The three Democratic IC candidates each have wonderful strengths (certainly including Gene Reed–his experience within the department is clearly head and shoulders above the other two candidates) and each has areas of concern (again, certainly including Gene Reed). The six of us ultimately assign weights to each positive and negative trait, and share our tallies.

The six of us bring six different backgrounds, and approach each race and each candidate differently. This diversity is wonderful. We also, all six, have been quite successful in sharing our perspectives with each other, and in carefully considering each other’s perspectives.

It is impossible for anyone who has gone through the process that our committee follows to not see several strengths of Gene Reed, and to not see reasons for the PDD to endorse his candidacy. Our process is designed to reveal these strengths and reasons. It also, however, is designed to only endorse those candidates that a majority of the committee feel are deserving of PDD’s seal of approval (where the strengths clearly outweigh the negatives). This is an intentionally high bar. No Democratic candidate for Insurance Commissioner cleared that bar this summer.