New California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara addresses supporters (Photo by Equality California Communications Director Samuel Garrett-Pate.)

It was windy and pouring the night before Ricardo Lara made history; “Hurricane Sacramento” some called it. But by noon on Jan 7, the sky had cleared, the air was full of change and somewhere a rainbow beamed over California as the son of Mexican immigrants was sworn in as the 8th Insurance Commissioner and the first LGBT person elected statewide in the state of California.

In his remarks, Lara stressed that being gay wasn’t just a reference, one characteristic that happened to be part of his character. Being an out gay Latino is a central fact of his existence, an experiential lens through which he sees the world, understands policy and celebrates symbolism—such as having out gay former District Judge Vaughn Walker, who ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional, preside over his swearing-in on a copy of California’s first Constitution in its original 1849 Spanish translation.

New Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara thanks former District Judge Vaughn Walker (photo via Michael Soller)

The arc of the moral universe felt like it was bending toward justice.

“Thank you for insisting that our laws be based on evidence, and not prejudice. Your ruling on marriage equality showed that the wisdom of our Constitution is greater than the sum of our fears,” the new Commissioner told the judge.

Lara then opened his inaugural comments by acknowledging the importance of the moment.

“A people’s progress is often measured by thresholds crossed. In the nearly 170 years of California’s history, hundreds of men and women have been elected to serve in statewide constitutional office. Until now, not one was openly gay,” Lara said.

“I am standing before you, but I am surrounded by the spirit of those bold, unapologetic, and courageous people who protested and ultimately gave their lives so that we could live proudly. Today has been in the making for generations,” the new Commissioner said.

“From the thousands sent to concentration camps in Nazi Germany to the uprisings at the Black Cat in Los Angeles and the Stonewall Inn in New York to the queer Dreamers paving the way for our immigrant communities. To my LGBTQ+ community, my parents and my family, my great teachers and professors, my extraordinary staff — past and present — and my lifelong support system,” Lara said. “Today we shattered the pink ceiling!”

But Lara said he didn’t run for the statewide office to make history. “I ran to make a difference in the lives of millions of Californians.”

California’s Department of Insurance, Lara noted, is the largest and most important state consumer protection agency in America. “At a time of historic disparity, when the rich get richer and corporate elite get all the advantages, it is more urgent than ever that government work for all of us,” Lara said. “I have made it my life’s work to ensure Californians can live their lives openly, safely, and affordably. Free of fear, prejudice or injustice.”

As the “proud son” of working-class Mexican parents “who – sustained by one dream but no documents – braved a border to pursue a better life,” Lara championed undocumented immigrants, including authoring a bill as state senator in 2015 that extended Medi-Cal to undocumented children. “After all, I know what it is to live in the shadows. Concealing my own orientation to even my own family and closest friends,” he said.

“We are the Department of Fair Deals, the Department of Fresh Starts, the Department of Rebuilding Your Home, the Department of Protecting your Investment, and the Department of the Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow,” said Lara. “In short, we are the Department of Hope, and we have never been more important.”

Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur at Lara’s swearing in (photo via Facebook)

Equality California hosted a reception for about 400 people to celebrate Lara’s life and career as an LGBTQ trailblazer from East LA, said EQCA Communications Director Samuel Garrett-Pate. “There were drag queens throughout the club mingling with guests, the featured cocktail was a ‘Pink Triangle,’” and the food was a spin on LA street vendor classics.

Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur congratulated his friend and addressed “identity politics,” which conservatives have disparaged as an “issue.”

“’Identity politics’ is not a dirty phrase or a political liability,” Zbur said. “It is, rather, the literal definition of representative democracy to elect leaders who represent all of us and our diverse identities, backgrounds and stories.”

Zbur then celebrated the identities of California’s top elected officials. “Today is for the gay boy in East Los Angeles, the son of immigrants — a factory worker and a seamstress — sharing a king-sized bed with his four siblings and fearing that his parents might be taken away from him one day. [Lara],” he said.

“Today is for the young girl whose father told her stories of his small Greek village being invaded by Nazis, who then occupied his modest childhood home. [Lt Gov. Eleni Kounalakis],” Zbur said. “Today is for the boy with dyslexia, struggling to read and write, whose mom works three jobs to support him and his sister. [Gov. Gavin Newsom]

“Today is for the daughters of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco and New York [State Controller Betty Yee and Treasurer Fiona Ma], for the sons of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles and Sacramento [Sec. of State Alex Padilla and Attorney Gen. Xavier Becerra] and for the son of a single mother, a schoolteacher from Panama [Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond].”

In fact, California, the most populous state in the union, is now run by minorities with Gov. Gavin Newsom the only white man holding a statewide constitutional office.

Ricardo Lara being sworn in (Photo by Equality California Communications Director Samuel Garrett-Pate.

Transcript of INSURANCE COMMISSIONER RICARDO LARA INAUGURAL ADDRESS (prepared for delivery) Jan. 7, 2019