SF supe to run for state Insurance Commissioner

By Samantha McGirr
The Public Press

City supervisor Michaela Alioto-Pier announced Monday that she would run for state insurance commissioner in 2010.

Alioto-Pier, a moderate member of the board, has represented the city’s second district, including the Marina, the Presidio and Pacific Heights, since her appointment by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004.

The supervisor knows firsthand the challenges of navigating the healthcare and insurance industries. A skiing accident in 1981 left her unable to walk, and she plans to use her personal experience to improve coverage for citizens.

“Like too many Californians, I know from firsthand experience that the insurance industry can be overly expensive, needlessly complex and callously unresponsive,” she said.

Alioto-Pier is the granddaughter of former Mayor Joe Alioto and a protégé of former vice president Al Gore. She is not new to the campaign trail, having unsuccessfully campaigned once for Congress and twice for California’s Secretary of State. Her competitors for the Democratic nomination include state Assemblymen Dave Jones of Sacramento and Hector de la Torre of South Gate (Los Angeles County).