Quackenbush fares poorly

A new poll may not bode well for California insurance commissioner Charles Quackenbush

By HALLYE JORDAN

June 16, 2000 Web posted at: 1:52 PM EDT (1752 GMT)

SACRAMENTO, California (San Jose Mercury News) -- A majority of Californians say embattled Insurance Commissioner Charles Quackenbush should be impeached if he doesn't step down from his elective post amid a growing scandal over how he handled Northridge earthquake settlements, according to a new Field Poll.

In the first gauge of the public's reaction to the controversy which has dominated state news for the past two months, the survey showed people of all political stripes rate Quackenbush's job performance poorly and think the allegations leveled against him are serious. Investigators are examining whether the commissioner gave insurance companies special treatment at the expense of consumers while polishing his own political image.

The poll signals just how far the political fortunes of Quackenbush -- one of only two Republican statewide officeholders -- have fallen since he won re-election less than two years ago.

Donald Heller, Quackenbush's attorney, declined to comment on the survey, but said the commissioner would address the public's concerns on Monday, when he has been subpoenaed to testify before the Assembly Insurance Committee as part of its investigation into the quake settlements.

``These are serious issues that pertain to the insurance commissioner's official duties and obviously people are concerned about it and want to hear his responses,'' Heller said.

The poll, conducted Friday through Tuesday, found that overall, voters' perception of the Republican insurance commissioner's job performance is low. Fifty-four percent of all registered voters have unfavorable perceptions of Quackenbush, with 57 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans saying they disapprove.

By nearly a two-to-one ratio, those with an opinion on Quackenbush said he should resign. Registered voters favored that action 50 percent to 29 percent and Democrats support his resignation 57 percent to 21 percent, while 43 percent of Republicans support his resignation and 39 percent oppose it.

The strong bipartisan support for resignation or impeachment may mean Republicans, who are in the minority on the Assembly panel, can pursue the investigation without risk of alienating their supporters. Quackenbush has called the hearings a ``partisan witch hunt'' but poll results suggest voters don't buy that.

If the Assembly impeached him, Quackenbush would face a trial in the Senate.

But lawmakers said the poll will not influence their ongoing investigation into allegations that Quackenbush coerced insurance companies to pour millions of dollars into non-partisan foundations to avoid paying billions of dollars in fines for improperly handling claims stemming from the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

``No investigation, no inquiry should ever be affected by polling,'' said Assemblyman Rico Oller, R-Roseville, a member of the Assembly Insurance Committee. ``That would be morally wrong and the abdication of our responsibility.''

His GOP colleague, Dave Cox of Sacramento, agreed. ``The fact that someone commissioned a poll doesn't mean anything,'' Cox said. ``A poll is a snapshot of time that may or may not change as a result of the commissioner's testimony.''

Both the Assembly and Senate Insurance committees as well as the Attorney General's Office are conducting probes into Quackenbush's role in setting up the foundations. Although they purportedly were created to aid earthquake victims and educate the public about the importance of having earthquake insurance, the investigations have shown no money has gone to those causes. Instead, funds have been spent on, among other things, a football camp Quackenbush's sons attended and TV ads starring the insurance commissioner.

Rescue crews sift through debris after the 1994 Northridge earthquake

On Wednesday, the controversy expanded when a San Francisco law firm filed what is believed to be the first private lawsuit to arise from the investigation.

Attorneys sued Quackenbush on behalf of two Los Angeles taxpayers and asked a Sacramento Superior Court judge to block the commissioner from directing more money to the controversial foundations and to recover about $15 million in insurance donations steered to the non-profit groups.

Oller said lawmakers will continue to be methodical and non-partisan.

``It is very important that we be careful in not going too far or too fast until we really understand the facts,'' Oller said. ``Everybody thinks they smell a rat. But we are dealing with not just a career, but a man's life.''

Lawmakers said the fact that the public is so aware of the controversy is a double-edged sword.

``It's a positive sign that people are following the issue and holding government responsible to conduct the appropriate investigation and reach the proper conclusion and do the right thing,'' said Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

But Assemblyman Thomas Calderon, D-Montebello, said it is unfortunate that it takes a scandal to catch the public's interest. ``I wish people were as aware as when we do great things as when people in our fold have a problem,'' Calderon said. ``It is never good for the institutions when we have a bad apple. And it tends to reinforce the cynicism that people feel about the political process.''

Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo noted that seven in 10 registered voters had seen or heard about the Quackenbush investigation. The negative reaction crosses party lines, although Democrats said they felt more strongly than Republicans. For example, 83 percent of registered voters described the allegations against the 46-year-old as serious, including 88 percent of the Democrats and 78 percent of Republicans.

The poll of registered voters has a sampling error rate of plus or minus 5.1 percent.

When asked if impeachment proceedings should begin if Quackenbush refuses to resign, 54 percent of the registered voters, 63 percent of the Democrats and 44 percent of the Republicans said yes.

DiCamillo said he found it ``somewhat curious'' that almost one-quarter of the registered voters surveyed had no opinion on whether Quackenbush should resign. ``Maybe that is because some voters may not feel all the facts are in,'' DiCamillo said.

He added the wording of the question may indicate that some voters believe impeachment proceedings would be the next step in the fact-finding process.

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