An independent regulator
As elected insurance commissioner a decade ago, Republican Steve Poizner was unsuccessful in his attempts to persuade the Democrat-controlled Legislature to make it a nonpartisan office. He believed the job as regulator required a commitment to independence and integrity that transcended any party loyalties — and to an impressive degree, that is how he performed his duties during his four years in office.
Now the entrepreneur-turnedpolitician is back in pursuit of his old job, having shed his party affiliation. Poizner is making a bid to become the first independent — or “no party preference,” as it’s listed on the ballot — to be elected to a statewide office.
A cynic might question whether the switch was strategic: After all, no Republican has won a statewide office since Poizner was elected and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-elected in 2006. Today, only 1 in 4 California voters is registered as a Republican.
But Poizner makes a persuasive case that he wants to return to the office, and there is no dispute about either his knowledge of the issues or his effectiveness when he was in the post. His tenure oversaw the arrests of more than 3,000 people for insurance fraud and savings of almost $2 billion in lower insurance rates for drivers and homeowners. His streamlining of the department’s bureaucracy resulted in a 13 percent budget reduction, saving $17 million, without staff layoffs.
If returned to office, Poizner said one of his top priorities will be to assure that coverage is aligned with the evolving risks of wildfire, flood and other effects of climate change.
He also looks forward to enforcing regulations that he initiated years ago to require that insurers who sell “full replacement policies” are truly prepared to cover all such costs associated with a loss. The industry had challenged that regulation in courts, and the state Supreme Court last year ultimately upheld the insurance commissioner’s authority on the matter.
“I now want to fully implement the policy,” Poizner said.
Any assessment of Poizner’s public life cannot ignore his ugly immigrant-bashing in his 2010 campaign for governor, when he tried to run to the right of Meg Whitman in a Republican primary. He opposed sanctuary cities, called for a cutoff of public assistance to “illegal aliens” and supported Arizona’s controversial “show me your papers” law.
Poizner is effusively contrite when challenged about that dark chapter in what seemed to have been a personality and policy transplant from the centrist, consensus-seeking Republican of his earlier campaigns for the state Assembly and insurance commissioner.
“I would never, ever again be a politician with a divisive tone,” he said.
One of the Democrats in the race, state Sen. Ricardo Lara of Los Angeles County, strikes many of the same policy themes as Poizner: prepare for climate change, hold insurers accountable for rates and claims and significantly boost consumer education to make sure they are sufficiently protected. The difference is that Poizner has an established track record.
The other Democrat, Dr. Asif Mahmood, is one of the more intriguing candidates we met this primary season. “I’m a physician, not a politician,” he said. Raised in rural Pakistan, Mahmood views his candidacy as a way to giving back to a state where he has prospered the past two decades. “If I don’t run, I have a better life,” he said. Mahmood certainly has a wealth of ideas, especially about the need for single-payer health care, but no political experience to suggest how he might perform in the rough and tumble of Sacramento.
No Republican is listed on the ballot.
In electing Poizner, Californians would not only get an insurance commissioner who shows he can navigate this critical position, they would be sending a message to Republicans and Democrats alike that this does not need to be a oneparty state. Vote on the merits, not the party label. Poizner is our choice in the June 5 primary.