California voters have elected Assemblyman Dave Jones to be the state’s next insurance commissioner. Jones, a Democrat, won 51 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Mike Villines, who was favored by the insurance industry.
In a recent interview with Insurance Journal, Jones said he believes he will be able to balance consumer, business and industry needs.
“I understand that this is an office that has extraordinarily important powers. It has to be exercised in a thoughtful and deliberate and judicious way,” he said, noting he has been trained to make decisions in a way that “is fair to all parties, that provides transparency and balances the appropriate interests.”
An Assembly member from Sacramento serving his third term, Jones has chaired the Assembly Health Committee and serves on the Appropriations, Judiciary and Accountability and Administrative Review committees. During his time in the Legislature, he has obtained passage of more than 70 bills — including a host of insurance-related regulation, such as a bill that prohibited health insurers from charging a price differential based on gender and one creating green insurance incentives.
A Harvard Law School and Kennedy School of Government graduate, and an advisor to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Jones has said he believes he has the experience to oversee “an incredibly important industry that … touches on every aspect of individuals’ and businesses’ lives and operations.
