Since California’s Insurance Commissioner became an elected office in 1991, only three people have served in this position. Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi who served in this capacity at two separate times, Chuck Quackenbush and Steve Poizner who is hoping to become California’s next Governor in 2010. The Commissioner oversees the Department of Insurance which has authority over how the insurance industry conducts business within California. It regulates auto and homeowner's insurance rates, and enforces laws relating to life, health and other insurance as well. The agency licenses and regulates the rates and practices of insurance companies, agents, and brokers in California. Currently the Department licenses over 1,500 insurance companies and more than 340,000 agents and brokers.

To date, two Democratic Assembly members have declared their intent to run for this seat next year – Hector De La Torre and Dave Jones. Both members have spent quite a bit of time creating a portfolio of bills intending to strengthen their credentials for the job in light of their opponent’s own experience. This jockeying will continue on through this year and next as we move closer to the election. On the Republican side, it seems that this race has not generated a lot of interest and just recently a candidate came forward to claim the mantle of representing the party on this down ticket race, Assembly member Mike Villines. Below is a brief overview of the three candidates currently running for the office:

Hector De La Torre (D-50 AD, South Gate) was tagged early on as a rising star in the Assembly, earning the coveted job of Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee which doles out office space, vehicles and staffing along with running the operations of the Assembly and referring bills to policy committees. Mr. De La Torre partnered with the CSU in the hopes of expanding the Cal Grant program and providing funds to students who are most in need.

Prior to his coming to Sacramento, Mr. De La Torre served on the South Gate City Council and served as the City’s Mayor for two years. He ran in 2002 for Congress but lost in the primary to Linda Sanchez. When Speaker Fabian Nunez came to the end of his tenure in office he announced that he would leave office and start the process of electing the next Speaker. During that campaign, Mr. De La Torre was one of the leading candidates to become Speaker, but ultimately came short on his goal, and lost the Chairmanship of the Rules Committee in the process.

The newly elected Speaker, Karen Bass appointed Mr. De La Torre to serve as the Chair of the newly created Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, which will carefully examine state agencies and expenditures looking for avenues to save taxpayer money and to ensure that state programs are being administered in efficient and effective ways. He is campaigning as the candidate that will stand up for consumers and touts a number of his bills to protect consumers from insurance companies. Mr. De La Torre majored in Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles and attended graduate school at The George Washington University.

Dave Jones (D-9 AD, Sacramento) shortly after winning his third and last term in the Assembly, Mr. Jones announced his next political goal to become Insurance Commissioner. Coming from Sacramento’s City Council and being nested with the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Darrell Steinberg, Mr. Jones opted to look beyond the legislature and look at one of the open down ticket statewide races that fit his credentials and experience. Mr. Jones is the former Chair of the Assembly’s Judiciary and the current Chair of the Health Committee. He is a graduate of DePauw University, Harvard Law School and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Prior to his election to City Council, he served as a senior advisor to United States Attorney General Janet Reno. He is campaigning as the candidate who will serve as the “Consumers Champion,” a title he received from the Consumer Federation of California.

Mike Villines (R-29 AD, Fresno) shot to the top of his caucus after arriving in Sacramento, becoming the Assembly Republican leader in November 2006. Mr. Villines started out in politics as an aide for Governor Pete Wilson and eventually served as the Chief of Staff to State Senator Chuck Poochigian. A very popular leader during his tenure he recently faced serious criticism from his party and members of his caucus over the budget deal he reached in February, which included a temporary tax increase. While he chose to resign from his leadership post, he is walking into a primary that may not include any other contenders. To date, he is the only Republican candidate to state an interest in this race. While he has only recently announced his campaign, he has invested heavily in slate mailers hoping to lock up the primary nomination very early on. Mr. Villines is a proud graduate of California State University, Fresno.