contractors’ payments to tax refunds. Chiang claimed that he had "both constitutional and statutory authority" to continue payments and that Schwarzenegger was trying to make Chiang "do something that's improper and illegal". He received support from the Democratic leadership in the state Senate and Assembly. When Schwarzenegger issued a formal executive order, Chiang sent a formal letter to Schwarzenegger "reiterating his position". At a rally of state workers in Los Angeles, Chiang called them "innocent victims of a political struggle". Bureau of State Audits review In a report issued in May 2014, California's Bureau of State Audits (BSA) concluded that ""The number and magnitude of errors we found indicate the Controller’s Office lacks a sufficient review process to prevent and detect significant errors." A Sacramento news station added up the mistakes, calculating that BSA had reported $31.65 billion in errors. The controller’s office concurred with the BSA assessment, saying that the problems were due to high staff turnover, challenges in recruiting qualified staff, budget cuts, inadequate funding, and late, erroneous data from numerous state agencies. California State Treasurer (2015–2019) Chiang was elected California State Treasurer in 2014, defeating Republican businessman Greg Conlon by more than 1.2 million votes, 58.8% to 41.2%. He was sworn into office on January 4, 2015, succeeding term-limited Democratic incumbent Bill Lockyer. Chiang did not run for reelection in 2018. Wells Fargo Chiang imposed a 12-month ban from investment work on Wells Fargo in September 2016, barring the bank from underwriting California's state debt for a year. This was in response to the federal report announcing that Wells Fargo employees had opened up to 2 million unauthorized accounts in an attempt to raise Wells Fargo profits. However, just 8 months later, Wells Fargo won a competitive bid to sell $636 million of general obligations in California. This is due to a state law that requires Chiang to accept only the lowest bid at an auction. A spokesman for Chiang said they "were pleased with the price," and "it does not reflect our feelings about their behavior toward their customers." 2018 gubernatorial bid On May 17, 2016, Chiang announced his intentions to run for Governor of California in 2018. In polls conducted in January and February 2018 he only garnered 11% support. He was eliminated in the jungle primary when he placed 5th with only 655,920 votes (9.4%). Personal life Chiang has two younger brothers, Roger and