Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cruz30oct30" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/lo cal/la-me-cruz30oct30</a>,0,5065779.story?coll=la-home-local >>In recent years, the lieutenant governor's office under Cruz Bustamante fell $300,000 behind in office rent, and vendors exasperated by unpaid bills shut off cellphone service, stopped maintaining copy machines and threatened to cancel credit cards. Aides to Bustamante blame the lapses on the lieutenant governor's former fiscal officer, who used a state-issued credit card to make a down payment on a sports car, travel to Hawaii, buy stereo and computer equipment and rent videos, state documents show. The state has paid those costs. Bustamante is the Democratic nominee for insurance commissioner, a post with far more responsibility than he has as lieutenant governor. The commissioner oversees a $200-million annual budget, 1,340 employees and an industry that generates $115 billion in annual premiums. Wealthy Silicon Valley Republican Steve Poizner, Bustamante's opponent in the race for insurance commissioner, cites the episode as a reflection of Bustamante's handling of the lieutenant governor job. "This is a clear example of how he has been asleep at the wheel," Poizner campaign manager Tim Clark said Friday. "In an office that is not tasked with much to do, he couldn't get that right, and taxpayers had to foot the bill."<< But it is this new Campaign Ad by Cruz Bustamante that is just plain weird... <a href="http://www.joincruz.com/video1.asp" target="_blank">http://www.joincruz.com/video1 .asp</a> >>I was really Fat. I promised my family that I would lose 70 pounds. I kept that promise. I will keep this promise. I will lower your insurance rates.<< Well, with the insurance companies supporting your campaign, will that really happen???? <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=9554" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=9554</a> >>Harvey Rosenfeld backing Poizner over Bustamante Harvey Rosenfeld, the author of Proposition 103, endorsed Republican Steve Poizner in the race for Insurance Commissioner Thursday, saying Democrat Cruz Bustamante is insulting voters with his campaign. Rosenfeld said Poizner's agreement to strictly enforce Prop. 103, along with his pledge not to take insurance company money either during the campaign or while in office sealed the deal. "The contrast between the two candidates could not be more vivid," he said. "... At best he's treating the campaign as a lark and at worst he's in the pocket of the insurance industry." Bustamante accepted $150,000 from insurance companies and then decided to give the money back just before the June primary. His campaign is still in the process of returning the money. Rosenfeld also said Bustamante's campaign, which focused on his weight loss during the primary, was disrespectful to voters. "His campaign is thin on substance and fat on insurance industry contributions," Rosenfeld said. He said the whole point of making the insurance commissioner post an elected position -- which was part of Prop. 103 -- was to provide accountability to the person in the office. "Bustamante seems to just want the position to make himself highly marketable to people in the insurance industry," Rosenfeld said. Rosenfeld said he will most likely disagree with Poizner but has already had several long conversations with him on insurance issues.<< <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-cruz12oct12" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/lo cal/politics/cal/la-me-cruz12oct12</a>,0,2971244.story?coll=la-center-politics-cal >>Despite promising to return donations from insurance companies, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante has kept tens of thousands of dollars from them and accepted money from others he will oversee if he becomes state insurance commissioner. Just before the June primary election, Bustamante, facing criticism for taking insurance money, announced that he would repay such contributions, then estimated at $158,000. He has since given some of that money back and used some to reduce an old campaign debt. Meanwhile, he has accepted new donations from groups affected by an insurance commissioner's actions: companies that sell home warranty policies; attorneys and healthcare providers involved in workers' compensation cases; bail bond companies — which are regulated by the state Department of Insurance — and lawyers who represent insurance companies before the state. "The Insurance Commission has tremendous power over these industries," said Larry White, recently retired senior staff counsel in the Department of Insurance division that oversees workers' compensation. "In a lot of cases, people cannot operate without a license from the insurance commissioner." Since 2005, Bustamante, a Democrat, has collected $260,000 from entities he would oversee if he wins Nov. 7. He returned $123,000 to its insurance-related sources. He used 17 other such donations, totaling $65,950, to help pay debt from his 2003 run for governor. More than $73,000 remains for his current campaign, although Bustamante said Wednesday that he would return $16,000 identified by The Times as insurance money. In an earlier interview, Bustamante said his policy of spurning insurance-related contributions stands, though he defended his acceptance of the money from bail bond companies and workers' compensation attorneys. "If it is an insurance company, we'll send it back," Bustamante said. "We've tried to have a policy that was pretty clear. We've combed through a list a couple times and if there is more, the policy is still the policy." One company that contributed to Bustamante is the United Services Automobile Assn., which provides coverage to military personnel. The group has given him $30,000 since April 2005. He returned $11,200 and used $18,800 to help retire his gubernatorial campaign debt. Bustamante still owes $207,000 to consultants and attorneys who were involved in his run for governor in the 2003 recall. He said he saw no problem using insurance money to pay off debt: "That is not promoting me to run for insurance commissioner…. I was paying bills from 2003. I wasn't appearing on TV. I wasn't promoting myself." Regardless, "Nobody running for insurance commissioner who wants consumers' trust should take a dime from any insurance company," said Douglas Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.<<
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I cracked up the first time I saw the ad, yelled for DH to come quickly to see it the second time it came on, now I just sputter laugh when it comes on. "I was really fat" that cracked me up just typing it because it's so ridiculous. It's like something you would hear in a middle school campaign for 7th grade rep.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder So we all watch TV and already saw the ad. Why mention it here?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder In which case a candidate for California insurance commissioner really has no relevance to you.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>In which case a candidate for California insurance commissioner really has no relevance to you.<< If he weren't a hispanic politician I would agree. He might be Governor someday, so it is relevant.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "He might be Governor someday, so it is relevant." Bustamante someday a governor in California? Not a chance. he had his wondow and it slammed shut on him. He got to be Lt. Gov and stalled. Then, he ticked off his own democratic party for all eternity when he broke ranks and ran against Gray Davis during the recall. When Schwarzenegger is done, California's next governor will probably be hispanic, but he'll be named Anthony Villaraigosa.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Ahh, but some do, and if he has anything to say about it, most will eventually. And I'm not saying that's a good thing. He was speaker of the Assembly before terming out, so he has some name recognition. He has a huge ego to go along with ambitions. He wants to be governor so bad he can taste it, and if that goes well, he harbors presidential aspirations.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>When Schwarzenegger is done, California's next governor will probably be hispanic, but he'll be named Anthony Villaraigosa<< I agree that Villaraigosa is the front runner to replace Arnold. I wouldn't rule Bustamante out though. Wasn't Gray Davis the Ins. Commish at one time?
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>No one outside of LA knows who Villaraigosa is.<< Not so sure on that one. He is pretty well known in Mexico City.
Originally Posted By fkurucz Of course, the Mexican media considers LA to be theirs: "with all due respect to Uncle Sa, Los Angeles has always been our city".
Originally Posted By jonvn You know, Mexico only ran California for 25 years....and it was ignored most of that time, too.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Wasn't Gray Davis the Ins. Commish at one time?" No, maybe you're thinking of State COntroller. He's been Jerry Brown's Chief of Staff, Controller, Lt. Gov, Gov.....
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>You know, Mexico only ran California for 25 years....and it was ignored most of that time, too.<< It didn't have a DL yet
