The candidate

Larry Cafiero, 48, currently serves as a county council member for the Green Party of Santa Cruz County, California, as well as the Liaison to the Secretary of State's office for the Green Party of California.

"Many people ask how regulating the insurance industry is a 'green' issue, and my reply is that there are many consumer and health care issues tied to the industry that are being ignored by the major parties," Cafiero said. "For this reason, having a Green candidate is imperative to advocate for these consumer and health care issues in a race where the major-party candidates would virtually ignore them."

For nearly three decades, Cafiero has served in the media in various capacities, including print and broadcast venues. He currently works as a newspaper editor. He is married to Japanese peace activist Kyoko Kawashima (who organizes the Children of the Gulf War Project), and they have an 8-year-old daughter, Mirano.

Click here for an extended bio.

Media inquiries can be made here.

'Insurance reform? That's not a Green issue.'

Insurance reform is a Green issue. Here's why:

Issue: The so-called 'reform' of workers' compensation is an unparalleled disaster. Let's reform the so-called 'reform' -- and quickly.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's so-called 'reforms' are the laughingstock of the nation -- unless you happen to be an injured worker: Click here to see how this campaign will address how to reverse the nightmare injured workers now face, passed overwhelmingly by a Democrat-led legislature and signed by our Republican governor.

[Got a workers' comp horror story? Let the campaign know here.]

Issue: Bringing health care programs to the state that the people deserve; or, more appropriately, providing health care as if people -- not profits -- matter.

Despite the governor's ill-intentioned veto, single-payer health care is still on the horizon: Click here to see how this campaign continues to stand with Health Care for All and state Sen. Sheila Kuehl in support of the recently vetoed Senate Bill 840 as a first -- and giant -- step toward universal health care, and in support of this bill when it's introduced in the legislature in 2007. Also, we outline how a Green Insurance Commissioner -- unfettered by corporate contributions -- would facilitate the implementation of universal health care.

Issue: Who advocates for consumers in insurance matters?

The Insurance Commissioner should be your advocate in Sacramento, but history has proved otherwise: Click here to see how this campaign will run the Insurance Commissioner's office the way it's supposed to be run: as an advocate for the people, not as a 'rubber stamp' for the insurance industry.

Issue: Should insurance companies pay for 'alternative therapies,' including time-tested therapies like acupuncture, and relief from chemotherapy and other ailments with doctor-prescribed medical marijuana?

The only answer to this question is an unequivocal 'Yes': Many so-called "alternative therapies" -- acupuncture is a perfect example -- have been developed and perfected for thousands of years. Yet insurance companies turn a blind eye to these therapies while pouring billions into drugging those recovering from injury or illness. Click here to see how this campaign will fight for the rights of those who are prescribed these time-tested treatments and those caregivers who assist them. For a position statement on medical marijuana, click here.

Issue: No uninsured motorists in California. How? Liability insurance that you pay at the gas pump.

All drivers in California are insured: Click here to see how this program would insure all drivers in California, providing them with liability insurance paid for at the gas pump. Before this happens, though, this campaign also addresses the issue of public financing for auto insurance currently in effect in some counties and takes a look at no-fault insurance.

Issue: Flipping a COIN

Expanding the scope of the California Organized Investment Network (COIN): Click here to see how this campaign will develop COIN to be more than just a fund for low-income housing, to include economic development in depressed areas.

Got issues?

The preceding list outlines the main issues, but it's not a complete list: Led by the Green Party's 10 Key Values, the Greens and Larry Cafiero have a variety of other issues dealing with insurance matters. Do you have an issue you'd like addressed? E-mail the candidate here.