Two-term State Controller John Chiang was elected State Treasurer in 2014, succeeding Bill Lockyer, who was termed out of office.

Chiang graduated with a degree in finance from the University of South Florida, and earned a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. In 1987, he started his career working for the Internal Revenue Service in Los Angeles. He went on to serve as an attorney for the controller's office under Governor Gray Davis, and as a staffer for various campaigns and politicians, including Senator Barbara Boxer. Chiang became an acting member of the Board of Equalization when his boss, Brad Sherman, was elected to Congress. He eventually won a seat on the board in 1998, and served two terms.

Chiang was first elected controller in 2006. Although the job is principally processing government payments and monitoring cash flow, Chiang , the son of immigrants from Taiwan, is better known for freezing lawmakers’ pay until they passed a budget and preventing the governor from slashing the pay of state employees during the process.

He focused on returning more unclaimed property to owners, reforming state pensions and increasing government transparency and accountability during his time in office. In successive budget negotiations, Chiang clashed with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger by refusing to reduce state employees' pay. He won re-election by defeating Republican Tony Strickland in 2010 and the next year, Chiang stopped paychecks to legislators until they produced a budget Governor Jerry Brown was willing to sign.

Chiang and his campaigns have given contributions to several Democratic groups and candidates from California, including Sherman and Boxer. He receives strong union support.

John Chiang Biography (State controller’s website)

Controller's Unlikely Turn in the Spotlight (by Shane Goldmacher and Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times)

Controller John Chiang – The Union Tool (by Jon Fleischman, FlashReport)

John Chiang Is a Nerd (That's a Good Thing) (by Brian Leubitz, Calitics)

Dozens of Politicians Already Looking to 2014 (by Chase Davis, California Watch)