Texas Insurance Commissioner’s job may be on the line

Insurance news - Eleanor Kitzman Texas Insurance Commissioner

Eleanor Kitzman Texas Insurance CommissionerDemocrats in the Senate shot down at least one of the appointments made by the Governor in recent sessions.

Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman may be the next one in the crosshairs for the Senate Democrats in the state, which have taken down at least one of the appointments made by Governor Rick Perry in each of the last two legislative sessions.

Kitzman was first appointed in 2011 by the governor, and “has serious problem” in the Capitol.

This statement was made by Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin). The Texas Insurance Commissioner has faced considerable criticism for failing to be stern enough on the industry in the state, as well as for hiring costly consultants and neglecting consumers. She received her appointment between legislative sessions and is now undergoing the first of her confirmation processes.

Many are speculating that the Texas insurance commissioner job may not be Kitzman’s much longer.

The confirmation process for this top Texas insurance position will begin in early March with the Nominations Committee at the Senate. It will then be followed by a vote by the entire Senate. A number of Democrats, as well as at least two Republicans, have stated that there are long odds against the commissioner being able to keep her position, which currently pays $175,240 per year.

Kitzman has expressed her intention to speak with each individual senator in order to provide them with the opportunity to better know her. She stated that “I’m aware there are some members that have a view about certain things,” though she did not add any specifics to this statement.

She also went on to say that “some of those views may be pretty entrenched. Others are, I think, based on — let’s say — less than the whole story on some things. And I just want to give them an opportunity to, like I say, have complete information and make an informed decision.”

Before becoming the head of the Texas insurance department , Kitzman had previously run the department in South Carolina from 2005 through 2007. She resigned from that post after failing to resolve a disagreement over coastal wind coverage with the Governor at the time, Mark Sanford.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.