NU Online News Service, May 17, 2:10 p.m. EDT
Benjamin M. Lawsky has been nominated to be the first superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, the newly created department that merged the state's banking and insurance departments, says Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Lawsky is currently the governor's chief of staff. He served as the deputy counselor and special assistant to Cuomo while he was the state's attorney general.
James J. Wrynn, who was the superintendent of insurance prior to the merger, was named deputy superintendent of the new department.
State insurance associations say the moves were positive for the industry.
"We are looking forward to working with Mr. Lawsky; he has impeccable credentials," says Timothy D. Dodge, spokesman for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York. "We are also happy that James Wrynn will be staying on. We have good working relationships, and we expect and hope that to continue."
Matthew F. Guilbault, director of government and industry affairs for the Professional Insurance Agents of New York, says PIA has a "good feeling" about the choices, "bolstered by the fact that James Wrynn will be staying on."
"We think working with Mr. Lawsky and Mr. Wrynn bodes well for both insurance producers and consumers," Guilbault adds.
New York Insurance Association President Ellen Melchionni says Lawsky has a "great background for this" and has been involved in "putting this department together from the beginning."
She says the association has already sent a letter of support to the State Senate which must approve Lawsky's appointment. She adds that the association feels he is the most qualified candidate for this job after having met with him a few times to discuss the business climate in the state, which she says needs to be made better and more attractive to do business.
Lawsky spent more than five years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted securities fraud, organized crime and terrorism cases. Prior to that, he was chief counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and was a trial attorney in the civil division of the Department of Justice.
In other news, Mila Kofman resigned as superintendent of insurance in Maine after serving one year of her current five-year term. She was appointed to head the department in 2008.
According to The Portland Press Herald, Kofman left the job in a dispute with Gov. Paul LePage over implementation of health-care reform. The newspaper said she was cut out of the process of crafting legislation by the governor and decided she could no longer work with the administration.
The Bangor Daily News called the dispute "an ugly political fight."
The Maine Public Broadcasting Network said Kofman issued a statement that did not say why she was stepping down.
Prior to becoming the state's insurance superintendent Kofman was association research professor with the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She also served as a paid consumer liaison for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
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