This public forum will provide voters with an opportunity to hear directly from candidates for Insurance Commissioner on key issues affecting Californians, including consumer protection, climate risk, insurance affordability, and regulatory oversight.

Note: Candidates representing all parties were invited to the forum.

About the Speakers

California State Senator Ben Allen represents the 24th Senate District covering the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of LA County. A native of Gardena, California, Steven Bradford is driven by a deep-rooted commitment to community service and social justice. Raised by a mother who worked as a nurse and a father who owned a small business, Bradford learned early on the values of compassion, advocacy, and equity. He has dedicated his career to championing the rights of marginalized communities and advocating for a more inclusive society. His relentless advocacy spans various sectors, from government and businesses to education and housing, with a singular focus on empowering Californians to achieve the California Dream. A longtime public servant, Steven Bradford previously served in the California State Senate. As former chair of the Senate Banking Committee and the Select Committee on Boys and Men of Color, he has spearheaded initiatives to promote opportunities for underserved communities. Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Bradford served in the California State Assembly and on the City Council in the City of Gardena. 

As a San Francisco supervisor from 2011 to 2019, Jane Kim represented a district encompassing both the city’s lowest-income residents and its wealthiest ZIP code. She fought for groundbreaking initiatives, including making San Francisco the only city in the nation to provide tuition-free Community College for all residents, enacting the nation’s strongest minimum wage law, and establishing a medical respite shelter for aging and sick homeless residents. A longtime champion for affordable housing, Jane crafted the nation’s most robust tenant-protection ordinance to prevent unjust evictions. She also led and won the fight to raise the city’s affordable housing mandate from 12 percent to 25 percent. Jane has served as the California political director for Bernie 2020 and as a senior fellow at both the Sanders Institute and the Young Elected Officials Network. Over the last four years, Jane Kim served as the California director for the Working Families Party, where she recruited and trained the next generation of leaders ready to fight for working families. 

Lalo Vargas is an environmental science teacher in Los Angeles, a former volunteer EMT/Firefighter, a tenant organizer, and a proud member of his union, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). He is running on the Vote Socialist CA slate of the Peace and Freedom Party.

Patrick Wolff is a financial analyst, father, and life-long Democrat with years of insurance experience. Early in his career, he spent four years building a home and auto insurance brokerage for a major bank. He has spent the last 20 years as a financial analyst, analyzing and investing in companies and markets, including insurance companies. Patrick has been very involved in state and local politics over the past ten years. He sits on the board of the Westside Family Democratic Club and is on the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee for SFUSD. Now, he is running for California Insurance Commissioner to bring fairness, transparency, and reform to our broken insurance system.

Moderator Nancy Tung was elected as chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party in April 2024. She previously served as an elected member of the party's local leadership for four years. She deeply understands the impact the Democratic Party has on our local elections and is guiding a new caucus of moderate Democrats in the party. Nancy's core issues are public safety, improving public schools, increasing the housing stock, and supporting small businesses. Outside of politics, Nancy is a career prosecutor, having served at the state and local level for 24 years.