Jane Kim claimed victory Friday in the race for state insurance commissioner.
Standing in front of the Golden Hydrant near Dolores Park, Kim thanked her backers in the labor community, including the Service Employees International Union-California and the California Federation of Labor Unions, as well as the Working Families Party, the progressive political organization she previously headed.
People came up with the concept of insurance centuries ago as a form of mutual aid, Kim said. It’s now a hugely profitable industry and represents a massive transfer of wealth from “everyday people to billion-dollar corporations,” she said.
“We are standing here to say: ‘No more,’” she said. “We are going to make insurance work for us.”
Kim — a former two-term San Francisco supervisor — made the announcement with millions of ballots still outstanding, but after her lead had widened over her opponent, state Sen. Ben Allen.
As of the latest report from the California Secretary of State’s Office on Friday morning, Kim had 52.7% of the vote to Allen’s 47.3%.
In initial returns Tuesday night, Kim had less than 52%.
Kim said she and Allen had a conversation earlier Friday in which he congratulated h...