John Chiang (California politician)
| John Chiang 江俊輝 |
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|---|---|
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| 31st State Controller of California | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2007 |
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| Governor | Arnold Schwarzenegger Jerry Brown |
| Preceded by | Steve Westly |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 31, 1962 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Terry Chi |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
John Chiang (江俊輝; 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 unable to run for a third term in 2014 due to term limits.
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[edit] Background and early career
Chiang is the son of immigrants from Taiwan. He was born in New York City and grew up in Chicago. Chiang attended Carl Sandburg High School where he served as student body vice-president alongside student body president Dave Jones. Lifelong friends, Chiang and Jones would run again together in 2010 on the California Democratic slate, with Chiang winning reelection as state controller and Jones being elected California Insurance Commissioner. 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 and the West LA Democratic Club.
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.
Chiang lives with his wife, Terry, in Torrance, California. He has two brothers, Roger and Bob, and one sister Joyce, who was murdered in 1999.
[edit] California State Controller, 2007-
After winning the California State Controller election, 2006, Chiang was inaugurated on January 8, 2007.[1]
In May 2007, Chiang released a report[2] 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.[3] Chiang's actions were praised as having "gotten a needed discussion reignited".[4]
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".[5] 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.[6] By October 2007, the U.S. District Judge found that Chiang's measures "satisfie[d] constitutional due process" and lifted his ban.[5]
In July 2008, former Governor of California 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.[7] 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.[7] 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".[8] He received support from the Democratic leadership in the state Senate and Assembly.[9] When Schwarzenegger issued a formal executive order, Chiang sent a formal letter to Schwarzenegger "reiterating his position".[10][11] At a rally of state workers in Los Angeles, Chiang called them "innocent victims of a political struggle".[12][1]
[edit] References
- ^ Yi, Matthew. Inaugurations - state offices - ceremonies, parties as state officials take oath of office. San Francisco Chronicle, January 6, 2007.
- ^ Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company. Other postemployment benefits sponsored by the State of California as of July 1, 2007. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ Chan, Gilbert. Retiree health cost disclosed. Sacramento Bee, May 8, 2007. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Chorneau, Tom, and Haley Davies. State will notify thousands before taking their assets. San Francisco Chronicle, August 24, 2007. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ a b Wildermuth, John, and Matthew Yi. Governor plans to slash state workers' pay. San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ Yi, Matthew. Controller says he won't cut workers' wages. San Francisco Chronicle, July 25, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ Mendel, Ed. Governor, controller clash on pay-cut plan. San Diego Union-Tribune, July 26, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ Yi, Matthew. Governor orders layoffs, heavy pay cuts. San Francisco Chronicle, July 31, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ Letter from John Chiang to Arnold Schwarzenegger. July 31, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
- ^ Rothfeld, Michael. Schwarzenegger makes layoffs, orders pay cuts for California state workers. Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2008. Accessed 1 Aug 2008.
[edit] External links
- Official State of California biography
- San Francisco Chronicle debate (webcast) for California State Controller
- Lecture by John Chiang at University of California, Berkeley video
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brad Sherman |
Member, California Board of Equalization, 4th District 1999–2007 |
Succeeded by Judy Chu |
| Preceded by Steve Westly |
California State Controller 2007–present |
Incumbent |
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- 1962 births
- Living people
- American politicians of Taiwanese descent
- American politicians of Chinese descent
- Georgetown University Law Center alumni
- Members of Committee of 100
- Politicians of Chinese descent
- Politicians from Chicago, Illinois
- People from New York City
- State Controllers of California
- University of South Florida alumni
