Quackenbush Ads Spark Complaint to Ethics Board

Television ads by Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush that say “billions of dollars” in rebates are available to California consumers were the subject of a complaint to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday.

Tony Miller, a Democrat who is weighing a race next year for either lieutenant governor or secretary of state, charged that the ads, which Republican Quackenbush said cost $1 million, constitute an improper use by the commissioner of state funds.

Although Quackenbush has said the ads are authorized as consumer outreach under the terms of settlements his Department of Insurance reached with two private firms, Miller said they amount to contributions to Quackenbush in violation of state laws limiting donations from any one source.

Miller noted that in the two 30-second ads, Quackenbush takes credit for cracking down on insurance companies that are ripping off consumers and for vigorously enforcing consumer laws. These are political messages that probably have a lot to do with the commissioner’s expected reelection campaign, Miller said.

As such, they are election-related, despite the fact that the funds are nominally “under the dominion and control of the state of California,” he contended in the complaint.

“The ads in question are unadulterated political puff pieces, subjective in nature, claiming personal credit,” he said. “These statements go to the very heart of what the statute deems to be contributions, i.e., communications touting one’s qualifications for office. Such statements belong in campaign ads paid for by candidates with their own money, not with money under the control of the state.”

Reacting to the complaint, Quackenbush spokeswoman Dana Spurrier said: “Certainly, it’s quite obvious that Tony Miller is politically motivated.

“Commissioner Quackenbush has a fiduciary duty to inform consumers about money that is owed to them. Under the Insurance Code, the commissioner is required by law to [do so]. Besides, these are settlement monies, not taxpayers’ funds. There is no taxpayer expense and no California state funds being expended in these ads.”

Under state law, the Fair Political Practices Commission has 14 days to notify Miller what, if any, action it intends to take on the complaint.