FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/17/16

Contact: Parke Skelton (626) 535-9616

Late yesterday, California State Treasurer John Chiang filed paperwork with the Secretary of State to allow him to raise funds for Governor in 2018.

John Chiang is recognized as one of California’s most creative and effective leaders. As Treasurer he renegotiated long term state debt, securing over $3.2 billion in savings to help pay for vital services. As State Controller, Chiang identified over $9 billion in waste and mismanagement through aggressive audits, far more than any previous Controller.

Chiang is known for his commitment to openness and accountability in government. He placed the salaries and benefits of all public employees online, created a searchable database for state and local public debt and publicly tracks revenues and expenditures generated by Proposition 30.

In 2008, Chiang took on Governor Schwarzenegger and refused to slash the pay of 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour. In 2011, Chiang withheld pay from state legislators in order to hold them accountable for failing to pass a balanced budget by the state constitutionally imposed deadline.

Chiang is the son of immigrants from Taiwan. He grew up in a Chicago suburb, graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a degree in finance, and has a law degree from Georgetown University.

Chiang began his career as a tax law specialist, worked as an attorney for State Controller Gray Davis and as a staff member for Senator Barbara Boxer. He was appointed to fill a vacancy on the State Board of Equalization in 1997 elected to a full term in 1998 and re-elected in 2002.

Chiang, 53, ran for State Controller in 2006, winning a primary battle despite being heavily outspent. He was re-elected in 2010. In 2014, he was handily elected State Treasurer with 57.7% of the vote, the largest margin of any of the seven down-ticket statewide races.（source: SG&A Campaigns）