Peter Schorsch
As reported by FloridaPolitics.com earlier this week, the pool of applicants to replace outgoing Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is so far anything but impressive. The applicant list stands at 32 interested parties, yet only three appear to be eligible based on the state’s pre-screening questions.
On Tuesday, we learned that former Rep. Tom Grady would not be applying for the position. Today, industry insiders are telling FloridaPolitics.com that the Governor’s Office may be looking at former state Representative and current Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson.
With only three out of 32 applicants currently being statutorily eligible to even be considered for the position, one would ask, is Nelson even eligible based on the state’s pre-screen questions?
Take for example question 1, which seems to be tripping a lot of candidates up:
“Do you have at least five (5) or more years of responsible private sector experience working full-time in areas within the scope of the subject matter jurisdiction of the Office of Insurance Regulation within the last ten (10) years?”
According to Nelson’s bio, he is an insurance agent. A respectable profession, yet one that appears to fall under the jurisdiction of the office of the CFO and Department of Financial Services, and not the Office of Insurance Regulation. Right off that bat it would appear that Nelson would fall into the ineligible category.
With all due respect to the Cabinet, Florida is a unique state with complex insurance issues. Our residents deserve the most qualified candidate we can find, not someone that can’t even make it past the first interview question.
