The role of the Lieutenant Governor

In addition to serving as Acting Governor in the absence of the Governor, and as President of the California State Senate, the Lieutenant Governor chairs the Commission for Economic Development, which is responsible for providing support and guidance to the Governor, Legislature and private sector to foster economic development. The Commission promotes a financially and environmentally sustainable growth economy that stimulates private investment, develops the domestic workforce, generates more high value jobs and diversifies public revenue.

The Lieutenant Governor is a voting member of:

• The UC Board of Regents – The governing board of the University of California
• CSU Board of Trustees – The governing board of the California State University
• The State Lands Commission – Provides stewardship of the lands, waterways, and other natural resources. The Lieutenant Governor also usually chairs this three-member commission.

The Lieutenant Governor also is a member of:

• Ocean Protection Council – Ensures that California maintains a healthy, resilient, and productive ocean and coastal ecosystems.
• The California Emergency Council – The official advisory body to the Governor of California in times of emergency and on matters pertaining to emergency preparedness.

As California’s first female Lieutenant Governor, Janice will focus on the “Four E’s”

Economy & Jobs

As a local leader, Janice has balanced multi-billion dollar budgets, cut wasteful spending and created thousands of new jobs.

Janice knows that we need to revitalize California’s economy by cutting red tape, providing tax cuts for small businesses to create new good-paying jobs, expanding job training and retraining programs for workers, and rebuilding California’s infrastructure for a 21st Century economy.

Janice has always been a loyal champion in the fight to improve the quality of life for working men and women. She is proud to have walked the picket lines with the ILWU when they were locked out of the docks in 2002.  She successfully fought to see that hotel workers along the Century Corridor near LAX received a fair living wage; implemented a system to provide quality family health care for workers at Los Angeles World Airports and has worked to get struggling, independent truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles well-paying long-term jobs.

She has stood with airport workers, grocery workers, court interpreters, nurses, and others, in the struggle for good jobs.  Janice strongly believes that there should never be a class of people termed the “working poor.” People who work hard should not be poor in California.

Education

As a former schoolteacher, Janice Hahn understands the importance of quality education.  As Lieutenant Governor, she will make fully funding K-through-12 education a top priority, which includes increasing job training and technical education opportunities, and expanding after school and mentorship programs to keep our kids safe and away from gangs and drugs.  A member of the U-C Board of Regents, she will fight tuition and fee increases at California’s universities and community colleges, and ensure every qualified student has the chance to earn a college degree.  Janice Hahn will empower local classroom teachers and schools principals, because educators, not

Sacramento politicians and state bureaucrats need to be given greater authority to improve the quality of education in our schools, colleges and universities.  In one of the first major endorsements for the 2010 election, Janice has been endorsed by the California Federation of Teachers.

Environment

As a member of the State Lands Commission, Janice will oppose any new offshore oil drilling in California’s coastal waters, and will give local government more control of revenue raised by California’s eleven publicly owned ports to mitigate the impact of port operations on residents, including reducing air pollution and keeping bays clean.

As a member of the state’s Ocean Protection Council, Janice will fight against any attempt to cut funding for programs to prevent toxic pollution from contaminating California’s drinking water, rivers, lakes, creeks, beaches, bays and coastal waters, which are critical to our health and the state’s economy.

Empowering Local Government

As a City Councilwoman herself in California’s largest city, Janice believes that we need to protect funding for vital local services, including police and fire protection, health care, and local transportation services.

That is why she strongly supports an initiative to amend the State Constitution to prohibit the State Legislature from taking or borrowing local government funds used by cities and counties to provide these vital local services.  Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who heads the largest sheriff’s department in the United States, has endorsed Janice for Lieutenant Governor.