Simi Valley Residents Cheer Quackenbush Resignation

Former Simi Valley Councilwoman Sandi Webb said she thought it would be only a matter of time before state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush would resign.

Still, Webb, who last month launched a statewide campaign to recall him from office, was giddy Wednesday as she monitored developments online and worked quickly to update her Web site with news that the commissioner had resigned. His resignation is effective July 10.

“I feel absolutely fabulous,” said Webb, whose Internet site features a mock photo of Quackenbush in old-fashioned jailbird stripes, smiling from behind bars.

She credited her all-volunteer group, People’s Veto, with helping to force the embattled commissioner’s hand.

The group had collected an estimated 2,000 signatures by Wednesday, a little more than a week after recall petitions had been posted on the Web site. Approximately 10,000 people from across the state had downloaded the petitions to circulate in their communities, she said.

Close to 1 million signatures would have been required to place a measure on the November ballot to force his ouster.

“Our efforts played a role,” she said. “It added to all the pressure coming down on him.”

Both the state Assembly and Senate are investigating the commissioner’s decision not to fine insurance companies for their mishandling of claims after the Northridge earthquake. Instead, Quackenbush directed the companies to donate $12.8 million to nonprofit foundations he established.

State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer is also investigating whether the foundations were sham operations.

Webb said she had launched the recall campaign, in part, because Simi Valley was one of the hardest hit areas in the 1994 quake.

Simi Valley incurred an estimated $400 million in damage in the quake, which forced many residents from their homes.

Maureen McGreevy said her insurance company, 20th Century, refused to pay for repairs to her two-story home, which in some places had severed connections between the two floors.

“They accused us of lying, they tried to beat us down,” said McGreevy, 55. “We were out of our house for three years.”

Eventually, her home on Waukegan Avenue was almost completely rebuilt after she and her husband, James, successfully won a confidential settlement from the insurance company.

“When you hear about the shenanigans that went on with Quackenbush, it makes you so angry,” she said. “I’d like to see him behind bars.”

Eugene Spect said he struggled for months to get his insurance company to pay the full $60,000 in damages at his home on Celia Court.

“We had to move out for six months,” he said. “So much needed to be done.”

He said he didn’t use the commissioner’s office to help him fight his battle with the insurance company, but he felt gratified to hear that Quackenbush had resigned.

“Those sweetheart deals are sickening,” he said. “I wonder how someone could get away with something like that.”

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Insurance commissioner resigns, but investigation will continue. A1