Cruz Bustamante

Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. He previously served as the 45th lieutenant governor of California from 1999 to 2007, serving under governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A member of the Democratic Party, Bustamante also served in the California State Assembly and served as the Speaker from 1996 to 1998.

Cruz Bustamante
Bustamante in 2006
45th Lieutenant Governor of California
In office January 4, 1999 – January 8, 2007
Governor	Gray Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Gray Davis
Succeeded by	John Garamendi
62nd Speaker of the California State Assembly
In office December 2, 1996 – February 26, 1998
Preceded by	Curt Pringle
Succeeded by	Antonio Villaraigosa
Member of the California State Assembly from the 31st district
In office April 29, 1993 – November 30, 1998
Preceded by	Bruce Bronzan
Succeeded by	Sarah Reyes
Personal details
Born	Cruz Miguel Bustamante (1953-01-04) January 4, 1953 (age 71) Dinuba, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Arcelia
Children	3
Education	Fresno City College California State University, Fresno (BA)
Signature

Early life and education

The eldest of six children, Cruz Bustamante was born in Dinuba, California. His family later moved to San Joaquin, California. He attended and graduated from Tranquillity High School in the 1970s, where he excelled in both football and wrestling, and later attended Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno. Bustamante earned his Bachelor of Arts via distance learning from California State University, Fresno in 2003.^[1][2]

Career

Bustamante as a member of the Assembly

Bustamante c. 1993

As a resident of Fresno, Bustamante was elected to the California State Assembly in a special election in 1993, and became the Speaker of the Assembly in 1996.^[2] He was elected lieutenant governor in 1998, the first Latino elected to statewide office in California in more than 120 years. He was also the highest-ranking elected Latino officeholder in the United States until Bill Richardson became governor of New Mexico in 2003.

2003 recall election

He was the most prominent Democrat to run in the 2003 California recall election to remove Governor Gray Davis, and placed second to Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, losing by 17 points. (see full election results).

Bustamante had an apparently icy relationship with Governor Davis, a fellow Democrat, during his tenure. They reportedly had not talked in months before the recall election approached. Bustamante's decision to run in the recall election was controversial, as many supporters of Governor Davis had urged prominent Democrats not to run, in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the event. During the recall election, Bustamante ran on a platform slogan of "No on Recall, Yes on Bustamante,"^[3][4] indicating he opposed the recall.

2006 insurance commissioner election

Main article: 2006 California Insurance Commissioner election

Bustamante was the Democratic nominee for California insurance commissioner in 2006. In his official candidate statement, he said "I want to become an example to others to lead healthier lives by losing weight myself. Obesity in California costs $7.7 billion a year." Bustamante claimed to have shed 43 pounds, to a weight of 235 pounds, by means of diet and exercise.^[5]

He easily won the June 6, 2006 Democratic primary, receiving 70.5% of the vote and defeating his challenger, John Kraft. Bustamante received 1,606,913 votes to 674,309 for Kraft. Many political analysts believed that Kraft, who ran a low-key campaign where he took no campaign contributions, received those votes as a protest for Bustamante's behavior during the 2003 recall election.^[6] However, Kraft planned to actively campaign for Bustamante in the general election, and donated a significant portion of his fortune as an heir to Kraft Foods to Bustamante's campaign.^[7]

Bustamante ran against Republican Steve Poizner in November. Bustamante announced that he would not be returning insurance industry contributions to his campaign, a position criticized by Poizner and campaign ethicists. Bustamante also failed to meet a deadline to submit a campaign statement to voters. According to the Field Poll, on November 3, 2006, Bustamante trailed Poizner by 9%.^[8] and lost to Poizner by 12% in the general election.

It was speculated that Bustamante would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 21st congressional district in 2012,^[9] but ultimately he did not run.

Personal life

With his wife Arcelia, Bustamante has three children.

Electoral history

Public offices
Office	Type	Location	Elected	Term began	Term ended
State Assemblyman	Legislature	Sacramento	1993	May 3, 1993	December 5, 1994
State Assemblyman	Legislature	Sacramento	1994	December 5, 1994	December 2, 1996
Speaker of the Assembly	Legislature	Sacramento	1996	December 2, 1996	December 7, 1998
Lieutenant Governor	Executive	Sacramento	1998	January 4, 1999	January 6, 2003
Lieutenant Governor	Executive	Sacramento	2002	January 6, 2003	January 8, 2007

California State Assembly service
Session	Majority	Governor	Committees	District
1993–1994	Democratic	Pete Wilson		31
1995–1996	Republican	Pete Wilson		31
1997–1998	Democratic	Pete Wilson		31

California Lieutenant Governor general election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cruz Bustamante	4,290,473	52.7
	Republican	Tim Leslie	3,161,031	38.8
	Green	Sara Amir	247,897	3.0
	Libertarian	Thomas M. Tryon	167,523	2.1
	Peace and Freedom	Jaime Luis Gomez	109,888	1.3
	American Independent	George M. McCoy	92,349	1.1
	Reform	James G. Mangia	74,180	0.9
Total votes			8,143,341
Majority			1,129,442	13.9
	Democratic hold

California Lieutenant Governor general election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Cruz Bustamante (incumbent)	3,658,942	49.4	−3.3
	Republican	Bruce McPherson	3,094,392	41.8	+3.0
	Green	Donna Warren	307,254	4.1	+1.1
	Libertarian	Pat Wright	107,127	1.4	−0.7
	American Independent	James King	93,026	1.3	+0.2
	Reform	Paul Jerry Hanosh	82,053	1.1	+0.2
	Natural Law	Kalee Przybylak	68,366	0.9	+0.9
Total votes			7,411,160
Majority			564,550	7.6	−6.3
	Democratic hold		Swing	−6.3

California recall election, 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Arnold Schwarzenegger	4,206,284	48.6
	Democratic	Cruz Bustamante	2,724,874	31.5
	Republican	Tom McClintock	1,161,287	13.5
	Green	Peter Miguel Camejo	242,247	2.8

California Insurance Commissioner primary election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cruz Bustamante	1,651,858	70.4
	Democratic	John Kraft	693,662	29.6
Total votes			2,345,520
Majority			958,196	40.8

California Insurance Commissioner general election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Poizner	4,233,986	50.8
	Democratic	Cruz Bustamante	3,204,536	38.5
	Libertarian	Dale Ogden	305,772	3.7
	Green	Larry Cafiero	270,218	3.2
	Peace and Freedom	Tom Condit	187,618	2.3
	American Independent	Jay Earl Burden	127,267	1.5
Total votes			8,329,397
Majority			1,029,450	12.3
	Republican gain from Democratic

See also

• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States

References

1. "Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante". digital.library.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
2. Zarembo, Alan (August 30, 2003). "Slow but Steady Approach Has Served Bustamante Well". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
3. "Special Election - Candidate Statement". Vote2003.ss.ca.gov. October 7, 2003. Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
4. Fouhy, Beht (August 22, 2003). "State Democrats in Congress say no to recall, yes to Bustamante". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
5. Oldham, Jennifer. "Bustamante Hopes to Win Insurance Post by Losing". Los Angeles Times.
6. Feist, Paul (June 7, 2006). "Politics Blog : Election results not good news for Bustamante". SFGate. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
7. Capitol Weekly: The Newspaper of California State Government and Politics Archived June 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
8. Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field; November 3, 2006; "Lt. Governor's race deadlocked" Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine; ''Field Research Corporation; url accessed November 4, 2006,
9. Ellis, John (February 21, 2012). "Dinuba native Bustamante eyes 21st District congressional bid". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.

External links

• California portal

• California June Primary Results
• Cruz Bustamante on Manny Fernandez Internet Media Mogal
• Appearances on C-SPAN

California Assembly
Preceded by Bruce Bronzan	Member of the California Assembly from the 31st district 1993–1998	Succeeded by Sarah Reyes
Preceded by Curt Pringle	Speaker of the California Assembly 1996–1998	Succeeded by Antonio Villaraigosa
Party political offices
Preceded by Gray Davis	Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of California 1998, 2002	Succeeded by John Garamendi
	Democratic nominee for Governor of California 2003	Succeeded by Phil Angelides
Preceded by John Garamendi	Democratic nominee for Insurance Commissioner of California 2006	Succeeded by Dave Jones
Political offices
Preceded by Gray Davis	Lieutenant Governor of California 1999–2007	Succeeded by John Garamendi