October 24, 2003 - Insurance Journal: California Insurance Commissioner and RPCV John Garamendi Meets with Gov.-Elect Schwarzenegger

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Headlines: Peace Corps Headlines - 2003: October 2003 Peace Corps Headlines: October 24, 2003 - Insurance Journal: California Insurance Commissioner and RPCV John Garamendi Meets with Gov.-Elect Schwarzenegger

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-165-54.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.165.54) on Friday, October 24, 2003 - 10:55 am: Edit Post

California Insurance Commissioner and RPCV John Garamendi Meets with Gov.-Elect Schwarzenegger





Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites), left, talks with reporters after meeting with Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, right, in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 23, 2003. Workers compensation reform were among the items Schwarzenegger and Garamendi said they discussed it during their meeting.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)


Read and comment on this story from the Insurance Journal on Calif. Commissioner and RPCV John Garamendi meeting with Gov.-Elect Schwarzenegger. Garamendi's wife, Patricia, served five years in Washington DC as Assistant Deputy Director of the Peace Corps. She worked there with Sargent Shriver, the father of Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver.

John Garamendi was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. Garamendi had been a candidate for governor in the recall election as a democrat but announced he would drop his bid for governor Saturday, Aug. 9, 2003, hours before the deadline to file his candidacy papers. Read the story at:


Calif. Commissioner Meets with Gov.-Elect Schwarzenegger*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Calif. Commissioner Meets with Gov.-Elect Schwarzenegger

October 24, 2003

Focusing the spotlight on solutions to California's economic problems, State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi urged Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to convene a special session of the legislature on workers' compensation when he takes office in November.

Garamendi met with Schwarzenegger Thursday afternoon at the Department of Insurance, where the two discussed various issues, chief among them workers' compensation. The Commissioner also proposed holding a Summit on Workers' Compensation to seek more expert input on the serious problems plaguing the $29 billion system.

Garamendi has worked since taking office in January to reform the system. His efforts helped inspire and push through legislation that will save an estimated $4 billion to $6 billion annually.

"Our economy cannot recover unless more jobs are created to stimulate the state's revenue stream," Garamendi said. "Businesses cannot create jobs when they are burdened with the enormous weight of this dysfunctional system. The Governor-elect and I are in very close agreement on that, and we also have similar ideas on how to deal with the problems of workers' compensation."

Garamendi recently launched the second stage of his workers' compensation reform effort. During this phase he will direct the Department to tackle the highly subjective and unfair permanent disability rating system; reinvigorate efforts to combat fraud; work to institute 24-hour care as a health care substitute for multiple coverages already provided by employers; and work to reform the State Compensation Insurance Fund, which has experienced overwhelming growth in recent years due to the collapse of more than two-dozen workers' compensation carriers.

During this first meeting between the two state leaders, Garamendi briefed Schwarzenegger on the role of the Department as a consumer protection agency and regulator of the state's $87 billion insurance industry. The two also discussed their families. Garamendi's wife, Patricia, served five years in Washington DC as Assistant Deputy Director of the Peace Corps. She worked there with Sargent Shriver, the father of Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver.

"We have something in common, and we share a common interest, which is rekindling this state's economic fire," said Garamendi. "Jobs are the key to a turnaround for California. I look forward to leading the drive for jobs with Governor-elect Schwarzenegger."



August 9, 2003 - Ethiopia RPCV and State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi drops out of California Governor's race





Caption: California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, a former Democratic state senator, answers questions from reporters in Sacramento, Calif., after he announced he would drop his bid for governor Saturday, Aug. 9, 2003, hours before the deadline to file his candidacy papers in the October recall election. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)


Read and comment on this story from Yahoo News on August 9, 2003 that Ethiopia RPCV and California State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Saturday reversed his decision to run for governor in the recall election, but denied that he felt pressured out by fellow Democrats worried about losing the governor's office at:

Democrat Denies Pressure in Calif. Recall*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Democrat Denies Pressure in Calif. Recall
Sat Aug 9, 9:25 PM ET

By JENNIFER COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Saturday reversed his decision to run for governor in the recall election, but denied that he felt pressured out by fellow Democrats worried about losing the governor's office.

AP Photo

"I know firsthand that this recall election has become a circus," Garamendi told reporters. "I have concluded I will not engage in this election as a candidate."

His decision left Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante as the sole high-level Democrat remaining in the race to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites), if the recall vote is successful.

Some Democrats, fearful that a split vote could cost them the governor's office, had urged one of the Democratic candidates to pull out.

Garamendi said Friday that some Democrats had urged him to drop out, but said Saturday that he hadn't felt pressured and made his decision after talking to voters in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"I hear the concerns of Californians that the Golden State is tarnished," he said. "I share that concern."

The Central Valley rancher has a long career in public service, including stints as state Senate majority leader and President Clinton (news - web sites)'s Interior Department negotiator to resolve California's water wars between farmers, cities and environmentalists.

He said he'll devote his time now to fight the recall effort and to accomplish his goals as insurance commissioner, the job he was elected to in November.

Bustamante said Garamendi's decision was a "very gracious act of sacrifice" that would help his "just-in-case" candidacy.

"The Democratic Party is united around the slogan that I introduced Thursday morning, no on recall, yes on Bustamante," Bustamante said. "For the next 59 days I will work as hard as I can on both parts of that campaign slogan."

He said Garamendi called him Saturday and asked if he planned to drop out. When Bustamante said he was staying in, Garamendi gave no indication he was considering pulling out of the race.

Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, called Garamendi's withdrawal "a selfless act."

"Today John deferred his dreams for the sake of a principle," Pulaski said in a statement. "Today he made a personal sacrifice in order to protect the state from a takeover by those who seek to dismantle everything he has worked for during his years of public service."




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10/23/03

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