May 19, 2022

Communications & Stakeholder Relations
Contact: Colin Steiner, Information Officer
(916) 795-3991 - newsroom@calpers.ca.gov

The winner represents Public Agency members

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Mullissa Willette is declared the unofficial election winner for the Public Agency seat on the CalPERS Board of Administration.

Election results are considered unofficial until formal certification by the California Secretary of State, which is expected to occur in or around June.

The unofficial results indicate Ms. Willette received 7,972 votes, which represents 62.15% of the votes cast during the voting period of April 15 through May 16, 2022. The opponent, Richard Fuentes, received 4,855 votes, or 37.85%.

Ms. Willette is a tax exemption investigator with the County of Santa Clara.

This board seat was elected by active public agency members and was previously occupied by Jason Perez, who resigned in June 2021. Mr. Perez’s four-year term expires on January 15, 2023. Ms. Willette will serve the remaining time on the current term, plus the full four years of the next term.

The 13-member CalPERS Board sets policy for retirement and health benefits on behalf of California public employers and their active and retired employees. The board also oversees asset allocation of the pension fund's investments. Under the California Constitution, the CalPERS Board has exclusive authority to administer the CalPERS Fund.

About CalPERS

For more than eight decades, CalPERS has built retirement and health security for state, school, and public agency members who invest their lifework in public service. Our pension fund serves more than 2 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.5 million members and their families in our health program, making us the largest defined-benefit public pension in the U.S. CalPERS' total fund market value currently stands at approximately $446 billion. For more information, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.