CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: THE AD CAMPAIGN

The race: Insurance commissioner. Whose ads? Democratic candidate Bill Press.

Press has two 30-second commercials that try to make the point that he has long been a consumer champion on various issues, and, if elected commissioner, will take on the insurance companies on the consumers’ behalf.

Campaign manager Michael Ganley said the cost of these commercials will be at least $100,000. He added that these two commercials will be replaced by others before the June 5 primary.

Elements of the ads, with an analysis by Times staff writer Kenneth Reich:

Ads: Press, appearing in one of the commercials, declares that “for almost 20 years I’ve been fighting for consumers . . . fighting big oil companies to stop offshore drilling, winning against developers to protect our coastline, taking on the big insurance companies to stop redlining.” Now, he adds, “I want to be your insurance commissioner, not just to cut auto rates but to deliver basic quality health care to everybody.” The other commercial features an announcer making the same points. He adds at the end that Press is “the man the insurance companies will fear the most.” Both commercials note that Press has been officially endorsed by the California Democratic Party.

Analysis: These ads recite Press’ record correctly. As director of the state Office of Planning and Research in the Administration of Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Press was active against offshore drilling, and he was press secretary of the initiative campaign that established the California Coastal Commission. He has frequently spoken as a television commentator against insurance company redlining of minorities and others, and assisted a private political group to establish a hot line for people complaining of redlining. The phrase about delivering “basic quality health care to everybody” is a promise. The new insurance commissioner does not have the authority to establish new health insurance plans, although, of course, the commissioner could lobby for legislation or draft and campaign for an initiative on the subject. As for the contention that Press is the one the insurers “will fear the most,” he is at odds with another Democratic candidate, Conway Collis, who contends that he is the one the insurers will fear the most.