Latino No-Fault Advocate Joins Insurance Commissioner Race

The race for state insurance commissioner got its first Latino candidate and its first Democratic advocate of no-fault auto insurance Tuesday when Michael Blanco, a city councilman and former mayor of Alhambra, said he will run for the post.

Blanco, 40, said he will make a formal announcement Saturday and detail his views at a news conference about a week later. As the only one of five prospective candidates for the Democratic nomination to adopt a pro-no-fault stand, Blanco hopes to find adequate funding to mount a strong race, his campaign consultant said.

“He believes this system is a great opportunity for real rate reduction in California,” said the consultant, Steve Ballreich. “It makes sense, it’s real, there are a lot of things to say for it.”

No-fault insurance--a system under which a driver who has an accident is compensated by his own insurer regardless of who is at fault--is strongly opposed by the California Trial Lawyers Assn. Members of the group have been making large financial contributions to support the commissioner candidacy of television commentator Bill Press, a Democrat who has vowed to oppose no-fault insurance.

Two other Democratic candidates, State Board of Equalization member Conway Collis and San Francisco trial attorney Ray Bourhis, also oppose it. The other Democrat currently in the race, former Common Cause Director Walter Zelman, has said he might eventually support no-fault, but has not committed to it.

Blanco, who is an attorney but not a trial lawyer, has compiled an eight-year record as an Alhambra city official notable for independence and support for controlled growth. He was the first Latino elected to the City Council since Alhambra was incorporated in 1903 and was also the city’s first Latino mayor. On Thursday, he is to be installed as president of the San Gabriel Valley Assn. of Cities.

He has frequently demonstrated a commitment to civil liberties.