Biography

Elected in November 2006, as the State's independent fiscal watchdog, John Chiang took immediate action to weed out waste, fraud and abuse of public funds and made the State's finances more transparent and accountable to the public.
 
Chiang has vigorously challenged both the Governor and the Legislature to address the state's serious budget crisis, offering plans to hold the politicians responsible for passing a budget on time and without resorting to Enron-style accounting tricks and excessive borrowing.
 
Chiang has used his independent auditing powers to expose over $2.4 billion in government waste, fraud and inefficiency -- more than any previous Controller in California history.
 
He has proposed reforms to the State's public pension systems, drafting legislation to prevent pension spiking and conflicts of interest in investing state pensions.
 
Chiang's sweeping reforms of the unclaimed property program now ensure that funds and property held by insurance companies, banks and utilities are returned to the proper owners.  Chiang has helped Californians recover over $1 billion.
 
A State Lands Commission member, he has opposed new offshore oil leases and is committed to preserving the State's 1,100 miles of coastline.  He successfully opposed the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal off the Coast of Ventura County.
 
Chiang has long championed financial literacy and works to empower working families, women, seniors, small businesses and non-profit organizations through seminars and free tax preparation assistance.
 
The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Chiang was born in New York and later graduated with honors, holding a degree in Finance from the University of South Florida and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center
 
Chiang served on the California Board of Equalization from 1997 to 2006.  John Chiang and his wife Terry, reside in Torrance, CA.