Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi announced his candidacy today for Governor in 2010, and of all the candidates being bandied about at this point, I think he is the most serious and progressive (and least scandalous.) On one of my litmus tests for Sacramento – single-payer healthcare – he has been a champion for years, and appears in my group Healthcare For All California’s video over the flip (as does Villaraigosa.) Click “read more” for that video (which you should all see if you haven’t) and Garamendi’s announcement.
(Garamendi appears in this 2006 video about SB 840, at 11:05, 12:23, and, my favorite, at 17:40.)
From today’s announcement:
Dear Friend,
I am writing to you today because I have decided to run for Governor of California and your support is essential to my success. It is in the spirit of hope and with the promise of change during these difficult times in our state and across the nation that I have made this decision. I hope you will join me.
I am a Californian. This is my home. It is my past, my present and my future. Perhaps more importantly, it is the home of our children and our children’s children; it is our solemn responsibility to be good stewards of this magnificent place.
One thing I learned growing up here is that Californians are creative, innovative hardworking men and women who care for the health of our people and our land. We have built the most diverse and rich state in the union. For generations the beauty, the opportunity and the promise of the golden state has drawn the most talented and capable people here, and we must preserve and protect this very special place – and that is why I am running for Governor.
We know that all is not well in our golden state. We must modernize our economy, stabilize our budget, reform and fully fund our education programs, establish a universal health care system, address the threat of climate change, and adapt our water and transportation systems to the reality of the new and changing environment, so that our children and future generations will enjoy a future filled with hope and opportunity, as we did.
The issues that face our state do not have simple solutions, but I am convinced that if we roll our sleeves up and work hard we will make progress. It will take more than happy talk and photo opps. It will take an experienced leader who can bring people together from all sides to develop serious solutions to our state’s most difficult problems – and I am that leader.
My goals:
1. Revive California’s economic engine:
- Restore our education system to the best in the nation so that we have the highly skilled workers and professionals needed to compete in the global marketplace,
- Advance and promote research at our universities, this will allow new ideas and innovation to fuel our economic growth,
- Redirect our transportation systems toward mass transit systems,
- Advance and promote our role in international trade,
- Unshackle the innovation of our entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
2. Create a universal health care system based on a single payer model.
3. Accelerate our efforts to reduce green house gases by transitioning from a petroleum based economy to a renewable energy based economy.
4. Adapt our critical water and infrastructure systems to the reality of our evolving world and the effects of climate change.
5. Provide care and support for those in our community who are most dependent upon us, the sick, aged, blind and disabled.
6. Protect and preserve our natural resources so they will sustain us as our population continues to grow.
7. Modernize our governmental systems to address the reality of large interconnected cities and a dysfunctional state government.
I have the vision, the experience and the fortitude to bring about the kind of significant change we need to ensure our golden state’s future and to set us on a new and sustainable path.
Throughout my career in public service, as a legislator, as Insurance Commissioner, as President Clinton’s Deputy Secretary of Interior and as Lieutenant Governor, I have successfully brought about change by bringing people together to solve our problems: from developing a universal healthcare plan in 1991, to negotiating Headwaters compact in 1998, to building the workers’ compensation “roadmap to reform,” and forcing the insurance industry to return billions of dollars to consumers, to my current efforts to protect education funding.
If we really believe in this place called California, then we must stand up and fight for it. I am prepared to lead that fight, but I can’t do it alone and that is why I am asking for your support today. A campaign is only as strong as its foundation, and you have been a part of my political foundation for a long time. If I am to be elected Governor, it will only be with your energy, strength and support.
Please join our battle to restore California’s golden dream. Fill out the attached commitment card or go to www.garamendi.org to complete it on-line. We will build success one commitment at a time. If you can, send $10 for a “Garamendi campaign foundation brick.” The brick represents your essential place at the foundation of my campaign. Our strength will grow as you add ten friends to our team, have them sign-up and send along $10 and list of ten more supporters.
Together we will restore the luster of the golden state for our children and for the future.
JOHN GARAMENDI
Lieutenant Governor
Isn’t he the one who was in charge of the multi billion dollar loss in insurance company bailouts while insurance commissioner?
Sigh. Another white Democrat gubernatorial candidate. Hard to get excited about that.
How about that Controller fellow, Chiang? He seems to have some huevos.
And are there ANY good Latino candidates? Villaraigosa is a pervy joke!
No wonder Feinstein beats all these chumps in the polls…
cook,
The answer to your question is YES.
Google: Garamendi debacle Executive Life
For the horrific details.
Art, do you have something against white Democrats? Or is it just white people in general.
Take a look in the mirror the next time you accuse someone or some group of racial prejudice.
There are rumors that Loretta Sanchez was interested…just a rumor!
Vern, What about G’s performance as insurance commissioner? Give us the perspective from the left bank of the river. I’m looking for a good governor to vote for … right now, Arnold’s the only guy I got — not a top flight governor, but at least not a straw man.
Art, what’s with this skin color test for governor? I’ll bet if we got a backside photo of you and Johnny Garamendi, side-by-side, mooning the trains through San Juan Capistrano, no one could pick the whitey from the browny. Pick a governor on character and experience. I think most of the immigrants in California came up here out of disgust for a lot of Latino politicians.
Nevertheless Art, whadyaknow ’bout Garamendi’s position on our immigrant communities, and border control?
Erick, the rumors about Sanchez are more than just rumors–she has an exploratory committee for the 2010 gov race. Unfortunately for her supporters, the other rumors about her are also true–she has a boyfriend in D.C. that ain’t quite single yet. So, I think she’ll have to lay low until she makes her long-time beau an honest man. (You can eat your cake and have it too, Loretta.)
erick,
A rumor? Well you certainly came to the right place to broadcast a rumor.
Junior and Cook,
That was Republican Chuck Quackenbush that was Insurance Commissioner when that happened not Garamendi.
I like John Garamendi. He is a down to earth guy who understands that he is a servant of the people.
He drives the capitol police crazy because he keeps the door to the Lt. Governor’s office open to anyone who wants to walk in. He is easily accessible at the state capitol.
I would have no problem casting a vote for John Garamendi.
#’s 4 and 6,
I am simply amazed that in a year that your party has an African American atop your presidential ticket, the best you can do in the most diverse state in our nation is come up with a bunch of old white retreads, such as Brown and Garamendi. And the rest of your field is either too liberal or too pervy. Very sad. Is this bunch really the best your party can come up with?
i got one sherrif joe from arizona . all the illegals would leave california .
*Go Johnny Go! The only other candidate we
would vote for before Johnny G….is Tom Selleck!
The Sacramento View:
its Feinsteins for the taking-its a free pass for her given the race is in 2010 and she is up for reelection in 2012. She will set the stage for the return to California of Jackie Speier who has gubernatorial aspirations.
With Sanchez, she raises too much dust in the air. The Christmas cards, the poses, et al, are a weight around her neck, unfortunately, and then the bruhaha in the Latino Caucus. There just isnt the kind of name recognition state wide for her that say Villaraigosa has (excluding his baggage).
There just isnt the excitement there. There is a lack of credible Latina candidates with experience and name recognition. Gloria Romero and Jenny Oropeza would be a good step forward. The long term bet is on Alex Padilla without the missteps of Nunez and Villaraigosa.
Art,
It’s not enough that you brought race into this in comment 2. You had to go and do it again in comment 11. That’s really sad dude.
The problem isn’t Garamendi’s race…it’s your racism.
One last thought:
Garamendi is a very bright and competant guy. Administratively, he has all the right credentials. BUT—-This is his THIRD run for Governor. Just low on the excitement quotient. Thats not to say that Feinstein and Brown set the world on fire: they dont. But in terms of branding with the voters, they have it and Garamendi does not
Garamendi’s biggest problem is that he seems to have problems raising the money necessary to make a run for governor. That was his major problem his last two tries.
Garamendi may not have the name recognition of Feinstein or Brown, but he’d get my vote over those two any day. But then again anyone will get my vote over Feinstein.
#15,
Sure. Try to explain that to California’s minority voters. Did you learn nothing from the overwhelming defeat of you party’s last gubernatorial candidate? No one was excited about Phil Angelides.
Contrast the poor reception Angelides received with Obama’s popularity…
At least come up with some decent female candidates. Your Secretary of State is bright and photogenic. You would be better off running her than going back to the old, dried up well that Garamendi and Brown are trying to crawl out of…
Art,
Angelides had poor name recognition and was a poor campaigner. Would you care to explain how ANY of that has anything to do with his race.
Obama is a charismatic, compelling candidate…APART from his race, not BECAUSE of it.
Dude, you need a class in race relations.
#19,
And you appear to have NO CLUE as to how to reach out to minority voters.
Look, I could care less who your party trots out there. I doubt any of your candidates will be all that compelling to me. But your party markets itself as the party of the minority – and you are seriously lacking in minority gubernatorial candidates. Your party cannot even field any female candidates, apparently. What is up with that?
At the end of the day are the Dems all that different from the Reeps? Not in this regard – at least not here in California.
Art,
So your belief is that to appeal to minorities, you have to actually BE one. That is such a racially-perverse notion that I don’t even know where to begin.
Candidates appeal to minorities based on their stances on issues that minorities find important. It’s as simple as that. A man or woman of ANY race can do that…including, potentially, John Garamendi. To discredit his potential appeal to minorities based on his race is absurd and you know it.
Art,
I do know that there is a perception that Latinos prefer Latinos in leadership positions, but I don’t know if this is really true. It does not appear to be so with the youth in Santa Ana. Although Santa Ana High School is 96% Latino, we get way more than representative numbers of non-Latinos elected into student government positions. Why? They tend to be over-represented in the advanced level classes, and our students seem to respect initiative and accomplishment more than ancestry.
I suspect this is also the basis for why highly qualified Latino candidates are under represented; the number with post graduate degrees, and the number graduating from top-level universities is low. And why this? The problem starts right here, in K-12 schools with high percentage of Latinos, too many poorly qualified teachers, most densely packed classrooms in the state… and country.
Like most government screw ups, the fraud is not found out until later.
state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi seized in 1991, ostensibly because it was insolvent ……… $4 billion to $4.5 billion they’ve arguably lost…….
Not Quackenbush.
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/13/business/fi-golden13
the quotes came from the LA Times
*We are getting the feeling that you guys think
John Garamendi is another Bill Jones. Nice enough but either a “self identified Rabbit” or
not sold out enough to be elected? Vanilla Fudge
is truly a perception here. Many people consider
Tom McClintock as Vanilla Fudge….yet we believe
he could actually be a viable candidate for the
US Senate or Congress. As Governor….maybe not..
ever! Look at Dan Lungren…he is doing a fine job in Congress. We loved Dan Lungren…but he
couldn’t ever rise about Attorney General. The same thing a lot of those Dems too. How about
Tunney? Or old baldy: Alan Cranston! The point is that some people are destined for State office and others need to go to Congress to succeed.
Sean – Executive Life Insurance was Garamendi’s debacle – Quackenbush bailed the policy holders out.
John Garamendi FAILED to protect the interests of the policyholders in the Executive Life deal, and as Dan Walters argues “were Quackenbush or another Republican involved, Democratic lawmakers…would be clamoring for audits and hearings.” Garamendi should be subject to this same scrutiny, and the Legislature needs to hold him responsible for placing the financial security of hundreds of thousands of disabled and elderly policyholders in jeopardy.
From Battin NewsNet
Gee an insurance company putting one over on its customers, investors, and regulators – thats news. Garamendi should be hung for their criminal ways. He wasnt prosecuted because he didnt committ the crimes – the Insurance Company did.
I like John and perhaps will vote for him depending on who else runs. Right now “anybody but Arnold” is my candidate