Cruz Bustamante

Arnold and I had uncomfortable Christmases. I got bronchitis. He got a broken leg. And what was the deal with Cruz Bustamante? Sacramento seemed in really dire straits, if you believed one radio station's mention of the lieutenant governor in its report on Schwarzenegger's operation. The station said: "While under anesthesia, Cruz Bustamante served as governor." Actually, it's not a bad idea; elected officials would undoubtedly cause less mischief if they served while under anesthesia.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that prominent public officials of Mexican heritage, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, have recently received racially motivated death threats. At a news conference in the Capitol, Schwarzenegger said he had asked district attorneys throughout the state to take extra precautions against hate-based crimes. Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante have both "received disturbing and hateful death threats," the governor said.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is hoping his considerable girth will give his campaign for state insurance commissioner a little weight. His recipe for winning: Shed pounds by racing around California collecting multicolored bibs in community 5Ks and post the results online. "I want to become an example to others to lead healthier lives by losing weight myself," Bustamante exhorted in his campaign statement in the information guide sent to voters for the June 6 primary.

Last time I gave him any consideration, I wondered if an all points bulletin had been issued for Cruz Bustamante, who as far as I could tell had been missing in action since laying an egg as a candidate for governor. Turns out he was in public office the whole time, bellied up to the trough as lieutenant governor. Who knew?

In next week's primary, voters can choose between two Democrats for insurance commissioner, a regulatory office charged with policing the state's $119-billion insurance industry and signing off on rate changes proposed by carriers. Lt. Gov.

Breaking election news: There's been a startling development in Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's run for state insurance commissioner. My stern lecture to him about the sad state of California politics and his shameless fundraising, as reported in Wednesday's column, has led to an epiphany on his part. Or so he tells me. But I'm going to hold on to the news until the end of this column for the sake of an upbeat ending. You'll be grateful, too, because what comes first is grim indeed.

The two candidates vying in a low-decibel race to be elected California's top insurance regulator couldn't have more different qualifications for the job. One has worked for government all his adult life. The other has spent all but two years in the private sector. But each claims his experience gives him the talents and tools to protect consumers and bolster the state's business climate. They are Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, and Silicon Valley businessman Steve Poizner, a Republican.

For the first time, prominent consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield is backing a Republican in the race for state insurance commissioner -- a move that may change the odds in the race. Rosenfield, the author of 1988's landmark Proposition 103 auto insurance initiative, has always been considered a Democratic ally. But the party's candidate in the Nov. 7 election is Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, whom Rosenfield has criticized for trying to water down Proposition 103 while in the state Assembly.

Despite promising to return donations from insurance companies, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante has kept tens of thousands of dollars from them and accepted money from others he will oversee if he becomes state insurance commissioner. Just before the June primary election, Bustamante, facing criticism for taking insurance money, announced that he would repay such contributions, then estimated at $158,000. He has since given some of that money back and used some to reduce an old campaign debt.

The two major candidates running to be California's top insurance regulator each promise to be tough on insurance companies. What's more, Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Republican Steve Poizner, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, say they don't want any campaign contributions from the industry they hope to oversee. Poizner, who has put millions of dollars of his own money into the campaign, refused to take contributions from insurers.