John Chiang (California politician)

Infobox Officeholder
name = John Chiang
江俊輝


caption = California Controller John Chiang in January 2007
order = 31st California State Controller
term_start = January 8, 2007
term_end =
deputy =
predecessor = Steve Westly
successor = Incumbent
birth_date = birth date and age|1962|07|31
birth_place = New York, New York
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =
party = Democratic
spouse = Terry Chi
children =
profession =
religion =


footnotes =

John Chiang (; pinyin: Jiāng Jùnhuī) (born July 31, 1962 in New York City) is a Democratic politician and has been California State Controller since January 8 2007. He previously served as Chair of the California Board of Equalization and represented the Fourth District, primarily serving southern Los Angeles County.

Chiang is the son of immigrants from Taiwan. He was born in New York City and grew up in Chicago. He graduated with honors with a degree in Finance from the University of South Florida and has a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He came to Los Angeles in 1987 where he got involved with the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DP/SFV).

Chiang began his career as a tax law specialist for the IRS. He worked as an attorney for then California State Controller Gray Davis, and also worked on the staff of California Senator Barbara Boxer. He was first elected to office as Member of the Board of Equalization in 1998 and elected to a second four-year term in 2002.

He is a potential candidate for the office of Governor for the 2010 election.

California State Controller, 2007-

After winning the California State Controller election, 2006, Chiang was inaugurated on January 8, 2007. [Yi, Matthew. Inaugurations - state offices - ceremonies, parties as state officials take oath of office. "San Francisco Chronicle", January 6, 2007.]

In May 2007, Chiang released a report [Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company. [http://www.sco.ca.gov/eo/pressbox/2007/05/OPEB_actuaria_report.pdf Other postemployment benefits sponsored by the State of California as of July 1, 2007.] Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] that found that the state of California "would have to pay an additional $2.2 billion annually" over 30 years in order to pay for health benefits for all currently retired state employees and current state employees who will be retiring [Chan, Gilbert. Retiree health cost disclosed. "Sacramento Bee", May 8, 2007. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] . Chiang's actions were praised as having "gotten a needed discussion reignited, filling a leadership void" left by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger [ [http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/homepage/article_1690954.php State controller steps forward on retiree costs. John Chiang draws attention to costs of health care benefits for retired government workers.] "Orange County Register", May 11, 2007. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] .

In June 2007, a U.S. District Judge banned the State Controller's office from seizing unclaimed property because the State was not giving "fair notice to the owner and public"Walsh, Denny. Judge lifts ban on seizing assets - A group challenging the state's taking of unclaimed property plans to appeal. "Sacramento Bee", October 20, 2007.] . Because a ban could cause the State to lose $300 million per year in revenue, Chiang took steps to improve the notification of people whose assets were about to be seized, including sending them notices, and to improve the ability of people to recover their assets once seized [Chorneau, Tom, and Haley Davies. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/24/BAU2RO80J.DTL State will notify thousands before taking their assets.] "San Francisco Chronicle", August 24, 2007. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] . By October 2007, the U.S. District Judge found that Chiang's measures "satisfie [d] constitutional due process" and lifted his ban.

In July 2008, Schwarzenegger was reported to be planning to "slash the pay of more than 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum of $6.55 per hour," among other measures, due to a lack of an approved state budget.Wildermuth, John, and Matthew Yi. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/24/MNFJ11UH46.DTL Governor plans to slash state workers' pay.] "San Francisco Chronicle", July 24, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] In response, Chiang characterized Schwarzenegger's idea as "a poorly devised strategy to put pressure on the Legislature to enact a budget" and stated that he would continue to pay state workers their full salaries. Chiang claimed that he had "both constitutional and statutory authority" to continue payments and that Schwarzenegger was trying to make Chiang "do something that's improper and illegal" [Yi, Matthew. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/25/MN0B11V432.DTL Controller says he won't cut workers' wages.] "San Francisco Chronicle", July 25, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] . He received support from the Democratic leadership in the state Senate and Assembly [Mendel, Ed. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080726-9999-1n26budget.html Governor, controller clash on pay-cut plan.] "San Diego Union-Tribune", July 26, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] . When Schwarzenegger issued a formal Executive Order, Chiang sent a formal letter to Schwarzenegger "reiterating his position" [Yi, Matthew. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/31/MNEP122S2P.DTL Governor orders layoffs, heavy pay cuts.] "San Francisco Chronicle", July 31, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] [ [http://www.sco.ca.gov/eo/pressbox/2008/08/ltr_to_gov.pdf Letter from John Chiang to Arnold Schwarzenegger.] July 31, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] . At a rally of state workers in Los Angeles, Chiang called them "innocent victims of a political struggle" [Rothfeld, Michael. [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-arnold1-2008aug01,0,2345664.story Schwarzenegger makes layoffs, orders pay cuts for California state workers.] "Los Angeles Times", August 1, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.] .

Personal

Chiang lives with his wife in Torrance, California. He has two brothers, Roger and Bob, and one sister Joyce (deceased).

References

External links

* [http://www.sco.ca.gov/eo/controller/about/bio.shtml Official State of California biography]
* [http://cbs5.com/politics/local_story_283142111.html "San Francisco Chronicle" debate (webcast) for California State Controller]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuwL36-rDzU Lecture by John Chiang at University of California, Berkeley video]