Insurance Commissioner Candidate to Keynote American Agents Alliance Convention

Steve Poizner, a candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, will deliver the keynote address at the 2005 Convention of the American Agents Alliance.

Poizner, a Silicon Valley Republican candidate, replaces current Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on the Convention agenda. Garamendi withdrew two weeks ago due to a scheduling conflict.

Poizner is running against Cruz Bustamante, D, Phil Kurzner, R, Gary S. Mendoza, R, and Deborah Ortiz, D, in the 2006 election.

Alliance Convention Committee Chair Barbera Jakubanis said, “We are very excited that Steve Poizner has agreed to deliver our keynote address. He has already received the backing of numerous Republican groups. We are eager to hear what he has to say about many of the issues impacting agents and brokers.”

Poizner is the founder of SnapTrack, a Silicon Valley company. SnapTrack developed technology that allows emergency services to pinpoint cell phone calls and, thereby, to save lives.

Poizner graduated from the University of Texas as the top male student in 1978 and then earned his MBA with honors at Stanford University. In 2001, Poizner was tapped to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, DC, arriving only days before the 9/11 attacks. Poizner served as Director of Critical Infrastructure Protection in the National Security Council.

Six months later, Poizner began his second White House assignment. He proposed a new White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth, which was implemented by presidential executive order. President Bush adopted Poizner’s proposal for a $300 million mentoring program for adolescents in low-income areas. When Poizner returned to California, he co-founded two organizations: EdVoice, a key lobbying organization for K-12 children in California; and the California Charter Schools Association. Poizner then volunteered to teach 12th grade American Government at Mount Pleasant High School in east San Jose and was selected “Rookie Teacher of the Year.”

According to Poizner’s web site, “[He] had grown disenchanted with California’s increasingly anti-business climate. But instead of moving his business out of state, as others were doing, he chose to act, taking on the Democratic establishment and running for State Assembly. Steve narrowly lost by thee percentage points in a district that John Kerry carried by 34 percentage points. Regarding the insurance commissioner post, Poizner’s web site notes, “In this often overlooked but crucially important position, Steve will employ tough business skills and strong beliefs in the competitive free market system…”

The keynote address will take place at 12:00 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1. The Convention will be held September 28 to October 2 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, Calif. Those interested in attending the Convention may visit www.agentsalliance.com for a registration form.

Topics California Agencies