The defeat of both Propositions 16 and 17 is a major victory for progressives whose importance cannot possibly be underestimated. PG&E spent $40 million to pass it. The opposition? They spent $100,000. But with groups like the Courage Campaign (where I work as Public Policy Director) pitching in to help educate and organize voters, we were able to mobilize progressive activists to get the word out about this bad proposition, turn out to the polls, and make sure Prop 16 went down. Prop 17’s story was very similar, with opponents being outspent 10 to 1.

Harvey Rosenfield, the noted consumer advocate who led the fight against the proposition, was scheduled to make a statement later. Existing law lets insurers offer loyalty (or “persistency”) discounts to long-term customers. Mercury has been fighting for years for the right to extend the discounts to other insurers’ long-term customers in an effort to lure them away. Rosenfield says that because of the “zero sum” regulations governing insurance premiums in California, companies that give discounts to one group have to raise premiums on others. He said newly insured motorists, or those who’d let their insurance expire temporarily, would pay big surcharges as a result.