John Chiang is a candidate for Governor in 2018. The Fresno County Democratic Central Committee has not endorsed any candidate in this race.
Last night, like many of you, I watched with great interest President Trump’s joint address to Congress and the nation. Once again, we heard a campaign style speech from President Trump that was long on soaring rhetoric but short on details.
I applaud the President for finally condemning a recent trend of disturbing acts of hate and intolerance in our country. Unfortunately, the rest of his speech was filled with recycled campaign promises that don’t measure up to his record. In his first 40 days in office he has governed from the hard right. He has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no discernable plan to replace it which will cause millions of Californians to lose their benefits. The President has signed divisive Executive Orders that have put Wall Street ahead of Main street, discriminated against millions, and threatened our environment.
We heard President Trump talk about the possibility of a bi-partisan compromise on immigration reform. However, he showed no interest in such compromise as he continued his push to build a “great” wall and turned up his rhetoric on undocumented immigrants. As Governor, I will support immigration reform if it has a path to citizenship and respects our undocumented population.
President Trump continued the theme of saying one thing and doing another, vowing to “promote clean air and water”. However, just hours earlier he signed an Executive Order instructing the EPA to roll back the Clean Water Rule which protects our streams and wetlands. As Californians, we cherish our environment and as Governor, I will always protect and preserve our rich natural resources.
We heard his promise to protect American families and in the same breath promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Without a plan to replace it, tens of millions of Americans will be left without coverage, including more than 7 million Californians. Coverage and access are critical to a healthy population and as Governor, I will build on the Affordable Care Act and continue to invest in health equity that creates healthy communities.
President Trump promised to create millions of new American jobs, but didn’t explain how he plans to do this. In California, we know a thing or two about job creation. Our thriving economy requires detailed strategic planning to fuel smart investment and innovation which creates jobs. As Governor, I will work to create new dynamic jobs through innovations like my Green Bonds initiative.
We heard his pledge to protect American’s retirement benefits, but he filled his cabinet full of people that have built their careers by cutting their Social Security and Medicare. As Governor, I will continue to fight to promote programs like Secure Choice which I helped architect and fight against cuts to the millions of Californians that depend on programs like this.
As a candidate for Governor, I believe it’s important to fight to protect our values, citizens’ rights, the environment, healthcare access and economic opportunity. I invite you to join my campaign to learn more about my vision for California and how we can build on our progress together.
In Solidarity,
John
