John Garamendi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Garamendi in 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| Assumed office November 5, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Ellen Tauscher |
| Constituency | 10th district (2009–2013) 3rd district (2013–2023) 8th district (2023–present) |
| 46thLieutenant Governor of California | |
| In office January 8, 2007 – November 3, 2009 | |
| Governor | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Preceded by | Cruz Bustamante |
| Succeeded by | Mona Pasquil (acting) |
| Insurance Commissioner of California | |
| In office January 6, 2003 – January 8, 2007 | |
| Governor | Gray Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Preceded by | Harry Low |
| Succeeded by | Steve Poizner |
| In office January 7, 1991 – January 2, 1995 | |
| Governor | Pete Wilson |
| Preceded by | Roxanni Gillespie |
| Succeeded by | Chuck Quackenbush |
| 1stUnited States Deputy Secretary of the Interior | |
| In office August 15, 1995 – April 1998 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | David J. Hayes |
| Member of theCalifornia Senate | |
| In office December 3, 1976 – November 30, 1990 | |
| Preceded by | Al Alquist |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Johnston |
| Constituency | 13th district (1976–1984) 5th district (1984–1990) |
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the7th district | |
| In office December 7, 1974 – November 30, 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Bagley |
| Succeeded by | Norman S. Waters |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Raymond Garamendi (1945-01-24)January 24, 1945 (age 80) Camp Blanding,Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) Harvard University (MBA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
John Raymond Garamendi (/ˌɡærəˈmɛndi/GARR-ə-MEN-dee; born January 24, 1945) is an American businessman, politician and member of theDemocratic Party who has represented areas ofNorthern California between San Francisco andSacramento, including the cities ofFairfield andVacaville in theUnited States House of Representatives since 2009. Garamendi was theCalifornia insurance commissioner from 1991 to 1995 and 2003 to 2007, theU.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998, and the 46thlieutenant governor of California from 2007 until his election to Congress in late 2009.
Garamendi was born inCamp Blanding, Florida and raised inMokelumne Hill, California. He earned aB.A. in business from theUniversity of California, Berkeley and an MBA fromHarvard Business School then served in thePeace Corps in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968. He was elected to theCalifornia State Assembly in 1974, serving a single term before being elected in 1976 to theCalifornia State Senate where he served four terms until 1990. During this time he had a stint as Majority Leader and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nominations forgovernor of California in1982 andCalifornia State Controller in 1986.
In 1990, Garamendi became the first electedCalifornia insurance commissioner, serving from 1991 to 1995.[1] He ran for governor in the1994 election, losing in the Democratic primary. He left elective office and served as PresidentBill Clinton'sdeputy 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 the2003 recall, before dropping out to support Lieutenant GovernorCruz Bustamante.In 2006, he was elected lieutenant governor to succeed the term-limited Bustamante.
Garamendi had planned to run for governor a fourth time in2010, but after U.S. RepresentativeEllen Tauscher ofCalifornia's 10th congressional district resigned, Garamendi won theNovember 2009 special election to succeed her.
Garamendi was born inCamp Blanding, Florida, and was raised inMokelumne Hill, California.[2][3][4] Both his father and his paternal grandfather ultimately moved back to theBasque Country in the 1960s.[5][2]
Garamendi received a Bachelor of Arts in business from theUniversity of California, Berkeley, where he was a footballoffensive guard and wrestler, and aMaster of Business Administration degree fromHarvard Business School.[4][6] He served in thePeace Corps in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968.[7] Garamendi is anEagle Scout and a member ofSigma Chi, as a brother of the Alpha Beta Chapter at Berkeley.[8]
In 1974, Garamendi decided to run forCalifornia's 7th State Assembly district. Six-term Republican incumbent William T. Bagley did not run for reelection, instead running unsuccessfully forCalifornia State Controller. In the election to succeed Bagley, Garamendi faced Republican State AssemblymanDouglas F. Carter, who had won a special election in the12th Assembly district in July 1973 to succeedRobert 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 theCalifornia State Assembly for the first time since the 1800s.[9][10]
In 1976, Garamendi decided to retire after one term to run inCalifornia's 13th State Senate district. He defeated Republican Bob Whitten, 53% to 47%.[11] He was reelected in 1980 (60%),[12] 1984 (69%),[13] and 1988 (69%).[14]
While in theCalifornia 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.[15]
Garamendi first ran forgovernor of California in 1982. In the Democratic primary,Los Angeles MayorTom Bradley defeated him, 61% to 25%.[16]
In the 1986 Democratic primary forCalifornia State Controller, Garamendi lost to AssemblymanGray Davis, 50% to 38%.[17]
Garamendi first ran forCalifornia Insurance Commissioner in 1990. He won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 36% of the vote. His closest challenger was radio talk show hostBill Press, who got 28% of the vote.[18] In the general election, he defeated RepublicanWes Bannister, 52% to 38%.[19] 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, assemblymanPatrick Johnston (D-Stockton) for the upcoming special election to replace him.[20]
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 ofjunk bonds while the Californians with Executive Life policies were very negatively affected.[21] 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.[22][23][24]: 78, 86–87
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 theSacramento 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."[25]
Garamendi ran for California governor a second time in 1994. In the Democratic primary,State TreasurerKathleen Brown defeated him, 48% to 33%.[26][27]
After Garamendi's tenure as insurance commissioner, PresidentBill Clinton appointed himDeputy Secretary of the Interior, the second-highest post in theU.S. Department of the Interior. He resigned in 1998 and became a partner atYucaipa Companies, which had deals financed byLeon Black.[21][24]: 127–128 Also from 1998 to 2000, Garamendi returned to the Peace Corps, leading groups of volunteers that helped negotiate peace treaties in theEritrean–Ethiopian War andSecond Congo War.[28]
Garamendi ran for California insurance commissioner for a second time in 2002. He won the Democratic primary with 39% of the vote.[29] In the general election, he defeated Republican Gary Mendoza 46% to 42%.[30]
On August 7, 2003, Garamendi announced his candidacy for governor a third time in thegubernatorial recall election, but dropped out two days later to endorseLieutenant GovernorCruz Bustamante.[citation needed]
On July 16, 2004, Garamendi announced his candidacy forlieutenant governor of California. He was endorsed by former Vice PresidentAl Gore, theSierra Club, theCalifornia Teachers Association, theCalifornia League of Conservation Voters, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, the California Professional Firefighters Association, former U.S. Senate Majority LeaderTom Daschle, and former U.S. Interior SecretaryBruce Babbitt. Garamendi won the Democratic primary by defeating state senatorsJackie Speier andLiz Figueroa 43% to 40% to 18%.[31] In the general election, he defeated Republican state senatorTom McClintock 49% to 45%.[32]
Initially, Garamendi planned to run for governor in the2010 election.[2] However, RepresentativeEllen Tauscher resigned from her U.S. House seat forCalifornia's 10th congressional district to becomeUnder Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.[33] Garamendi announced his intention to run in the 2009 special election there despite living outside the district. There was some confusion about the location of Garamendi's residence. Garamendi said: "My front yard is in the district, our bedroom is not."[34] He continued to fuel speculation about his residence when he said the same thing toThe New York Times in July.[35] Later reports confirmed that his home was outside district boundaries.[36][37]
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 SenatorMark DeSaulnier (18%) and AssemblymemberJoan Buchanan (12%). In the runoff on November 3, Garamendi defeated Republican nominee David Harmer, 53% to 43%.[38][39] Garamendi was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on November 5, 2009.[40]
Garamendi was reelected to his first full term, defeating Republican nominee Gary Clift 59% to 38%.[41]
After redistricting, Garamendi filed papers in March 2012 to run in the newly redrawn3rd district.[42][43]
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.[44] 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% to 47%, over Republican AssemblymanDan Logue ofYuba County.
Garamendi supports abortion access for everyone. He calledRoe v. Wade a "fundamental human right to bodily autonomy". He opposed the 2022overturning ofRoe v. Wade, calling the decision "devastating".[45]
Garamendi was critical of PresidentDonald 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."[46]
At a July 2017 town hall inDavis, Garamendi said that developments in the Trump administration were "far more serious" thanWatergate.[47]
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."[47]
Garamendi said in January 2018 that he was "angry" when Trump referred to certain Third World nations as "shithole countries".[48]
On February 24, 2019, Garamendi announced on Facebook that he had become a co-sponsor of H.Res.109, also known as theGreen 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."[49]
In late 2022, Garamendi introduced a bill to strengthen theJones Act when dismantlingoffshore oil&gas platforms and installingoffshore wind farms. Industry commentators noted the risk of delaying such projects and/or increasing their costs due to lack of US vessels and personnel.[50][51]
On December 9, 2021, Garamendi became a cosponsor of H.R.1976, the Medicare for All Act of 2021.[52]
Garamendi voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[53]
In January 2018, Garamendi called theTax 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.[54]
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 thelarge 2017 tax cuts, benefited the rich and corporations, not the middle class.[48]
In January 2018, Garamendi expressed the desire to "make sure every person is identified" and charged thatE-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."[48]
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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.[55] The same month, he introduced an amendment to theNational 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.[56][57]
WithDianne Feinstein andMartin 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.[58][59]
Garmendi actively opposed a GOP-backed construction of amissile 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."[60]
He voted against extending thePatriot Act.[61]
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 likeal 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."[62]
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."[63]
In the fall of 2017, Garamendi andBrian 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.[64]
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.[65]
On March 31, 2018, he described Trump's approach to Syria as "helter-skelter" and "chaos".[66]
In a June 2017 article, Garamendi rejected the proposal known asCalifornia WaterFix, calling it an "expensive boondoggle", and instead expressed support for Proposition 1.[67]
For the118th Congress:[68]
Source:[76]
| 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 3, 2009 |
| U.S. Representative | Legislative | Washington, D.C. | 2009 | November 3, 2009 | January 3, 2011 |
| U.S. Representative | Legislative | Washington, D.C. | 2010 | January 3, 2011 | Present |
| California State Legislature service | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | 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 | |
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 inWalnut Grove and have six children and 13 grandchildren.[77]
In July 2024, Garamendi announced that he had been diagnosed withmultiple myeloma.[78]
...the fact that Garamendi does not live in the 10th district.
Although a long-time Walnut Grove resident, Garamendi's residency incited satirical comment with his initial 2009 House campaign. It turned out his family home was across the Sacramento River from the 10th Congressional District in which he was running.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Insurance Commissioner of California 1991–1995 | Succeeded by |
| United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior 1995–1998 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by Harry Low | Insurance Commissioner of California 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of California 2007–2009 | Succeeded by Mona Pasquil Acting |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 10th congressional district 2009–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 3rd congressional district 2013–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 8th congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 75th | Succeeded by |
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