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Cruz Bustamante
Official portrait, 1999
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

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

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.

Career

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. 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", indicating he opposed the recall.

2006 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.

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 in which he took no campaign contributions, received those votes as a protest for Bustamante's behavior during the 2003 recall election. 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.

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%. 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, but ultimately he did not run.

Personal life

With his wife Arcelia, Bustamante has three children.

Electoral history

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

v t e Speakers of the California State Assembly
White Bigler Hammond Wall Fairfax Stow Farley Beatty Whiteside Stratton Moore Burnell Barstow Machin Sears Yule Ryland Rogers Shannon Estee Carpenter Berry Cowdery Parks LaRue Parks Jordan Howe Coombs Gould Lynch Coombs Anderson Pendleton Fisk Prescott Beardslee Stanton Hewitt Young Wright Merriam Levey Little Craig Jones Peek Garland Lyon Collins Silliman Lincoln R. Brown Unruh Monagan Moretti McCarthy W. Brown Allen Setencich Pringle Bustamante Villaraigosa Hertzberg Wesson Núñez Bass Pérez Atkins Rendon Rivas

v t e Lieutenant governors of California
McDougal Broderick* Purdy R. Anderson Walkup Downey Quinn* de la Guerra* Chellis Machin Holden Pacheco Irwin* Johnson Mansfield Daggett Waterman White* Reddick Millard Jeter Neff A. Anderson Porter Wallace Eshleman Stephens Young Fitts Carnahan Merriam Hatfield Patterson Houser Knight Powers G. Anderson Finch Reinecke Harmer Dymally Curb McCarthy Davis Bustamante Garamendi Pasquil* Maldonado Newsom Kounalakis
* acting

• 1953 births
• American politicians of Mexican descent
• Hispanic and Latino American people in California politics
• Lieutenant governors of California
• Living people
• People from Dinuba, California
• Politicians from Fresno, California
• Speakers of the California State Assembly
• Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
• Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California
• Candidates in the 2003 United States elections
• Candidates in the 2006 United States elections
• 20th-century members of the California State Legislature