John Garamendi

John Garamendi
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 3, 2009
Preceded by	Ellen Tauscher
46th Lieutenant Governor of California
In office January 8, 2007 – November 3, 2009
Governor	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Cruz Bustamante
Succeeded by	Mona Pasquil as Acting Lieutenant Governor
1st and 5th California Insurance Commissioner
In office January 6, 2003 – January 8, 2007
Governor	Gray Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Harry W. Low
Succeeded by	Steve Poizner
In office January 7, 1991 – January 2, 1995
Governor	Pete Wilson
Preceded by	new position
Succeeded by	Chuck Quackenbush
United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
In office 1995–1998
President	Bill Clinton
Member of the California State Senate from the 5th district
In office 1984–1991
Preceded by	Milton Marks
Succeeded by	Patrick Johnston
Member of the California State Senate from the 13th district
In office 1976–1984
Preceded by	Clare Berryhill
Succeeded by	Al Alquist
Member of the California State Assembly from the 7th district
In office 1974–1976
Preceded by	William T. Bagley
Succeeded by	Norman S. Waters
Personal details
Born	John Raymond Garamendi January 24, 1945 (1945-01-24) Camp Blanding, Florida
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Patricia W. Garamendi
Children	6 children
Residence	Walnut Grove, California
Alma mater	UC Berkeley (B.A.) Harvard Business School (M.B.A.)
Religion	Christian

John Raymond Garamendi (born January 24, 1945) is the U.S. Representative for California's 10th congressional district, serving since November 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Garamendi was the California State Insurance Commissioner from 1991 to 1995, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998, and the California State Insurance Commissioner again from 2003 to 2007. He then served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of California from January 8, 2007 until he was elected to Congress in November 2009.

Garamendi was temporarily a candidate for Governor of California in the 2010 election after announcing his candidacy on July 31, 2008. However, he suspended his candidacy on April 29, 2009, to run for Congress in the 10th congressional district. This seat was vacated by Ellen Tauscher, who resigned to become Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Garamendi won the Democratic Party nomination in the primary election for the seat on September 1 and then won the special election on November 3, 2009. Garamendi was re-elected to a full term in 2010.

Early years

Garamendi was born and raised in Mokelumne Hill, California, the son of Mary Jane (née McSorley) and Raymond V. Garamendi. His paternal grandparents were Basque immigrants and his mother was of half Irish and half Italian ancestry. Garamendi received a B.A. in business from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was both a football player and wrestler, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. He served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968. Garamendi is an Eagle Scout. Garamendi is also a member of Sigma Chi, as a brother of the Alpha Beta Chapter at Berkeley.

Early political career

Garamendi won election to the California State Assembly in 1974, representing most of Sacramento County as well as all or part of seven other counties to the east and south, and to the State Senate in 1976. He ran unsuccessfully in the 1982 Democratic gubernatorial primary, where he was defeated by Tom Bradley, and in the 1986 Democratic primary for California State Controller, when he lost to Gray Davis; but in 1990 he was successful in his campaign to become California's first Commissioner of Insurance, an office that brought him much controversy due to the state seizure of Executive Life Insurance Company, a bankruptcy that was coincidental with the creation of the state Department of Insurance.

1994 Election

Instead of seeking re-election to the Insurance Commissioner's office in 1994, Garamendi ran for Governor of California but lost the Democratic primary to State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, who in turn lost the general election to incumbent Republican Governor Pete Wilson.

Clinton Administration

Shortly thereafter, President Bill Clinton appointed Garamendi to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the second-highest post in the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Return to Statewide Offices

Garamendi outside the California State Capitol building in Sacramento, California

After four years in the private sector, Garamendi won election to a second term as Insurance Commissioner. Seven months into his term as Insurance Commissioner, on August 7, 2003, Garamendi announced his candidacy for Governor in the gubernatorial recall election but dropped out two days later in favor of Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.

Halfway through his term as Insurance Commissioner, on July 16, 2004, Garamendi announced his candidacy for the 2006 race to replace the term-limited Bustamante as Lieutenant Governor. Bustamante ran to replace Garamendi as Insurance Commissioner.

Former Vice President Al Gore had endorsed Garamendi for Lt. Governor. Garamendi was also endorsed by the Sierra Club, the California Teachers Association, the California League of Conservation Voters, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, the California Professional Firefighters Association, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, to name a few.

In the June 6, 2006, Democratic primary, Garamendi defeated state senators Liz Figueroa and Jackie Speier, receiving 43% of the vote. The margin of votes between Garamendi and Speier was very tight during much of the election night, with each receiving about 40% of the vote, but in later returns Garamendi pulled ahead. In November 2006 he faced Republican Tom McClintock and several candidates from smaller political parties in the general election. California elects governors and lieutenant governors separately; state treasurer Phil Angelides was the Democratic nominee for Governor, but Garamendi could not, in any formal sense, be called Angelides' running mate. Garamendi was elected Lieutenant Governor with 49% of the vote to 45% for Tom McClintock.

U.S. Congress

Special election

Despite living outside of Congressional District 10, Garamendi announced his intention to run for the open congressional seat vacated by Ellen Tauscher on April 22, 2009. There was some confusion about the location of Garamendi's residence, as he told both the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle that a portion of his property was, in fact, in the district. "My front yard is in the district, our bedroom is not" – SF Chronicle April, 2009. Garamendi continued to fuel speculation about the location of his residence when he made similar comments to the NYT in July, stating the same thing. The Sacramento Board of Elections later confirmed that no portion of Garamendi’s property lies within Congressional District 10.

Garamendi won with 52% of the vote (a 10% lead over the next candidate). (His predecessor. Tauscher, had won more than 3/4 of the vote in 2002, and nearly 2/3 of the vote in 2004, 2006, and 2008, following favorable redistricting)

After winning the special election on November 3, Garamendi was sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives on November 5, 2009.

Committees

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power

Caucus Memberships

• House Democratic Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Military Families Caucus
• Populist Caucus

Electoral history

Public Offices
Office	Type	Location	Elected	Term began	Term ended
State Assemblyman	Legislature	Sacramento	1974	December 7, 1974	December 2, 1976
State Senator	Legislature	Sacramento	1976	December 2, 1976	December 8, 1980
State Senator	Legislature	Sacramento	1980	December 8, 1980	December 3, 1984
State Senator	Legislature	Sacramento	1984	December 3, 1984	December 5, 1988
State Senator	Legislature	Sacramento	1988	December 5, 1988	December 3, 1990
Insurance Commissioner	Executive	Sacramento	1990	January 7, 1991	January 2, 1995
Insurance Commissioner	Executive	Sacramento	2002	January 6, 2003	January 8, 2007
Lieutenant Governor	Executive	Sacramento	2006	January 8, 2007	November 5, 2009
U.S. Representative	Legislative	Washington, D.C.	2009	November 5, 2009	January 3, 2011
U.S. Representative	Legislative	Washington, D.C.	2010	January 3, 2011	Present

California State Legislature service
Session	Chamber	Majority	Governor	Committees	District
1975–1976	Assembly	Democratic	Jerry Brown		7
1977–1978	Senate	Democratic	Jerry Brown		13
1979–1980	Senate	Democratic	Jerry Brown		13
1981–1982	Senate	Democratic	Jerry Brown		13
1983–1984	Senate	Democratic	George Deukmejian		5
1985–1986	Senate	Democratic	George Deukmejian		5
1987–1988	Senate	Democratic	George Deukmejian		5
1989–1990	Senate	Democratic	George Deukmejian		5

California Insurance Commissioner general election, 1990
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Garamendi	3,770,717	52.2
	Republican	Wes Bannister	2,736,577	37.9
	Libertarian	Ted Brown	431,317	6.0
	Peace and Freedom	Tom Condit	281,276	3.9
Total votes			7,220,508	%
Majority			1,034,140	14.3
Turnout
	Democratic win (new seat)

California Insurance Commissioner general election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Garamendi	3,346,937	46.5
	Republican	Gary Mendoza	2,998,243	41.6
	Green	David Ishmael Sheidlower	277,667	3.9
	Libertarian	Dale F. Ogden	236,688	3.3
	Natural Law	Raul Calderon	192,001	2.7
	American Independent	Steven A. Klein	148,893	2.1
Total votes			7,200,429	%
Majority			348,694	4.9
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

California Lieutenant Governor primary election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Garamendi	1,045,097	42.5
	Democratic	Jackie Speier	975,530	39.7
	Democratic	Liz Figueroa	436,849	17.8
Total votes			2,457,476	%
Majority			69,567	2.8
Turnout

California Lieutenant Governor general election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	John Garamendi	4,189,584	49.1
	Republican	Tom McClintock	3,845,858	45.1
	Green	Donna J. Warren	239,107	2.8
	Libertarian	Lynnete Shaw	142,851	1.7
	American Independent	Jim King	68,446	0.8
	Peace and Freedom	Tom Condit	43,319	0.5
Total votes			8,529,165	%
Majority			343,726	4.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

2009

California's 10th congressional district special primary, 2009
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John Garamendi	27,580	25.70%
	Republican	David Harmer	22,582	21.05%
	Democratic	Mark DeSaulnier	18,888	17.60%
	Democratic	Joan Buchanan	12,896	12.02%
	Democratic	Anthony Woods	9,388	8.75%
	Republican	Chris Bunch	4,871	4.54%
	Republican	Gary Clift	4,158	3.88%
	Republican	John Toth	3,340	3.11%
	Republican	David Peterson	1,671	1.56%
	Green	Jeremy Cloward	552	0.51%
	Republican	Mark Loos	418	0.39%
	Democratic	Adriel Hampton	376	0.35%
	American Independent	Jerome Denham	309	0.29%
	Peace and Freedom	Mary McIlroy	272	0.25%
	Democratic	Tiffany Attwood (write-in)	2	0.00%
Totals			107,303	100.00%
Voter turnout			29.39%
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage

California's 10th congressional district special election, 2009
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John Garamendi	72,817	52.85%
	Republican	David Harmer	59,017	42.83%
	Green	Jeremy Cloward	2,515	1.83%
	Peace and Freedom	Mary McIlroy	1,846	1.34%
	American Independent	Jerome Denham	1,591	1.15%
Totals			137,786	100.00%
Voter turnout			35.33%
	Democratic hold

2010

United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John Garamendi (incumbent)	137,578	58.9%
	Republican	Gary Clift	88,512	37.8%
	Green	Jeremy Cloward	7,716	3.3%
Totals			233,806	100.0%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

Family

Garamendi is married and has six children.

External links

• Congressman John Garamendi official U.S. House site
• John Garamendi for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

California Assembly
Preceded by William T. Bagley	California State Assembly 7th district 1975–1977	Succeeded by Norman S. Waters
California Senate
Preceded by Clare Berryhill	California State Senator 13th and 5th districts 1977–1991	Succeeded by Patrick Johnston
Political offices
Preceded by None	California Insurance Commissioner January 7, 1991–January 2, 1995	Succeeded by Chuck Quackenbush
Preceded by Harry W. Low	California Insurance Commissioner January 6, 2003–January 8, 2007	Succeeded by Steve Poizner
Preceded by Cruz Bustamante	Lieutenant Governor of California January 8, 2007–November 3, 2009	Succeeded by Mona Pasquil Acting Lieutenant Governor
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Ellen Tauscher	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 10th congressional district November 5, 2009 – present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Judy Chu D-California	United States Representatives by seniority 332nd	Succeeded by Bill Owens D-New York