California Insurance Commissioner Candidate Forum скачать в хорошем качестве

California Insurance Commissioner Candidate Forum

The California Department of Insurance regulates the insurance industry, with consumer protection as its core tenet. The insurance commissioner heads the Department of Insurance, managing more than 1,400 employees and overseeing 1,600 insurance companies. In March 2025, for the first time in California history, the California insurance commissioner approved emergency, interim rate hikes designed to stabilize State Farm after immense financial strain from the LA wildfires. These hikes averaged 17 percent for homeowners, 15 percent for renters/condos, and up to 38 percent for rental dwellings. Experts say that the next insurance commissioner will inherit a growing crisis in which nearly all the proposed solutions are likely to cost consumers. This public forum will provide voters with an opportunity to hear directly from candidates for insurance commissioner on key issues affecting Californians, including consumer protection, climate risk, insurance affordability, and regulatory oversight. Note: Candidates representing all parties were invited to the forum. About the Speakers California State Senator Ben Allen represents the 24th Senate District covering the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of LA County. Ben was first elected in 2014 and is now serving his third term in the State Senate. Ben has thrown himself into the important work of state government, focusing on wise decision-making and pushing for reforms that address systemic inadequacies in our state. He has authored nearly 60 new laws in various areas, from environmental protection to electoral reform. To learn more go to benallenca.com A native of Gardena, California, Steven Bradford is driven by a deep-rooted commitment to community service and social justice. Raised by a mother who worked as a nurse and a father who owned a small business, Bradford learned early on the values of compassion, advocacy, and equity. He has dedicated his career to championing the rights of marginalized communities and advocating for a more inclusive society. His relentless advocacy spans various sectors, from government and businesses to education and housing, with a singular focus on empowering Californians to achieve the California Dream. As a San Francisco supervisor from 2011 to 2019, Jane Kim represented a district encompassing both the city’s lowest-income residents and its wealthiest ZIP code. She fought for groundbreaking initiatives, including making San Francisco the only city in the nation to provide tuition-free Community College for all residents, enacting the nation’s strongest minimum wage law, and establishing a medical respite shelter for aging and sick homeless residents. A longtime champion for affordable housing, Jane crafted the nation’s most robust tenant-protection ordinance to prevent unjust evictions. Over the last four years, Jane Kim served as the California director for the Working Families Party, where she recruited and trained the next generation of leaders ready to fight for working families. Lalo Vargas is an environmental science teacher in Los Angeles, a former volunteer EMT/Firefighter, a tenant organizer, and a proud member of his union, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). He is running on the Vote Socialist CA slate of the Peace and Freedom Party. Patrick Wolff is a financial analyst, father, and life-long Democrat with years of insurance experience. Early in his career, he spent four years building a home and auto insurance brokerage for a major bank. He has spent the last 20 years as a financial analyst, analyzing and investing in companies and markets, including insurance companies. Patrick has been very involved in state and local politics over the past ten years. He sits on the board of the Westside Family Democratic Club and is on the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee for SFUSD. Now, he is running for California Insurance Commissioner to bring fairness, transparency, and reform to our broken insurance system. Moderator Nancy Tung was elected as chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party in April 2024. She previously served as an elected member of the party's local leadership for four years. She deeply understands the impact the Democratic Party has on our local elections and is guiding a new caucus of moderate Democrats in the party. Nancy's core issues are public safety, improving public schools, increasing the housing stock, and supporting small businesses. Outside of politics, Nancy is a career prosecutor, having served at the state and local level for 24 years. Notes See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. This program made possible by the support of: San Francisco Democratic Party Speaker photos courtesy the speakers. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.