Garamendi Turns Down an Endorsement : Politics: Democratic candidate for insurance commissioner spurns tort-reform group, saying it is involved with insurers.

State Sen. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) has brusquely rejected the endorsement of the Assn. for California Tort Reform in his bid for the Democratic nomination for insurance commissioner, declaring it is involved with insurance companies and he “will have nothing to do with insurance companies in this campaign.”

Garamendi said Friday that he had earlier refused an offer of a contribution from the group. He said he had not been informed in advance that the group intended to endorse him.

He recently has come under fire both from consumer advocate Ralph Nader and other candidates in the crowded Democratic field for allegedly being aligned with the industry. Eager to deny this, he has seized the opportunity to put distance between himself and the insurers.

“Tort reform is a fancy expression that is sometimes used by insurance companies to keep from paying injured victims what they deserve,” said Garamendi in his statement rejecting the endorsement. “The issue (in this campaign) is insurance reform.

“Insurance reform is what voters supported when they passed Proposition 103,” said the 16-year veteran of the Legislature. “If any insurance company believes they are going to be treated softly by me as insurance commissioner, all I can say to them is, ‘Brace yourself.’ ”

Frank Schubert, president of the tort-reform association, said that regardless of Garamendi’s statement the candidate will continue to have the support of his group on the Democratic side of the commissioner’s race. Schubert noted that the group is supporting, with somewhat more enthusiasm, its former vice president, Tom Skornia, for the Republican nomination.

“We’re not offended or insulted by the senator’s remarks,” Schubert said. “This is politics. But our endorsement of him is irrespective of his request or denial.”

Schubert said that while the association has about 20 insurance companies among its 1,000 members, it rejects the notion that in its call for changing the justice system to curtail lawsuits on claims against insurers, it is an insurance group. He acknowledged that the companies make financial contributions to the organization.

Another Democratic candidate, Walter Zelman, who at first had criticized Garamendi in connection with the endorsement, said Friday he thinks the senator is doing the right thing. “I’m personally glad that the tort-reform people didn’t see fit to give me their endorsement,” Zelman said.

Bill Press, another Democratic candidate, said: “It’s too late for Garamendi to reject the endorsement after the fact. The question is, why did they endorse him in the first place? The answer is, because he’s been their buddy for 16 years.”

In other developments in the insurance commissioner’s race:

* San Francisco attorney Ray Bourhis, also a Democratic candidate, released a list of profit figures for 10 of the state’s largest insurance-sellers. He said his analysis shows that seven of them paid no federal taxes on annual income ranging up to $280 million, and that several had what Bourhis termed excessive amounts of surplus reserves that should be returned to customers in the form of rate rollbacks.

* Board of Equalization chairman Conway Collis, another Democrat, said he will lead a second demonstration Monday at the Mercury Insurance Co. offices in Los Angeles. Collis maintains that the company is holding millions of dollars of reserves for potential rollbacks that it should be returning to customers now.