Questionnaire and answers:
Sierra Club (questions in bold)

1. Briefly describe your political and public service background.

I have been active in various peace and social justice groups for the better part of the last three decades, having worked on various electoral and issue-based campaigns. Currently I serve as the Liaison to the Secretary of State's office -- the equivalent to a state party chair -- for the Green Party of California, as well as on the county council of the Green Party of Santa Cruz County.

2. Please describe in greater detail your record in public service on environmental matters.

Since I have yet to hold public office, I don't have a "record," other than to be an advocate for a clean and safe environment since the anti-nuclear struggles of the 1970s. To go into detail of each and every action and effort would make this questionnaire the size of a book, but in short I have been active most recently in saving redwoods, water rights issues, anti-GMO issues (including fighting against current legislation to override local anti-GMO ordinances) and, still after all these years, fighting the media juggernaut that says that nuclear power is the way to go.

3. Do you see the office of Insurance Commissioner as having a role in protecting the environment?

The Insurance Commissioner should be an advocate for the environment, absolutely. How he does so may be difficult, since the direct correlation between the environment and insurance regulation is hard to connect.

   What powers of your office affect protection for the environment?

Since one of the main jobs of the Insurance Commissioner is to enforce insurance laws, it would be incumbent on him or her (in this case him, because there are no women in the race) to make sure that insurance companies live up to and pay for any damages their insured customers inflict on the environment. Rather than be a rubber stamp for the insurance industry, the Insurance Commissioner and the Department of Insurance must wield the power of the state against an army of insurance industry lobbyists and attorneys, especially when it comes to corporations violating the environment and having insurance companies pick up the tab.

4. What are the three most pressing environmental problems facing California?

1. The invasion of GMO crops and state legislation to override local ordinances prohibiting GMO crops.
2. Cleaning the air in the San Joaquin Valley
3. Returning the Klamath River to its natural state.

   As Insurance Commissioner, would you be able to address them? If yes, what would you do?

As Insurance Commissioner, I'm afraid there's not much that I can do directly to correct these environmental issues, other than to advocate for change in these areas. The Department of Insurance does not have any involvement in these issues unless and until there is a disaster that needs addressing.

5. Why are you interested in an environmental endorsement? Why should the Sierra Club endorse you for State Insurance Commissioner?

I am interested in the Sierra Club's endorsement as an environmentalist and as a Green, obviously, because we stand for the same things. I believe that the Sierra Club talks the talk, but it should also walk the walk by supporting candidates that essentially talk the same talk and walk the same walk.

6. What issues do you intend to emphasize in this election, in order of their importance to your campaign?

1. Fixing Workers' Comp "reform," which has been a disaster for injured workers. It has to go much further than the recently proposed SB815 -- we have to repeal SB899, supported in a bipartisan effort to hinder injured workers, and make true reform that benefits injured workers, not insurance companies.
2. Implementing Universal Health Care -- SB840 may pass in the legislature this year, and if it does -- and if it survives a gubernatorial veto and a plethora of legal challenges the insurance industry no doubt will throw up against it -- it will need an Insurance Commissioner unfettered by corporate campaign debts to enforce it. That Insurance Commissioner would be me.
3. Pay-at-the-pump auto liability insurance -- This plan provides that all drivers in California are insured. A surcharge at the pump is put into a fund that provides all drivers with liability insurance. You still pay for other insurances, like collision, but your liability is covered, and it removes the onus of having surcharges tacked on by insurance companies for "uninsured motorist coverage" because all drivers are covered.

I realize that these are not "environmental" issues as such, however they are important for the wellbeing of Californians.

7. Who are your major individual and group supporters?

I have the support of the Green Party of California as a state organization and various local groups and individuals across the political spectrum. You can see this growing list at http://www.votecafiero.com -- and I would like nothing more than to add the Sierra Club to this list.

8. How much do you expect to spend in your campaign? What are the key elements of your campaign strategy?

I expect to spend as much money as I can raise. I don't have $4 million of my own money to put into my campaign, as Steve Poizner does. I don't take campaign contributions from the insurance industry and pharmaceutical giants (not to mention a plethora of other special interests) as Cruz Bustamante does. In fact, as a Green, I take no corporate contributions, ensuring that the representation that you get with a Green Insurance Commissioner would be beholden ONLY to the people of California.

The key elements of my campaign strategy, so far, has been to address many local groups and getting supporters to contact their friends and keep that momentum going; this makes mine a true grassroots campaign. As funds become available (and the time has already been scheduled), I plan to take my message to radio between mid-September and Election Day. Also, as I tour the state (wishing the state were more the size of Rhode Island), I keep finding in every campaign stop more issues that need addressing, and I reflect back on that in subsequent campaign stops; to paraphrase the Robert Earl Keen song, "The road goes on forever, and the campaign never ends . . ." and I plan to advocate for the same issues after Nov. 7 whether or not I win the Insurance Commissioner's race.

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