Cruz Bustamante
Cruz Bustamante | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lieutenant Governor of California | |
| In office January 4, 1999 – January 8, 2007 | |
| Governor | Gray Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Preceded by | Gray Davis |
| Succeeded by | John Garamendi |
| Speaker of the California Assembly | |
| In office December 2, 1996 – February 26, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Curt Pringle |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Villaraigosa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cruz Miguel Bustamante January 4, 1953 Dinuba, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Arcelia |
| Alma mater | Fresno City College California State University, Fresno |
Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. He was the 45th Lieutenant Governor of California, a former Speaker of the State Assembly and a member of the Democratic Party. He served with Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and was succeeded by John Garamendi in 2007.
Early life and family
The eldest of six children, Cruz Bustamante was born in Dinuba, California. His family later moved to San Joaquin, California. He attended and graduated from Tranquillity High School in the 1970s, where he excelled in both football and wrestling, and later attended Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno.[1][2]
With his wife Arcelia, Bustamante has three daughters.
Political career
As a resident of Fresno, Bustamante was elected to the California State Assembly in a special election in 1993, and became the Speaker of the Assembly in 1996.[2] He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1998, the first Latino elected to statewide office in California in more than 120 years. He was also the highest-ranking elected Latino officeholder in the United States until Bill Richardson became Governor of New Mexico in 2003. Bustamante earned his BA via distance learning from the California State University, Fresno in 2003.
2003 recall election
He was the most prominent Democrat to run in the 2003 California recall election to remove Governor Gray Davis, and placed second to Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, with about 2.7 million votes, 31.5% of votes cast (see full election results).
Bustamante had an apparently icy relationship with Governor Davis, a fellow Democrat, during his tenure. They reportedly had not talked in months before the recall election approached. Bustamante's decision to run in the recall election was controversial, as many supporters of Governor Davis had urged prominent Democrats not to run, in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the event. During the recall election, Bustamante ran on a platform slogan of "No on Recall, Yes on Bustamante,"[3][4] indicating he opposed the recall.
2006 Insurance Commissioner election
Bustamante was the Democratic candidate for California Insurance Commissioner.
In Bustamante's official candidate statement, he says "I want to become an example to others to lead healthier lives by losing weight myself. Obesity in California costs $7.7 billion a year."
Bustamante claims to have recently shed 43 pounds to 235 pounds by means of diet and exercise.[5]
Bustamante easily won the June 6, 2006 Democratic primary, receiving 70.5% of the vote and defeating his challenger, John Kraft. In the June Primary Bustamante received 1,606,913 Democratic votes, Kraft 674,309 Democratic votes, and Poizner 1,472,729 Republican votes. Many political analysts believed that Kraft, who ran a low-key campaign where he took no campaign contributions, received those votes as a protest for Bustamante's behavior during the 2003 recall election.[6] However, Kraft planned to actively campaign for Bustamante, and donated a significant portion of his fortune as an heir to Kraft Foods to Bustamante.[7]
Bustamante ran against Republican Steve Poizner in November. Bustamante announced that he would not be returning insurance industry contributions to his campaign, a position criticized by Poizner and campaign ethicists. Bustamante also failed to meet a deadline to submit a campaign statement to voters. According to the Field Poll, on November 3, 2006, Bustamante trailed Poizner by 9%.[8] and lost to Poizner by 12% in the general election.
Bustamante was speculated to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 21st congressional district in 2012,[9] but ultimately did not get in.
Electoral history
| Public Offices | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Type | Location | Elected | Term began | Term ended |
| State Assemblyman | Legislature | Sacramento | 1993 | May 3, 1993 | December 5, 1994 |
| State Assemblyman | Legislature | Sacramento | 1994 | December 5, 1994 | December 2, 1996 |
| Speaker of the Assembly | Legislature | Sacramento | 1996 | December 2, 1996 | December 7, 1998 |
| Lieutenant Governor | Executive | Sacramento | 1998 | January 4, 1999 | January 6, 2003 |
| Lieutenant Governor | Executive | Sacramento | 2002 | January 6, 2003 | January 8, 2007 |
| California State Assembly service | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session | Majority | Governor | Committees | District |
| 1993–1994 | Democratic | Pete Wilson | 31 | |
| 1995–1996 | Republican | Pete Wilson | 31 | |
| 1997–1998 | Democratic | Pete Wilson | 31 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cruz Bustamante | 4,290,473 | 52.7 | |
| Republican | Tim Leslie | 3,161,031 | 38.8 | |
| Green | Sara Amir | 247,897 | 3.0 | |
| Libertarian | Thomas M. Tryon | 167,523 | 2.1 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Jaime Luis Gomez | 109,888 | 1.4 | |
| American Independent | George M. McCoy | 92,349 | 1.1 | |
| Reform | James G. Mangia | 74,180 | 0.9 | |
| Total votes | 8,143,341 | |||
| Majority | 1,129,442 | 14.9 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cruz Bustamante | 3,658,942 | 49.4 | −3.3 | |
| Republican | Bruce McPherson | 3,094,392 | 41.8 | +3.0 | |
| Green | Donna Warren | 307,254 | 4.1 | +1.1 | |
| Libertarian | Pat Wright | 107,127 | 1.4 | −0.7 | |
| American Independent | James King | 93,026 | 1.3 | +0.2 | |
| Reform | Paul Jerry Hanosh | 82,053 | 1.1 | +0.2 | |
| Natural Law | Kalee Przybylak | 68,366 | 0.9 | +0.9 | |
| Total votes | 7,411,160 | ||||
| Majority | 564,540 | 7.6 | −7.3 | ||
| Democratic hold | Swing | -7.3 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 4,206,284 | 48.6 | |
| Democratic | Cruz Bustamante | 2,724,874 | 31.5 | |
| Republican | Tom McClintock | 1,161,287 | 13.5 | |
| Green | Peter Miguel Camejo | 242,247 | 2.8 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cruz Bustamante | 1,651,858 | 70.4 | |
| Democratic | John Kraft | 693,662 | 29.6 | |
| Total votes | 2,345,520 | |||
| Majority | 958,196 | 40.8 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve Poizner | 4,233,986 | 50.8 | |
| Democratic | Cruz Bustamante | 3,204,536 | 38.5 | |
| Libertarian | Dale Ogden | 305,772 | 3.7 | |
| Green | Larry Cafiero | 270,218 | 3.2 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Tom Condit | 187,618 | 2.3 | |
| American Independent | Jay Earl Burden | 127,267 | 1.5 | |
| Total votes | 8,329,397 | |||
| Majority | 1,029,450 | 12.3 | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
References
- ^ "---------------/ Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante /---------------". digital.library.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-05.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Zarembo, Alan (2003-08-30). "Slow but Steady Approach Has Served Bustamante Well". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Special Election - Candidate Statement". Vote2003.ss.ca.gov. 2003-10-07. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
- ^ Oldham, Jennifer. "Bustamante Hopes to Win Insurance Post by Losing". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Feist, Paul (2006-06-07). "Politics Blog : Election results not good news for Bustamante". SFGate. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
- ^ Capitol Weekly: The Newspaper of California State Government and Politics Archived June 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field; November 3, 2006; "Lt. Governor's race deadlocked"; ''Field Research Corporation; url accessed November 4, 2006,
- ^ Ellis, John (February 21, 2012). "Dinuba native Bustamante eyes 21st District congressional bid". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved February 22, 2012.[permanent dead link]
