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Retired Asian American Judge to Fill Insurance Commissioner Post

Harry Low. file photo.

By Tom Lee

On Monday, Governor Gray Davis appointed a prominent retired API judge to the state Insurance Commissioner post—a position left open by the controversial resignation of former Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush. The appointment would make Harry Low the highest-ranking Asian American in state government if his nomination receives confirmation by a majority of the Senate and the Assembly.

If confirmed, Low will serve out the rest of Quackenbush’s term, which ends in 2002. Low said he has not ruled out the possibility of running for the Insurance Commissioner office once he has completed his term. However, he seemed ambivalent about that prospect.

“I have not given very much thought to that,” he said in a news conference on Monday. “I don’t view myself as a political person. I have great trouble raising money, and I don’t like to do it.”

Low, a registered Democrat, has a tough job ahead of him: He will be responsible for restoring the public’s confidence in the state Insurance Department after the Quackenbush scandal. Facing possible impeachment, Quackenbush resigned in late June after details of his mishandling of insurance fines surfaced. Quackenbush is accused of allowing insurance companies to pay $13 million to nonprofit organizations instead of to victims of the Northridge earthquake. Most of the money was allegedly used for television commercials featuring Quackenbush and popular celebrities.

The task of renewing trust is one Gov. Davis deemed Low more than capable of accomplishing.

“When this process began, I said I would find someone who could restore the credibility and integrity of that important office,” Gov. Davis said, explaining the reasons Low was chosen. “Someone with impeccable credentials. Someone above reproach and—more importantly—above politics. Someone with the wisdom and the determination to get the office refocused on its fundamental mission–protecting consumers. I have found that person in Justice Harry Low.”

Low, 69, has accumulated an impressive resume serving for 26 years as a judge in the Municipal and Superior courts as well as a presiding justice in the California Court of Appeal. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1952 and earned his law doctorate from U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law three years later.

Since his retirement in 1992, Low has maintained active in the courts serving as a private sector judge. He has also kept a high profile in the local community serving on several commission boards. Low is the chairman of the Chinese Community Health Care Association and the director of the U.S. District Court Historical Society. He is currently the president of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission—a post he said he would resign from if he is confirmed by the Legislature.

“Harry Low will bring stability to a very troubled state agency,” said Henry Der, deputy superintendent of public instruction at the California Department of Education. “He has a very balanced approach. He does not weigh heavily on one side. He moves cautiously but with focus on what needs to be done.”

Low has the ability to be sincerely amiable, said Der, even to his dissenters. “As an individual, he’s very personal, so even if people don’t agree with him, they will be able to work with him,” he said.

It seems Low’s soft-spoken personable style makes him a perfect choice to correct turbulent circumstances—a quality other politicians have noticed. Low was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown last year to serve as president of the Human Rights Commission to correct alleged problems in the city’s minority contracting program. Former Mayor Frank Jordan named Low to head the Police Commission in 1992, when the department was under fire with allegations of mishandling public protesters.

Gov. Davis is confident Low will be able to bring the same kind of calming effect to the insurance department as he has done with the other appointments. “At the end of the day, I believe that, if anyone can restore our trust and confidence in the Department of Insurance, Justice Harry Low can,” he said.

Not everyone, however, agreed with Gov. Davis’ nomination of Low. “We had two reactions when Quackenbush resigned,” said Harvey Rosenfield, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. “ We wanted [his successor] to be someone with utmost integrity and someone who’s an aggressive advocate for consumers. Low has the integrity but as a judge he doesn’t have the experience as a consumer advocate which is what the job requires.”

“Obviously we’re hopeful he’ll be a strong protector and defender of consumer rights,” Rosenfield added. “This isn’t a reflection on Judge Low; we just don’t know what his record might be.”