Peter Schorsch
Marc W. Dunbar, the Tallahassee-based lawyer and gaming lobbyist, will become the next member of Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors.
Dunbar, a partner in the Jones Walker firm’s Government Relations Practice Group, interviewed in February with CFO Jimmy Patronis for a vacancy on the state-run insurance concern’s board of governors. Citizens is the state’s insurer of last resort.
“Marc is a maverick who doesn’t just accept the status quo, and this fresh perspective will make a solid addition to Citizens Board of Governors,” Patronis said. “His experience in both the private and public sectors will help keep Citizens accountable and transparent. Marc adds incredible value to the board and I know he will be a champion for Florida’s insurance consumers.”
Dunbar, who described himself as “an outsider with no insurance ties,” has said he was “honored to be considered.” An official announcement is expected later today.
“It’s an honor to be chosen to help lead a corporation that protects Florida homeowners,” Dunbar said. “My priority is to make decisions that best serve the policyholders and the taxpayers of our state. Consumers must be at the forefront of our decision-making process.”
He replaces Don Glisson Jr., an insurance executive who stepped down last August. His term will end July 31, 2019.
Dunbar’s legal practice “began in regulated utilities and currently includes legal and lobbying representation for a host of diverse regulated industries including motor vehicle dealerships and manufacturers, gambling, tobacco, alcohol, medical professions, and medical cannabis,” according to his Jones Walker bio.
Dunbar represented the Creek Entertainment/Gretna horse track, managed and operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, in a lawsuit over expanding slot machines to counties that approved them in local referendums.
The Florida Supreme Court eventually ruled that wasn’t allowed under existing state gambling law.
“In addition to his work for regulated industries, Mr. Dunbar is very active in campaigns, having served in paid and volunteer capacities for several local, legislative, and statewide campaigns with a legal practice that also includes practicing before Florida’s Ethics and Elections Commissions,” his bio says.
In 2015, Gov. Rick Scott appointed Dunbar to the Northwest Florida Water Management District’s governing board.
He’s also a member of the Board of Visitors for Florida State University College of Law, where he also has served as an adjunct professor, teaching a course on Gambling and Pari-Mutuel Law.
