John Chiang for California State Controller

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name: John Chiang for California 2006
Address: P.O. Box 55815, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413
Campaign Phone: 323-497-2600
Campaign Fax: 323-650-8914
Campaign E-mail:
Campaign Website: www.chiangforcalifornia.com

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

Member, CA State Board of Equalization, Elected, 1997 - present
- Board Chair, 2002 - present

If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:

N/A

YOUTH ISSUES

1. Good schools from pre-K to graduate school require adequate funding and
innovative leadership. How would you use your elected office to improve public
education and/or make higher education affordable and accessible for young people
in our community?

Building a world class educational system. As Controller, I can play the financial role by fighting for a progressive overhaul of California’s fiscal and tax policies to ensure that our schools have the resources they need to attract and retain the best teachers and provide our students with the materials and challenges they need to thrive.
The percentage of funding going to local districts from the state that is earmarked for specific designated programs has more than tripled since 1991-92. Local districts need much more flexibility in determining how to best meet the unique needs of their students. The best educational decisions are those made closest to the classroom. I support shared decision making that gives teachers and other school district stakeholders, much more control over a school’s budget.

2. How will you use your office to combat enduring racial segregation and inequality in
our education system?

It is impossible to fully measure a student’s academic performance or potential with any standardized test. Currently, we have too many tests, imposed by the state, federal and local jurisdictions that are contradictory and not necessarily linked to a district’s curriculum.
To ensure uniformity, we need to bring state tests into compliance with the guidelines established in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I oppose the use of the High School Exit exam as the sole criteria for determining whether a student graduates. I oppose linking financial incentives to a schools performance on the API as unfair and discriminatory – and demonstrably inaccurate. API scores, as everyone knows, are correlated almost entirely with a school’s location and income demographics.

3. There will be one or more constitutional amendments on the ballot in 2006 that will restrict marriage rights in California and attempt to undo existing domestic partnerships laws. How will you use your race and position to defend the human rights of GLBT families and make the defeat of these amendments a state wide priority?

Last year, I was honored by the Stonewall Democratic Club (Los Angeles).
I have a long and active history of involvement in the Southern California LGBTI Community. I have members of the LGBTI on both my state and campaign staff.

I have been an outspoken advocate for civil rights for the LGBTI community.

In my capacity at BOE, I led the fight to grant a lesbian parent a tax exemption enjoyed by heterosexuals. I also led the fight to provide domestic partners property tax exemptions enjoyed by married couples. I started seminars to educate members of the legal community about tax laws to assist members of the LGBTI community. I have hosted four seminars. They were co-hosted by prominent LGBTI organizations.
As the highest ranking Asian Pacific American elected office in state government, I want to make it clear that it is immoral to discriminate and that I will lead the fight to bring justice and dignity to all people.

4. Young people face special challenges to obtaining health insurance and many go without. How would you use your office to work towards making health insurance available to all?

I will use the financial powers of the Controllers to exercise full authority over all parties in the health care community. From auditing to taxes to investments, the leverage over health care providers will be exercised. As a member of the Board of Equalization, we are examining whether nonprofit health care providers are truly delivering services or hiding profits.

5. The war in Iraq has claimed the lives of too many young people from our community. Money spent on the war is needed for healthcare and education programs that young people in our community sorely lack. Nobody wants to cut and run from Iraq. But our
country and community needs an exit strategy. How would you use your office to bring our troops home?

I would use the bully pulpit of the office and work with leaders and concerned individuals.

6. Women’s right to choose is under attack in our country. Young women suffer especially from curtailed access to reproductive health services. How would you use your office to protect a woman’s right to choose and/or expand access to reproductive health services?

I served on the Board of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles for over a decade. I did research for then Controller Gray Davis on the financial benefits of family planning and drafted the bubble legislation ultimately authored by then Assemblymember Barbara Lee.

I have protected women’s reproductive health organizations against legal attacks on their status as a legal entity made by anti-choice supporters.

7. Young people entering the workforce need good jobs with fair pay and benefits. Employers like Wal-Mart don’t offer a bright future to young people in search of work. How will you use your office to create good jobs and support young people who want improve their working conditions by forming unions?

I was a member of the National Treasury Employees Union. At the Board of Equalization, I challenged then Governor Wilson’s office by leading the effort to take janitorial positions away from a subcontractor that did not have represented workers. We prevailed; it was another victory for the Justice for Janitors movement.

I will use the investment powers of the Controller’s office to stimulate development of jobs especially those that will benefit society. ie. Environmental technology

8. How will you use your office to make housing more affordable for low and moderate income young people?

Housing trust, tax credits, tax abatement

9. Identify two challenges to San Francisco’s young people in the context of the position you seek? What specific commitment will you make to address these issues if elected?

Employment, affordable housing, affordable health care, pensions – I will use the Controller’s financial powers to address these issues.

10. What are the main challenges facing the city of San Francisco in the context of this position? How will you address those issues if elected?

Public school funding is one of the main challenges facing San Francisco since most of the funding for K-undergraduate schools comes from state funding sources. Since Prop. 13, California has fallen to the bottom in terms of per pupil spending, teacher salaries, class room sizes, and academic test results. Today, California is highly dependent on personal and corporate income taxes and sales taxes which fluctuate depending on the economy. I intend to request sitting on the Education Committee and take a leadership role in terms of locating additional funding sources for public education. Another challenge is California’s debt level which affects the amount of money going to cities and counties. California has the lowest bond rating of the 50 states. Five years ago, we had $26B of tax supported debt versus $54B today. The last time California closed a big budget deficit was in 1991-1992 when Governor Wilson steered tax increases and spending cuts to close a $14B deficit. Today, our state legislature and Governor are not dealing with today and forcing our next generations to shoulder our debt. In SF, we must balance our budget each year…we cannot issue debt or issue more money (like the federal government). We need to bring back fiscal accountability and make tough decisions at the state level to protect our state’s credit rating/financial stability and lift the burden on our next generation. Another less pressing but important challenge is our environment. San Francisco is the most aggressive and progressive in the recycling arena. We are currently recycling at a rate of 67% with a goal of 75% by 2010. I proposed legislation mandating the recycling of construction and demolition material. Currently construction and demolition refuge accounts for 22% of our garbage going to the landfill and the aggressive recycling and reuse of these material will go a long way to put off the inevitable. Even if we achieve our 75% goal, our Altamont landfill is projected to be completely full by 2014 and then what? If San Francisco is facing this challenge over the next 10 years, other less focused cities and counties will face garbage capacity issues very soon. We need to aggressively enforce recycling efforts statewide.

11. Have you collaborated with young people in your community work in the past (list specific examples)? What value did you experience in working with young activists? How are young people involved in your campaign?

I serve on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Law Center and served on the Advisory Council of Big Sisters of Los Angeles.

I was named Mentor of the Year by the California Young Democrats at the state convention two years ago. I was also honored by the Los Angeles County Young Democrats.

I have spoken at and participated in numerous events hosted by Young Democrats. I have supported numerous interns with their career pursuits, some of whom now work in government.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR YOUTH

Please describe in sufficient detail at least one of your accomplishments that has improved the lives of young people. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life.

I sponsor financial literacy seminars. Forty eight percent of single women in South Los Angeles live in poverty. The children in many of these families lead very difficult lives. I want to create an opportunity to help them change their future.

EXPERIENCE
Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek. Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life. Please explain how your experience would make you an effective advocate for young people as an office holder.

I currently serve on the Board of The Children’s Law Center and The Ethnic Coalition (an organization dedicated to building harmonious race relations). I have previously served as a Board Member of: Planned Parenthood Los Angeles; Council of Regents of the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County; Children Affected by AIDS Foundation; Los Angeles Hospice AIDS Association; Big Sisters of Los Angeles; Organization of Chinese Americans; and the Regional Interview Panel for the White House Fellowship Program.

BIOGRAPHY

John Chiang has devoted his professional life to making elected leaders and government accessible to all Californians and personalizing government services to touch the lives of the citizens they serve. Born in New York City during the 1960s, John’s heroes inspired his journey to public service. The oldest of four children, and son of immigrants from Taiwan, John faced a world in which racism and community divisiveness were at their peak in America and being challenged by some of our nation’s finest leaders and John’s heroes -- Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, the first Asian Pacific American family in their neighborhood, an adolescent John and his family faced the very challenges the rest of America was witnessing across the nation. Despite these difficulties, John learned the importance of determination, commitment, consensus building and above all, community service - lessons he learned by following in the footsteps of his mentors, teachers and especially his mother, by her enthusiasm as an active volunteer in their community.

An honors graduate with a degree in Finance from the University of South Florida and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, John arrived in Los Angeles in 1987 and began work as a tax law specialist for the IRS. For more than a decade, John acquired a breadth of experience working as an attorney for then State Controller, Gray Davis, and as staff member to Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Mel Levine, State Controller Candidate, Don Perata, and Kathleen Brown during her race for Governor.

In the late ’90s, fate brought John his first opportunity to serve in elected office. While Chief of Staff for California State Board of Equalization* Member Brad Sherman, John assumed the role of acting Board Member when Sherman was elected to Congress in 1997. John succeeded in his own campaign in 1998 against several well-known political competitors and was recently re-elected to represent the 4th Equalization District, which is comprised of 8.5 million residents in Los Angeles County. As Chairman of the State Board of Equalization and a member of the Franchise Tax Board, John is the highest-ranking Asian Pacific American elected state official in California.

While in office, he has successfully sponsored more legislative proposals signed into law than any other Board Member and has incorporated his firm belief that every elected office must be accessible to its constituents. John has personalized the BOE office by spearheading free tax and finance seminars to Californians, along with providing personal and free income tax assistance to California citizens in need of support and has consistently supported property tax reassessment for Domestic Partners. John Chiang-sponsored legislative proposals signed into law include: filing deadline extensions for financially challenged taxpayers due to mental and physical incapacity; enhancing innocent spouse protection. Additional common-sense proposals were passed that streamlined the administrative process, ie: altering the property tax appeal process by shifting the appeal filing date to occur after the final property tax amount has been determined.

In keeping with John’s strong ideals and commitment to community service, he currently serves on the Board of The Children’s Law Center; The Ethnic Coalition (an organization dedicated to building harmonious race relations); Board Member to Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. John previously served as a Board Member of: Council of Regents of the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County; Children Affected by AIDS Foundation; Los Angeles Hospice AIDS Association; Big Sisters of Los Angeles; Organization of Chinese Americans; and the Regional Interview Panel for the White House Fellowship Program.

John is a long-time resident of Chatsworth, and is married to Terry Chi.

*The California State Board of Equalization yields tremendous power administering and overseeing state sales and use taxes, property taxes, special taxes and the tax appellate program. As one of the twelve constitutionally elected offices of California, the board, the nation’s only elected tax authority, is comprised of only four members elected by district and the fifth member, the State Controller. Board administered programs provide more than 33% of the state’s tax revenue and support hundreds of state and local government programs and services, including schools and colleges, hospitals and health care services, criminal justice, correctional and social welfare programs, law enforcement, consumer services, natural resource management, and transportation and housing programs.