George Runner today issued the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State address:

“I agree with the Governor that we must do more to spur job creation and investment in our state. Unfortunately, by pushing higher taxes, the Governor sends the entirely wrong message. We don’t need higher taxes, we need more private sector jobs.

“Despite some modest job growth, more than two million Californians remain unemployed. Rather than drive more job creators and wage earners away from our state, we should be doing everything in our power to help them stay here and succeed.

“When Californians have jobs, the state always has plenty of revenue. The Governor should be campaigning for jobs, not higher taxes.”

Elected in November 2010, George Runner represents more than nine million Californians as a member of the State Board of Equalization. For more information, visit www.boe.ca.gov/Runner.