Councilman Enters Race for Insurance Post

Huntington Beach City Councilman Wes Bannister became the first Republican candidate to file declaration of intent papers in the race for state insurance commissioner Tuesday, pledging to enforce Proposition 103 and work to bring no-fault auto insurance to the state.

Bannister, who runs an insurance firm in Orange County, called for reforms in medical and earthquake insurance to make coverage more affordable. He also attacked Democrats for “killing” legislation that would help provide basic low-cost auto insurance policies.

“It’s time for insurance companies and consumer groups to sit down and work out a realistic solution to the auto insurance crisis,” Bannister said at a Santa Ana press conference, where four of Orange County’s five supervisors endorsed his bid for commissioner.

Bannister said no-fault auto insurance has brought rates down in other states and that making similar coverage available in California would allow insurance companies to offer basic $300-a-year coverage to drivers who presently can’t afford insurance.

Five Democrats--television commentator Bill Press, Alhambra Mayor Michael Blanco, State Board of Equalization Chairman Conway Collis, San Francisco attorney Ray Bourhis and former Common Cause Director Walter Zelman--are also planning bids for the job.

Of the $39,000 in campaign funds Bannister has already raised, $1,000 was contributed by an insurance company and between $4,000 and $5,000 was contributed by individual insurance agents, he said.

The 53-year-old Huntington Beach resident is the only candidate so far to accept contributions from insurance companies. Bannister estimated he will need to raise a total of between $2 million to $3 million for the campaign.

While he voted against the consumer activist-backed Proposition 103, Bannister said he would implement the rate rollbacks called for under the initiative, saying it “should have been done at the beginning.”

Bannister said his stand on the rate rollbacks demonstrates that he would be an independent commissioner--not the tool of the insurance industry. In fact, he said that his knowledge of the insurance industry will be an asset in the campaign.