State Sen. Ralph Hudgens, R-Hull, officially announced his candidacy for state insurance commissioner Tuesday and said he has assembled a campaign team that includes the head of the state Transportation Board.
I still think the Insurance Commissioner should be an appointed position. The powers and office in the wrong hands could just be a hotbed of corruption and ethical issues.
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“I still think the Insurance Commissioner should be an appointed position. The powers and office in the wrong hands could just be a hotbed of corruption and ethical issues.”
I don’t get the logic. How does someone being appointed make them more accountable and less open to corruption and ethical issues?
Just because the electorate often fails to take their responsibility seriously on down ballot races doesn’t mean that the problems with some individuals go away if they are appointed. It just means that they are only accountable to other individuals, many of whom can also be involved in a hotbed of corruption and ethical issues. I would argue that a system of appointed individuals acutally increases the potential for corruption.
As is often the case, except for his unnatural man-love for Johnny Isakson, I agree with Icarus.
The electorate does often fall down, but take a look at Ohio ca. 2006 when the Governor Taft used his power of appointment to destroy the once dominate Repuiblican party in the state.
I agreed with Icarus. Can anyone name one local/state/national office that doesn’t have potential to be a hotbed of corruption and ethical issues? Whether appointed or elected makes little difference; the winner’s loyalty lies with whoever helped he/she get in the position.
Of course had Ox been appointed, it would have saved us a lot of tax dollars since he wouldn’t have needed to be on the scene at every fire or tornado in the past 14+ years to cheese for the cameras to aid his re-elections…
When I go to national utility regulator conventions, which isn’t very often, I get the opportunity to meet my peers across the country. Of all the state PSCs, approximately 1/3 are elected and 2/3 are appointed one way or another. Some are appointed in much the same way we chose are DOT board. SC for instance appoints through the legislature by congressional district.
The appointment idea is that regulators with great, experienced backgrounds will be picked. Of the appointed commisioners, the reality is that some are professorial or bureaucrat types, that frankly can get a little too far in the weeds on some issues and lose sight of the human aspect, and some are political types that were appointed to the position purely as a political favor.
To echo what Icarus said, I don’t think appointing commissioners insulates the offices from corruption, or enhances the pool of resumes, anymore than electing the commissioners.
I would rather have more offices elected and accountable to the people than appointed and only accountable to the governor.
Image what the IRS would be like if the Sec. of the Treasury had to be elected.
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