Press Joins Race for State Insurance Post : Broadcaster Uses Populist Theme to Kick Off His Campaign

“Raising hell” and lowering rates--on that theme, Southern California broadcast personality Bill Press put his campaign for state insurance commissioner into motion this week.

He promised to try to stir a fury of new-fashioned, us-against-them liberal populism among voters. Press not only declared that good drivers everywhere in California have a legal claim on cheaper car insurance, he said the next commissioner should champion the bold idea that “health insurance is not a privilege but a basic right to be inherited at birth.”

“This job fits me. This job defines me. This job is what I’m all about,” said the longtime Democratic activist who is seeking to accomplish what has rarely been done--jumping from private life to statewide office without any intermediate steps.

Wide Support

Silver-haired and boyish-faced, Press has been building for this race for a couple of months now. His public debut took place Thursday at a Beverly Hills hotel fund-raiser, where he drew a crowd of nearly 600 at $250 a head. This included supporters from organized labor, prominent gay community leaders and an assortment of figures from the legal, medical and political worlds.

At this point, Press calls his campaign exploratory. Thus, he said, he will keep his job as political commentator on KABC television and as a talk show host on KABC radio for the immediate future.

On the air, Press has been an outspoken advocate of Proposition 103, the 1988 ballot initiative that called for lower rates and that decreed that the next insurance commissioner should be elected statewide instead of appointed by the governor. He said he will continue to speak out on the issue but avoid the “blatant conflict” of political self-promotion.

In an arms-a-flailing speech to his contributors, Press repeatedly framed his candidacy in the language of populism: The little guy motorist and his wallet against the giants of insurance and their profits.

“This job is about power to the people,” Press declared. And he sprinkled in mild profanities for punch, a “damn” here and a “hell” there and a few more earthy ones, too.

He grew so down-home in pursuit of this theme that one needed to look twice to make sure he had not switched from calfskin loafers to bull-hide cowboy boots.

“The water is never going to clear up, until you get the hogs out of the creek,” Press said about the insurance companies. This is a favorite wheeze of Texas populists, but seemed to translate well enough in Beverly Hills.

Unequivocal in Promises

The Press platform was unequivocal in promises. “Redlining? It’s going to end. No matter where you live in California, your rates are going to go down if you are a good driver. And if you are a bad driver they are going to go up.”

More than that, Press joined some of his rival candidates in pledging to extend his activist interests to the growing problems with cost and availability of health insurance. In particular, he said, gays are being redlined by AIDS-wary health insurers, and he pledged to end the practice.

Press is a one-time legislative aide who became director of the state Office of Planning and Research under former Democratic Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. Press noted that he was active in past grass-roots movements in California, including a successful ballot proposition for coastline protection and a failed effort to increase taxes on oil companies.

‘Bring ‘em On’

Knowing something of the power of major industries, Press declared, “I’m ready for big insurance. Bring ‘em on!”

Since 1980, Press has been a featured commentator on KABC television news. This fall, he became a regular on KABC radio. Last Monday, he debuted a new one-hour, point-counterpoint public affairs show. Press said he will not resign from his positions until he decides for certain to stick with the race. He has until March at the latest to file candidacy papers.

In 1988, Press tried to mount a campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, but dropped out.

His supporters at Thursday’s fund-raising dinner suggested that Press will do better this time because there is neither a dominant figure in the race nor an elected incumbent. Moreover, his backers said this is the kind of office that lends itself naturally to the kind of populist campaigning that Press is comfortable with.

“In terms of the populist movement, he is it,” said Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who introduced Press to the crowd. Other political supporters who attended or sent notices of endorsement were Los Angeles Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal Allard (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae).

Press was endorsed by United Teachers Los Angeles and the California Federation of Teachers. Other unions, from the Iron Workers to the National Assn. of Letter Carriers, provided support.

In addition to Press, two other notable Democrats have entered the race. State Board of Equalization member Conway Collis is the candidate favored by the main author of Proposition 103, Harvey Rosenfield. Walter Zelman has taken a leave from his job as director of Common Cause California to test his chances.