Voters Select Whitman Over Calif. Commissioner Poizner, Reject Prop. 17

Republican Meg Whitman will face off against Democrat Jerry Brown in the race for California governor in November. Whitman won the Republican ticket for governor with 64.2 percent of the vote, defeating Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner who received 26.9 percent of the vote in the Golden State’s June primary, according to the Secretary of State.

In the race for Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones received 61.2 percent of the vote, defeating Hector De La Torre, who received 38.8 percent of the vote. That means Democrat Jones will most likely run against Republican Brian Fitzgerald for the elected office in November. Fitzgerald received 50.4 percent of the vote over Mike Villines’ 49.6 percent, according to the Secretary of State, although at press time Villines had yet to concede, saying he was waiting for provisional and absentee ballots to be counted.

Fitzgerald is an attorney at the California Department of Insurance, where he has worked for the past 16 years. Jones is a state Assemblyman who was restricted from running for re-election because he has reached his term limits.

In other election results the controversial ballot measure Prop. 17, also known as the “Continuous Discount Initiative,” was voted down, with 52.1 percent of voters selecting “no,” and 47.9 percent voting “yes.” This means insurers can provide discounts to their long-term automobile insurance customers, but will continue to be prohibited from providing such discounts to new customers switching from other insurers.

Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates, of which Mercury Insurance was a supporter, said if the measure had passed, drivers would have been able to save up to $250 by eliminating a surcharge for changing insurance companies. If passed, Prop. 17 would have allowed insured drivers to take continuous coverage discounts with them if they change insurers, just like good driver discounts.

“Voters missed an opportunity to extend an auto insurance discount that could have lowered auto insurance rates for millions of drivers,” said Mike D’Arelli, executive director for the Alliance of Insurance Agents & Brokers. The Alliance, along with independent insurance agents statewide, strongly supported Prop. 17.

“There is no doubt that extending the continuous coverage discount would have improved current auto law for consumers,” D’Arelli said.

Meanwhile, a $412 million bond measure aimed at improving San Francisco’s earthquake safety and emergency response passed with about 79 percent of the vote in the June primary.

The San Francisco Department of Elections said Prop. B received more than 79,000 votes. About 21,000 voters cast ballots against the measure, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.

Prop. B will provide $104 million to upgrade the city’s aging auxiliary water supply system for firefighting and $243 million to build a new public safety building in the Mission Bay neighborhood. It also will provide money to make seismic upgrades at neighborhood fire stations.

The bipartisan measure was backed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, the Chamber of Commerce and the Labor Council.

For more election results, visit www.vote.sos.ca.gov.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.