Insurance Commissioner candidates
(Primary: July 20. If no candidate receives a majority, top 2 will meet in Aug. 10 runoff. Winner will face Democrat Mary Squires and Libertarian Shane Bruce in November).
Dennis Cain
Age: 56
Residence: Hazlehurst
Experience: Insurance agent, started own agency in 1991. Served in Georgia Farm Bureau. Former chairman Three Rivers GOP PAC and Jeff Davis Republican Party.
What he’ll do if elected:
Look to make health insurance affordable, make insurance companies more stable. Will work to eliminate the use of credit-based insurance scores to determine insurance rates. Will work to make process more understandable and fair or do away with this practice of legal discrimination altogether.
Rick Collum
Age: 40
Residence: Moultrie
Experience: Deputy U.S. Marshal, Special Assistant Attorney General for Georgia, magistrate judge, instructor of law at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
What he’ll do if elected:
Expects to reduce insurance fraud and help to lower insurance rates. Will use law enforcement background and resources to target insurance fraud. Believes collateral agreements with local, state and federal agencies can optimize the commissioner’s ability to combat insurance fraud.
Seth Harp
Age: 67
Residence: Midland
Experience: State senator for 10 years, chairman of Higher Education Committee. Served with Marines in Vietnam War. Lawyer in Muscogee County.
What he’ll do if elected:
Will fight to maintain Georgian’s freedom of choice and unfunded national mandates. Work to make sure rates are kept low, crack down on insurance fraud. Create an environment to attract business to Georgia and strive for more affordable insurance that will allow more Georgians to be insured.
Ralph T. Hudgens
Age: 67
Residence: Hull
Experience: Elected to state House in 1996. Served in state Senate since 2002. Worked with Shell Ag for 18 years. Served as State Director of ASCS, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
What he’ll do if elected:
Create a level playing field for insurance buyers and sellers. Apply the same rules for commercial auto and homeowners insurance that were established in 2008. Oppose federal health care bill. Change regulations on rate increases and decreases for insurance companies to drive down costs.
Tom Knox
Age: 67
Residence: Cumming
Experience: Attorney. Elected to the state House in 2000. Became Chairman of the House Insurance Committee in 2005.
What he’ll do if elected:
Will use every legal means to stop nationalized health care, work to make sure health insurance companies can compete freely to provide insurance for those who need it. Supports free market competition at all levels of lending industry. Will work to improve fire safety ratings to lower costs for homeowners.
John Mamalakis
Age: 62
Residence: Savannah
Experience: Insurance agent for more than 35 years. Trustee on Armstrong Atlantic State University Foundation.
What he’ll do if elected:
Work to improve image of department. Step up efforts in fraud investigation. Improve relationship with legislature, work with lawmakers to review health mandates and their impact on costs and alternative competitive options, including small businesses pools. Calls for nonpartisan task force to evaluate state health insurance options.
Stephen Northington
Age: 40
Residence: Acworth
Experience: Insurance agent, founded own agency in 2002.
What he’ll do if elected:
Make Georgia the best market for buying insurance in the US. Increase fraud control and the efficiency of arson investigations. Enhance consumer service. Research high risk insurance pools in other states to prepare one for Georgia. Decreasing time to process fraud and arson investigations. Keep payroll lenders out of Georgia.
Gerry Purcell
Age: 48
Residence: Alpharetta
Experience: Business owner, former U.S. Army Military Intelligence officer.
What he’ll do if elected:
Opposes federal health insurance mandates. Establish a best-practices website where states can learn from one another. Promote transparency, reconnecting patients with providers through incentives. Oppose efforts to nationalize or dismantle state regulatory system. Assemble broker and agent advisory board. Work with legislature to eliminate premium tax, pass stronger ethics reform.
Maria Sheffield
Age: 36
Residence: Mableton
Experience: Attorney for Burr Forman law firm.
What she’ll do if elected:
Fight Obamacare. Audit department and reduce size of state government. Support free enterprise and small businesses by increasing competition, reducing regulations, improving processes. Institute zero-based budgeting, oppose any new taxes or fees. Aggressively fight insurance fraud. Instill high ethical standards involving gifts, expenses, use of government vehicles and equipment.
Sources: Times research; gwinnettforum.com; candidate websites
With 11 candidates, the race to become Georgia’s next insurance commissioner is among the most crowded on the ballot.
Nine Republicans, one Democrat and one Libertarian are vying for this down-ticket office that is making more of a splash than usual.
With longtime Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine running for governor, a number of candidates likely feel more confident without having to challenge an incumbent.
Douglas Young, a professor of political science at Gainesville State College, said a wide open race naturally will create more interest.
“This is the best shot that anyone has had to be elected to that position in a long, long time,” Young said. “(Oxendine has) won re-election not once, not twice but thrice as insurance commissioner. He’s been sort of an institution for almost 16 years in that post.”
The recent political controversy over health insurance is also fueling some interest.
A number of candidates have spoken in their campaigns about the new health care law, which is especially unpopular among Republicans.
“I can’t help but think this position will be more influential as a result of the Obama health care law taking effect soon and getting the government far more involved in health care than ever before in American history,” Young said. “I would think if nothing else, a Georgia state insurance commissioner could use his post as a bully pulpit.”
UGA Political Scientist Charles Bullock also pointed out that because it is a full-time position, it may be more appealing than a legislative position to some who have political aspirations.
“It seems like the salary must have much of the appeal,” Bullock said. The job pays $117,000 annually.
The insurance commissioner post has been around since the early years of Georgia’s statehood.
According to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, the post, originally known as Comptroller General, has functioned continuously since 1799. The title of the office officially changed to Office of Commissioner of Insurance in 1983.
The commissioner’s three main areas of responsibility are insurance, fire safety and industrial loans.
The department supervises insurance companies authorized to do business in Georgia. According to the office, that includes examining financial conditions, licensing companies and agents and investigating claim complaints.
The office also inspects public buildings for compliance with state fire safety laws and aids in arson investigations. The commissioner also regulates small loan companies.
Young said following Oxendine’s success as a top contender for the governorship, people may start looking at the position as a launching pad to higher political office.
“He has been able to use his longevity in this post to position himself as a leading Republican candidate for governor,” Young said. “Especially if he prevails, that I think will add to the political cache of being insurance commissioner.”