Pro-Chiang Ad: "Trained for the Job & Ready to Serve"

In the race for State Controller, Working Californians has a new radio ad airing that compares the two candidates for this important job: 1) John Chiang -- a consensus-builder and tax-expert with a record of protecting taxpayers and working people; vs. 2) Tony Strickland, a political insider who lacks the basic training and experience to be California's top money manager.

The script and documentation are below.

"Trained for the Job, Ready to Serve"
Working Californians
60-second Radio Ad

Woman:
Woman Are your tax dollars important?

Man:
Then elect Democrat John Chiang as our State Controller.

Woman:
John Chiang is a consensus builder with proven professional finance expertise.

Man:
He’s protected taxpayers, fought waste, stood up against tobacco and oil companies, and closed corporate loopholes.

Woman:
That’s why ultra-conservative Republican Tony Strickland is attacking him.

Man:
Strickland has no professional financial experience or training to even do the basics of the State Controller’s job.

Woman:
Strickland opposes a woman’s right to choose.

Man:
And he runs an extremist PAC trying to eliminate Social Security benefits.

Woman:
Strickland was caught funneling campaign cash into his own family’s business, leading to a District Attorney’s investigation.

Man:
Fortunately, we don’t have to trust Tony Strickland with our money. We can vote for John Chiang, instead.

Woman:
Democrat John Chiang has saved taxpayers $500 million.

Man:
He’s provided free tax help to working families, small businesses, the elderly and the disabled.

Woman:
And John Chiang has an affordable plan to ensure lower prescription prices by auditing state Medi-Cal expenses.

Man:
Vote for Democrat John Chiang for State Controller. Trained for the job and ready to serve.

Woman:
Paid for by Working Californians.

CITATIONS

1. Chiang "is an expert on tax law and has good relations with state lawmakers….Chiang would be a far better choice as controller." [Sacramento Bee, 9/30/06]. "John Chiang's career as a tax attorney and accountant makes him best suited for the controller's job….Chiang's command of the tax code is unsurpassed." [Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/4/06]. Chiang "has worked in the controller's office and is an expert on tax law." [Modesto Bee, 10/12/06]. Chiang "Experience: Tax law specialist with the Internal Revenue Service; attorney for the state controller's office; member of the state Board of Equalization, 1997-present; member of the Franchise Tax Board, 2002 and 2004-present." [AP, 9/22/06]. Chiang's "numbers-crunching background, legal experience and commitment to his current job in an obscure political office make him the easy choice for state controller." [Long Beach Press-Telegram, 9/15/06]. "Chiang's experience, including two terms on the state Board of Equalization and serving as legal counsel to the controller's office, makes him a clear choice over Strickland…." [Santa Cruz Sentinel, 10/20/06]. Chiang is "fully competent in the areas of taxes, pension funds and audits, three of the controller's chief areas of responsibility." [Monterey Herald, Mon, 10/23/06]. "During his tenure on the Board of Equalization, Chiang sponsored more legislative proposals signed into law than any other Board Member." [Campaign for a National Majority, http://www.nationalmajority.org/chiang.php]
2. Chiang "fights to close unfair corporate tax loopholes and make tax policy more equitable for working families. He offers free income tax assistance to seniors and nonprofits. He worked to…end special exemptions for big oil companies. " [Publicly Available Brochure on Chiang for Controller Website]. "Some 12,000 Californians are being mailed tax forms this week asking them to pay taxes on cigarettes they may have purchased online or by mail. State tax authorities say that when consumers go online for untaxed cigarettes and other tobacco products, they incur a tax liability by purchasing and shipping the merchandise into California….'Evading the law covering cigarettes and tobacco purchases endangers millions of dollars in critical funding for public programs,' said John Chiang, chairman of the state's Board of Equalization." [City News Service, 9/26/06].
3. See Strickland for Controller Press Releases, 7/31/06, 9/5/06, 9/21/06, 10/11/06, and 10/12/06.
4. Strickland "struggles with basic questions about the job's responsibilities." [San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/19/06]. Strickland "lacks the kind of experience we would like to see in the job." [Long Beach Press-Telegram, 9/15/06]. "Strickland lacks Chiang's expertise." [Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/4/06]. Strickland's "political experience, though, is no substitute for financial training, which he lacks." [San Francisco Chronicle, 10/15/06]. "Strickland…said he would audit state agencies to make sure that neither they, nor their contractors, are providing benefits to illegal immigrants. However…he could not say where he thought that was occurring or which ones he would investigate first." [Contra Costa-Times, 10/8/06]. "Strickland seemed to have no idea [about the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's requirements for long-term funding projections]…Uh, Tony -- you're running for controller! You're supposed to know this stuff!" [Reed, Blog, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/12/06, ital. in original.]. "John Chiang is well-qualified to be the next controller; his opponent, a termed-out legislator, isn't." [Modesto Bee, 10/12/06]. "Tony Strickland is a Republican ideologue who is out of his element." [Monterey Herald, Mon, 10/23/06]. Strickland himself implies he lacks the fundamental skills for the job: "We have thousands of people who understand those books," he said in response to criticism of his inexperience. "I don't think we need another CPA." [Contra Costa Times, 10/8/06].
5. 2006 Voter Guide, California ProLife Council, http://www.californiaprolife.org/e-alert/2006/06VoterGuide.html. "'I think this race is about philosophy... (a difference between) micro and macro approach to the office,' Strickland said. 'Micro approach would be to make sure you have the right receipt and that it goes in the right column. But that makes you only a bookkeeper.'" [San Francisco Chronicle, 10/14/06].
6. "It's hard to get more partisan than Strickland, 36, who has been running a conservative nonprofit, the California Club for Growth, since he left the Assembly in 2004. [Sacramento Bee, 10/6/06]. "Strickland…is a GOP loyalist who is unlikely to appeal to anyone but his party hard-liners, particularly since he lacks any practical experience for the job." [LA Daily News, 5/26/06]. "[M]any conservative think tanks have joined Cato in supporting Social Security privatization….The Heritage Foundation…and such advocacy groups as the Club for Growth…are now in the middle of the fight." [Washington Post, 2/13/05]. See Club for Growth Website, http://www.clubforgrowth.org/about.php.
7. Strickland "committed a gross ethical lapse in accepting payments for consulting work from his wife's election committee; she took consulting money from his campaign as well." [San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/19/06]. "A Republican candidate for state controller and his legislator wife have funneled campaign money into each other's consulting firms, in effect boosting their income through political donations, campaign finance reports show….Tony Strickland and his wife, Audra, who replaced him as a member of the state Assembly, paid more than $138,000 raised by their supporters to businesses owned by them and a staffer living in their Moorpark home. An additional $20,000 in campaign money was deposited into a nonprofit organization run by Tony Strickland [California Club for Growth]…. The district attorney's office review was set in motion by a citizen complaint….Ventura County Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeffrey G. Bennett…would not comment on Tony Strickland's assertion that prosecutors are no longer investigating the couple's campaign finances…. In June 2005, Audra Strickland's Assembly campaign fund paid $15,000 to a public relations firm owned by her husband. Campaign reports said the sum was for 'consulting.' Four days later, Tony Strickland put $25,000 into his own race for controller. Campaign finance limits prohibit Audra Strickland's political fund from donating more than $13,200 to her husband's campaign account. She had already lent him $6,600."[Los Angeles Times, 4/13/06]. The California Republican League "urged the state's Fair Political Practices Commission to look into the transfers and called for fines against Strickland." [AP, 5/10/06]. "'How could people be so arrogant to blatantly transfer money like this?' asked Jere Robings, a Republican activist from Thousand Oaks. 'It is obvious they are trying to circumvent the law,' he said….I've never seen both spouses being paid to work on each other's campaign," said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. [LA Times, 4/13/06].
8. If elected State Controller, Strickland "would manage and audit the state's finances." [Los Angeles Times, 4/13/06]. The State Controller's office "is a powerful one that includes overseeing the state's $131 billion budget and pension funds worth more than $300 billion." [San Francisco Chronicle, 10/14/06]
9. "As the [Equalization] board's chairman, Chiang pushed last year's tax amnesty program, which raised $500 million for California." [Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/4/06], "Assembly Member Chu detailed the provisions of her comprehensive tax amnesty proposal (AB 2203, co-sponsored by State Controller Steve Westly and Board of Equalization Member John Chiang) that is expected to generate over $500 million in taxes owed by tax evaders." [Press Release, Assemblymember Judy Chu, April 12, 2004]. "Claude Parrish, Vice Chairman of the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), today announced that over $500 million in sales and use tax has been collected through the tax amnesty program." [Press Release, California State Board of Equalization, August 29, 2005].
10. Chiang's record includes "organizing workshops so small businesses, veterans and other groups could understand their tax requirements." [Sacramento Bee, 9/30/06]. "Chiang is also a taxpayer advocate. Since 1998, he has run seminars for low-income earners and nonprofit groups to help them better understand the state's tax laws and avoid costly penalties." [Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/4/06]. Chiang "routinely conducts tax seminars for businesses….[H]e is one of only two elected officials to provide free tax-return-filing help to constituents." [Sacramento Bee, 10/6/06]. Chiang "created seminars for the poor, churches and nonprofit groups so they could better understand byzantine tax laws-- and pay all their taxes, which ultimately helps the state, he said." [Contra Costa Times, 10/8/06]. Chiang "has done a good job of going after tax cheats, while also reaching out to businesses to make sure they know how to comply with the law and aren't needlessly overpaying." [Los Angeles Times, 10/26/06]. "Chiang embraced 'ReadyReturn,' a program designed to remove some of the agony of tax season by having the government complete low-income Californians' tax returns." [Los Angeles Times, 10/26/06]. "Software giant Intuit has invested $1 million in an independent committee called the Alliance for California's Tomorrow and is spending money for Strickland….. Chiang and the current office holder, Steve Westly, have supported efforts by the Franchise Tax Board to simplify the tax filing process through a process called "ReadyReturn," which helps low-income Californians quickly file their returns. Intuit sees ReadyReturn as a threat to sales of its well known tax preparation software, TurboTax. So now it is trying to prevent Chiang from becoming controller, serving on the Franchise Tax Board and cutting into its market share." [Sacramento Bee, 10/29/06].
11. Chiang "wants to…audit the state Department of Health Services to make sure the state is being properly reimbursed for drug contracts." [Sacramento Bee, 9/30/06]. "Chiang wants to use his experience to…audit the state Department of Health Services to make sure the state is being properly reimbursed for drug contracts." [Modesto Bee, 10/12/06]. "Chiang said that as controller he would audit the Department of Health Services, scrutinizing the Medi-Cal program and the money it lays out for prescription drugs." [Los Angeles Times, 9/23/06].