The Florida Cabinet interviews four candidates Tuesday to head up the state’s office of insurance regulation. The governor and CFO are in a standoff.
The Cabinet will interview four insurance commissioner candidates—two of them new—at Tuesday’s meeting. The officers couldn’t agree at the last meeting. The new applicants are lawyer and insurance executive Raymond Blacklidge, and the outgoing commissioner’s Chief of Staff Belinda Miller. Speaking last week, CFO Jeff Atwater was cautiously optimistic ahead of round two.
“I don’t want it to drag out and I don’t want it to be unproductive time and for us to just be dragging our feet—I don’t think that’s the case. I really think everyone’s looking at this, and I don’t know if it will be next week or not. I hope it is. But if it’s not we’re ok—we’ve got a big decision to make.”
If the Cabinet can’t reach an agreement, Commissioner Kevin McCarty has offered to push back his resignation to 45 days after his replacement is chosen. State law requires not just a majority vote to appoint someone to the position but also consensus between the governor and CFO.
