Sunnyside resident Veronika Fimbres, who ran as a Green Party write-in candidate for governor in 2018, is back on the campaign trail. This time she is on the ballot for insurance commissioner in the June 7 primary election.
A U.S. Navy veteran and the first transgender member on San Francisco’s Veteran Affairs Commission, Fimbres is up against eight other candidates.
Hailing from Detroit, Mich. and a nurse by trade, Fimbres moved to San Francisco in 1996 and has seen first-hand how insurance impacts Californians — especially the injustice in the system.
She told The Ingleside Light that she is the change candidate and that if elected she will transform the insurance sector because the people deserve new, fresh and exciting change.
The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you get involved with politics?
I was asked by Willie Brown to be on his campaign as a Lavender Committee co-chair.
Why are you running for California insurance commissioner?
As a nurse I have dealt with insurance [companies] where I’ve had to argue and fight with those people to try and get my patients services that they need and I don’t want to have to go through that again. I think that the insurance company in the state of California needs to be overhauled, so that it’s client-centered or a consumer-centric agency; so it benefits all of California. Whatever kind of insurance policies that are written, I want to go back and put sunshine, transparency and sunlight into these agencies.
How is your campaign funded?
I’m not a corporate candidate. I belong to the Green Party. I don’t take money from corporations. I don’t take dark money. I don’t take money from lobbyists. I live paycheck to paycheck. I take my own paycheck.Lots of people that I’m trying to support like all the Californians that are working, they live paycheck to paycheck, I need their financial support but more importantly, I need their vote.
What policies are you focused on?
Everything I do will be for everybody in California. Everybody that’s in California will be covered for health care. My main one is single payer health care. We can’t have people losing all their income to pay for a heart transplant that we can do with healthcare. With a single payer health insurance, it won’t cost anything to the client. The people shouldn’t have to come out of pocket for anything.
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Anne Marie Kristoff (she/her) is a recent graduate from San Francisco State University's journalism program. She enjoys writing about the arts, entertainment and nature.
