Insurance Commissioner

Your reason for endorsing Wes Bannister over John Garamendi for the first state insurance commissioner is not very convincing to me (editorial, “This Is a Pocketbook Issue for Everyone,” Oct. 18). Of course, we all know that insurance is a complex area of consumerism but do we need a technician or do we need a consumer advocate? I think we need the latter: one who will see that Prop. 103 is enforced and can take a leadership position in providing health-care insurance for all residents.

Bannister, as a Huntington Beach City Council member, has done more to represent and advocate for developers than he has for the residents, homeowners and the environment of Huntington Beach. In my mind this does not translate into a man with a philosophy of consumer advocacy. Let’s elect Garamendi as California’s first consumer insurance advocate.

PATRICIA M. McCABE, Huntington Beach