Thirty years of experience in the insurance business, 27 of them as a small-business owner, have given Brian Berend the chops to be a very good Washington State Insurance Commissioner, he says.

But the Farmer’s Insurance agent will also tell you that he’s running for the position now, and as an independent, because the insurance commissioner’s office of 2012 under Democratic incumbent Mike Kreidler has let the agenda of a political party agenda distract it.

Advancing the goals of a political party, Berend argues, was not what the people who established the office in 1908 had in mind for it.

“The entire purpose of the office is to regulate insurance,” Berend said at his recent campaign kickoff party at the Truitt Building in Auburn. “And my vision of the insurance commissioner’s office is to bring it back to the independent, executive position it was meant to be, focusing on, protecting and educating the people of this state about all kinds of insurance.

“I feel that I know what it takes to take care of people,” Berend added. “My customers rely on me to navigate through these troubled waters of insurance, and they’ve been with me years and years because they trust me.”

Besides Berend, candidates are Kreidler, D, John R. Adams, R, and Scott Reilly, R. The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 7 primary  advance to the November general election, regardless of party.

What the office needs, Berend said, is a leader to refocus its efforts while taking advantage of emerging technologies to retool the industry to better serve the people of this state.

By 2014, he said, there should be an estimated 1.1 million more people in the state of Washington who will be covered by health insurance and who will need access to health care providers. Accordingly, the ICO must work with the health care industry to bolster the workforce to help meet the growing needs.

“We need to make sure the educational institutions have programs in place to train, retrain and hire for these new jobs and provide subsidies for hospitals and clinics for creating on-site training programs.”

Doesn’t Berend worry about being the underdog in the race?

“How could I not be?” Berend responded. “But I have an inner belief that it’s the right thing to do. I really feel that in the last 20 years or so, the insurance companies, the lobbyists, the political action committees have gotten to the point where they are supporting certain people for certain offices. But again, it’s back full circle to that political agenda. Why should the insurance commissioner be a Democrat or a Republican? Whatever happened to voting for the best person, regardless of politics?”

One question he often gets: what happens now that President Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act has been ruled constitutional?

“It’s federal law, we have to comply with what they ask for. And one of the things we have to do in Washington is establish a health care exchange. We need to have accessibility, to have people sign up for this health insurance, whether it’s on 800 numbers, whether it’s via a website presence, whether it’s kiosks in Yakima, Wenatchee, Tri Cities, or Spokane. We also have to have multi-lingual staff to help people access coverage.”

A Washington State native born and raised in the south end of King County, Berend has volunteered at the Auburn Food Bank, Valley Christian School and is a 20-year member of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. He has also been an assistant coach for Auburn Little League and an instructor for Junior Achievement for the last four years.

He is a Green River Community College graduate and a graduate of the Leadership Institute of South Puget Sound. He has earned the LUTCF designation from The National Association of Life Underwriters and the CIC designation from the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors.

He is chairman of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, and past president of the Sumner Meadows Men’s Golf Club.