In 1990, Garamendi became the first elected California insurance commissioner, serving from 1991 to 1995. He ran for governor in the 1994 election, losing in the Democratic primary. He left elective office and served as President Bill Clinton's deputy secretary of the interior from 1995 to 1998 then worked for the Peace Corps again. He was elected insurance commissioner again in 2002 and briefly ran for governor again in the 2003 recall, before dropping out to support Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.[3]In 2006, he was elected lieutenant governor to succeed the term-limited Bustamante.
Garamendi was born in Camp Blanding, Florida, and was raised in Mokelumne Hill, California, the son of Mary Jane (née McSorley) and Raymond V. Garamendi. His paternal grandparents were Basque immigrants from Spain and his mother was of half Irish and half Italian ancestry.[8][9] Both his father and his paternal grandfather ultimately moved back to the Basque Country in the 1960s.[10]
In 1974, Garamendi decided to run for California's 7th State Assembly district. Six-term Republican incumbent William T. Bagley did not run for reelection, instead running unsuccessfully for California State Controller. In the election to succeed Bagley, Garamendi faced Republican State Assemblyman Douglas F. Carter, who had won a special election in the 12th Assembly district in July 1973 to succeed Robert T. Monagan. In the general election, Garamendi defeated Carter, 60,380 votes (64.08%) to 33,842 (35.92%), as Democrats won a supermajority in the California State Assembly for the first time since the 1800s.[14][15]
State Senate
In 1976, Garamendi decided to retire after one term to run in California's 13th State Senate district. He defeated Republican Bob Whitten, 53% to 47%.[16] He was reelected in 1980 (60%),[17] 1984 (69%),[18] and 1988 (69%).[19]
While in the California Senate, Garamendi served as Majority Leader. He chaired the Joint Committee on Science and Technology, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, and the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.[20]
Garamendi first ran for California Insurance Commissioner in 1990. He won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 36% of the vote. His closest challenger was radio talk show host Bill Press, who got 28% of the vote.[23] In the general election, he defeated Republican Wes Bannister, 52% to 38%.[24] In fact, he was so confident of winning that he resigned his state senate seat early to give an advantage to his wife Patti, over her top rival for the seat, assemblyman Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton) for the upcoming special election to replace him.[25]
Tenure
In 1991, while serving as California Insurance Commissioner, Garamendi seized Executive Life, a failing life insurance company, and resold it to French investors who turned out to be fronts for a government-owned French bank. They made billions of dollars selling off the company's portfolio of junk bonds while the Californians with Executive Life policies were very negatively affected. This became a scandal in both the U.S. and France, with the U.S. government filing criminal charges, because it was illegal for a government-owned bank to own a U.S. insurer. Policyholders blamed Garamendi for putting them in this position.[26][27][28]
Eventually the U.S. government reached a settlement with the French bankers, and in 2005 Garamendi agreed to a settlement, the terms of which further angered Executive Life policyholders, who, according to the Sacramento Bee, "had been damaged to the tune of perhaps $5 billion." A leader of the policyholders' interest group, Sue Watson, said, "We are shocked and outraged that the largest financial fraud in California history would be settled for so little and without even a fight." The Bee editorialized that "Garamendi cannot simultaneously assert that the sale was a good deal and a multibillion-dollar fraud, and then defend a cents-on-the-dollar settlement that left the buyers with billions of dollars in windfall profits. It just does not make sense."[29][30]
Garamendi ran for California governor a second time in 1994. In the Democratic primary, State TreasurerKathleen Brown defeated him, 48% to 33%.[31][32]
Garamendi ran for California insurance commissioner for a second time in 2002. He won the Democratic primary with 39% of the vote.[33] In the general election, he defeated Republican Gary Mendoza 46% to 42%.[34]
Despite living outside California's 10th congressional district, Garamendi announced his intention to run in the 2009 special election there after Representative Ellen Tauscher vacated her seat. There was some confusion about the location of Garamendi's residence. Garamendi said: "My front yard is in the district, our bedroom is not."[37] He continued to fuel speculation about his residence when he said the same thing to The New York Times in July.[38] The Sacramento Board of Elections later confirmed that no part of Garamendi's property was within the 10th congressional district.
In the September election, no candidate reached the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff. Garamendi ranked first among Democrats with 26% of the vote, defeating State Senator Mark DeSaulnier (18%) and Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (12%). In the November runoff, Garamendi defeated Republican nominee David Harmer, 53% to 43%.[39][40] Garamendi was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on November 5, 2009.[41]
After redistricting, Garamendi filed papers in March 2012 to run in the newly redrawn 3rd district.[43][44]
Garamendi was running in a district that was over 77% new to him. While the old 10th district traditionally favored Democrats, the new 3rd was somewhat more of a swing district.[45] But the bulk of its vote was in Democratic-leaning territory between the Bay Area and Sacramento, Garamendi's base. Garamendi defeated Republican Kim Vann 54.2% to 45.8%.
Garamendi was reelected, 53%-47%, over Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue of Yuba County.
Political positions
Garamendi voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[46]
Abortion
Garamendi supports abortion access for everyone. He called Roe v. Wade a "fundamental human right to bodily autonomy". He opposed the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling the decision "devastating".[47]
Donald Trump
Garamendi was critical of President Donald Trump, suggesting in December 2016 that because of his international real-estate business, Trump was weighed down by conflicts of interest. He also said he was disturbed by the placement of "generals, ex-generals in every one of the key positions dealing with the military, dealing with international affairs."[48]
At a July 2017 town hall in Davis, Garamendi said that developments in the Trump administration were "far more serious" than Watergate.[49]
In July 2017, Garamendi said that during recent visits to Vietnam, South Korea, and Australia, he had encountered "angst, worry and concern about what's happening in America."[49]
Garamendi said in January 2018 that he was "angry" when Trump referred to certain Third World nations as "shithole countries".[50]
Environment
On February 24, 2019, Garamendi announced on Facebook that he had become a co-sponsor of H.Res.109, also known as the Green New Deal. This decision came after pressure from community members. The post read, "I welcome the energy and commitment of the supporters of H.Res.109, and I join with them as I continue my decades-long effort to stop Climate Change and save our planet."[51]
In late 2022, Garamendi introduced a bill to strengthen the Jones Act when dismantling offshore oil&gas platforms and installing offshore wind farms. Industry commentators noted the risk of delaying such projects and/or increasing their costs due to lack of US vessels and personnel.[52][53]
Health care
On December 9, 2021, Garamendi became a cosponsor of H.R.1976, the Medicare for All Act of 2021.[54]
Joe Biden
As of November 2021, Garamendi had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[55]
Economic policy
In January 2018, Garamendi called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 a "tax scam" that would primarily benefit the so-called "1 percent". He asserted that House "deficit hawks" wanted to "cut out the social safety net" to pay for the bill.[56]
In a January 2018 interview, Garamendi said of the U.S. treasury: "There's no money. They gave it all away." He complained that current economic policies, including the large 2017 tax cuts, benefited the rich and corporations, not the middle class.[50]
Immigration
In January 2018, Garamendi expressed the desire to "make sure every person is identified" and charged that E-Verify, a system intended to curtail undocumented employment, had "not really been enforced". He said that it was possible to compromise on the issue between conservative and progressive House members, and expressed concern about the fate of "undocumented immigrants who are not considered Dreamers."[50]
Internet privacy
After Mark Zuckerberg's April 2018 testimony before a joint Senate committee, Garamendi called for a privacy law that would cover social media.[57]
Military
Garamendi speaks with generals during the District Commanders Course, 2015.
In May 2011, by a vote of 60–1, the House Armed Services Committee approved a $553 billion military funding bill that would increase pay and fund new aircraft, ships, and submarines. Garamendi cast the sole "no" vote.[58] The same month, he introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would withdraw 90% of troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013. Along with eight other members of Congress he wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to end the war.[59][60]
With Dianne Feinstein and Martin Heinrich, Garamendi sponsored the Due Process Guarantee Act, a 2012 bill that would bar the military from indefinitely detaining U.S. citizens or residents within the country without charge or trial.[61][62]
Garmendi actively opposed a GOP-backed construction of a missile defense site on the East Coast, saying it was fiscally irresponsible to be "spending up to $5 billion in the next three years on a missile defense system that doesn't work."[63]
In a May 2011 article, Garamendi wrote, "our national security is much more dependent on ending desperate poverty, funding good schools, and empowering women in the developing world while eradicating international terrorist networks like al Qaeda. With bin Laden dead and al Qaeda in Afghanistan largely extinguished, it's time we revisited the wisdom of continuing the war in Afghanistan."[65]
In April 2018, he expressed opposition to building a border wall and said, "If you want to go where the problem is, fund the Coast Guard."[66]
Student loans
In the fall of 2017, Garamendi and Brian Fitzpatrick co-introduced H.R. 4001, the Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculating Act. "For many Americans, the price of a college education is too high," he said.[67]
Syria
On November 19, 2015, Garamendi voted for HR 4038, legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States.[68]
On March 31, 2018, he described Trump's approach to Syria as "helter-skelter" and "chaos".[69] In April 2018, he expressed opposition to a military strike on Syria. "You have to have a strategy. This president doesn't have a clue about how to build a strategy."[57]
Water supply
In a June 2017 article, Garamendi rejected the proposal known as California WaterFix, calling it an "expensive boondoggle", and instead expressed support for Proposition 1.[70]
California 3rd Congressional District general election, 2016[80]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
John Garamendi (incumbent)
152,513
59.4%
Republican
Eugene Cleek
104,453
40.6
Total votes
256,966
100.0
Voter turnout
%
Democratic hold
Personal life
Garamendi is married to Patricia Wilkinson who has worked as agriculture specialist for the California Exposition and State Fair and as deputy secretary of California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. President Clinton appointed her to serve as associate director of the Peace Corps in 1993 and as deputy administrator in the Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service in 1998. Garamendi and Wilkinson live in Walnut Grove and have six children and 13 grandchildren.[81]
In July 2024, Garamendi announced that he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.[82]
^ abMorgenson, Gretchen; Rosner, Joshua (April 25, 2023). These are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs — and Wrecks — America (First ed.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster (published May 2023). ISBN978-1-9821-9130-6.
^"Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
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