year-old musician and graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The following is a list of questions Laura is frequently asked. Feel free to start anywhere and skip around.

(1) What gives you hope?

The momentum of people making real changes to this system gives me hope. We’re getting fed up, and turning that into action! People are organizing themselves to bring in:
· Voluntary public campaign finance reform—Clean Money (already happening in Maine and Arizona, and on the November ballot in California),
· Ranked choice, or instant runoff voting, IRV (already happening in San Francisco and many other places, and about to happen in Berkeley, and on the November ballot in Oakland and Davis), and
· Single-payer healthcare, gaining momentum as people begin to understand that the U.S. cannot continue spending more money per person than other countries – with much of it going to middlemen – while getting less healthcare for fewer and fewer people!

(2) Didn’t you do this before?

My first campaign for Controller began shortly after the 9/11 tragedy. A friend called me up and said the Green Party of California was putting together a full slate for all seven statewide partisan offices, and would I consider running for Controller. This actually saved me from going crazy. I had considered showing up at government meetings and, whenever our representatives made a destructive and shortsighted decision, while the audience wondered why they would do something so illogical, I would shout, “Follow the money!” I considered putting “Follow the money!” on a sandwich board and becoming a sidewalk screamer. Luckily I had a chance in the campaign to learn how to express, on a more acceptable platform, both the problems and the abundant solutions. 
In the November 2002 election, I received 419,873 votes, almost 6% of the total, more votes than any other Green Party candidate had ever received in California.

(3) What does the State Controller do?

The Controller is in the perfect position to “follow the money” and report to the real boss — the people of California. The Controller manages the state’s checkbook, collecting money and signing checks. She serves on many boards and commissions, affecting public lands, water, taxes, and the state’s pension funds. And she audits — more on that later.
To answer another question I am often asked: while some states call this position “Comptroller”, in California, it’s “Controller.” 

(4) Are you qualified?

Definitely, and I believe that the democratic and republican candidates are not qualified to serve as the “watchdog” of the state’s finances. As a Green Party candidate, I never accept corporate campaign contributions. The large political parties do, and this divides their loyalty between serving the people of California and pleasing their large campaign contributors with large payback contracts. 
In addition to being qualified in the big context by not being influenced by big money donors, I also have over 20 years experience in financial systems in stock and bond investments, pension fund accounting, union dues accounting, and real estate mortgage loans. In other words, I am viable, but not “buyable”.

(5) Can you win?

When it comes to whether Green Party statewide candidates in California can win, if everyone who agrees with us, votes for us, we will win! As we all know, however, the system is messed up. Nowhere in the Constitution are political parties mentioned and yet we have a two-party system that seems as unsinkable as the Titanic seemed. Luckily, the life raft of the Green Party expands to hold everyone that jumps on board. If the Green Party can reach enough voters, we can win this year. If not, we will keep growing because the current mess is simply unsustainable — and then, we will win.

(6) What will you do if you win?

I will do the job! I love the challenge of managing approximately 1,000 employees in the State Controller’s Office. It always amazes me how effective a staff can be when you respect their work and their ideas.
Everyone running for statewide office as a Green Party candidate could do the job. Our current political system is Democracy 101. It was a state-of-the-art political system 200 years ago, but it needs to be updated for today. In this current system, it would require circumstances beyond our direct control to win office. No one knows what will happen between now and November, but if events break in such a way that people are ready to vote their Green values, we will be ready to take office!