Peter Schorsch
Despite a last-ditch effort to save his job, it looks like Kevin McCarty will soon be out at the Office of Insurance Regulation.
The Palm Beach Post‘s John Kennedy has the details:
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater put up little resistance Wednesday to Gov. Rick Scott’s call for reviewing the future of more state agency heads even as he is catching heat for ousting the head of Florida’s top law enforcement agency.
(Atwater) didn’t balk at the idea advanced by Scott of reviewing the future of Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, Office of Financial Regulation Commissioner Drew Breakspear and Department of Revenue executive director Marshall Stranburg at the next Cabinet meeting, Feb. 5.
Atwater said he would welcome having a review “process” in place.
He wouldn’t speak directly about the performances of those targeted by Scott. But Atwater said, “I think we should have a discussion about a process.”
So who might replace McCarty at OIR?
Well, keep in mind that it is lobbyist and major Scott campaign donor Fred Karlinsky who has pushed hardest to axe McCarty, so there are signs that point to the next OIR chief being … Ron Henderson, who is from, you guessed it … Louisiana. Henderson is the deputy commissioner in that state’s Department of Insurance, Office of Consumer.
We hear that Karlinsky and Henderson know each other well; they even made a joint presentation in 2014.
Henderson’s hiring is not a lock. Heck, McCarty’s firing isn’t even a lock yet. But Henderson may be someone those in the industry should start learning about. After all, we were the first to report that McCarty was on the chopping block.
