Garamendi Outlines Campaign Platform : Election: State insurance commissioner stops just shy of declaring his candidacy for governor. But he promises to work for reforms and says state is ‘on the wrong path’ under Wilson.

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi outlined a program Wednesday on which he intends to run for governor in 1994, promising to work for basic reform of state programs and to create a California “renaissance” that would make the state a model multiracial society.

Garamendi, a 48-year-old Democrat from the Sierra foothills, made a virtual declaration of candidacy during a breakfast meeting with Southern California political writers, saying California now “is on the wrong path . . . is in desperate trouble” under Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.

A formal announcement of his candidacy will come later, but Garamendi said he could not envision any circumstances under which he would not run.

Some have doubted that Garamendi would mount a full-bore campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor next June against state Treasurer Kathleen Brown, who has been running ahead of Garamendi in opinion polls and in fund raising. On June 30, Brown reported having $3.5 million cash on hand and Garamendi had $580,000.

Garamendi’s comments Wednesday appeared to be designed to convince the California political world that he is serious about running and fielding a formidable primary campaign with a projected budget of $5 million to $6 million. Skeptics said his prospects would hinge on a significant improvement in his fund raising.

Garamendi, California’s first elected insurance chief, said he would seek fundamental reform of education, health care, transportation and economic development in California if elected governor.

Speaking bluntly at times, Garamendi said Republicans have failed to enforce laws against hiring illegal immigrants because they favored “a cheap labor policy.” He described insurance companies and other special interests as “pigs at the trough” that must be put on a leaner diet.

Garamendi also announced his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement. He said the federal government should take NAFTA and “shove it,” even though Garamendi was President Clinton’s California campaign chairman and has worked closely with Clinton on health care reform. One of Clinton’s goals in the remainder of this year is to win ratification of NAFTA.

“The lumber industry in California is shipping logs to Ensenada and bringing back finished products,” he said. “How stupid do we need to be before we recognize what is happening here? The garment industry of Southern California is gone, history, probably on Day 3 of NAFTA. A lot of manufacturing in this state is going to be gone.”

Garamendi sketched a vision of a California that never forgets its “long and sordid history of discrimination and racism” as the state works to build a unique multiracial culture.

“We are mixing cultures in a way that has never ever been done before and it has enormous energy and potential,” he said.

“We literally are developing new language in California, new art and new science, and if we nurture that, and foster it, we can and will become something never seen before. It can become a renaissance . . . but it has to be nurtured.”

Garamendi had tough words for both Brown and Wilson. He implied--without actually saying--that Wilson is fanning the flames of racism with his proposals for denying health care and education to illegal immigrants and citizenship to their children born in the United States.

Asked about the sort of campaign he expects to run against Brown, Garamendi said Californians want solutions to the problems they deal with in their everyday lives and are “not interested in cotton-candy” proposals.

Again, he declined to say he was specifically labeling Brown’s ideas as “cotton candy,” adding that others could judge for themselves.

But Garamendi attempted to contrast his years as a legislator and insurance chief with Brown’s one term as treasurer and limited service on the Los Angeles school board and public works board.

“I’ve been around this business 20 years and I’ve got a record that’s probably 60,000 votes on issues,” said Garamendi, first elected to the Legislature in 1974. “Where I stand and what I intend to do is going to be perfectly clear to anybody that cares to spend a moment looking at me and my record.”

Brown’s political critics have said her unofficial candidacy has been hurt by her lack of a comprehensive program and specifics in those issues she talks about.

In response to Garamendi, Roy Behr, Brown’s campaign policy director, said: “Kathleen’s been doing her job as treasurer for which she just was named, by City and State Magazine, as most valuable public official. Maybe if John tried doing his job instead of criticizing everyone else, Californians would have their Proposition 103 (insurance) rebates by now.”

Dan Schnur, Wilson’s chief spokesman, denied some of Garamendi’s allegations by saying that California does have a transportation plan and spends more money on education than at any time in history.

“The only thing John Garamendi doesn’t like about California is that he’s not governor of it,” Schnur added. “If he were calling for some specific reforms and specific changes, we’d be happy to respond.”

Garamendi said California could create a $200-billion to $300-billion industry over the next 20 years by developing mass transportation systems for use in the state “and then market that stuff to the rest of the world.” The state lacks the plans and leadership to do it, he said.

Garamendi said the key to the immigration issue, in addition to strict border control, is enforcement of state and federal laws against hiring illegal immigrants in California. “All the other stuff is rhetoric and emotion.”

As for educating the children of illegal residents, he said: “It does us no good in our society not to educate kids that are here.”