John Oxendine understands public service
You all are going to give me money because you’re afraid not to’
John Oxendine, the insurance commissioner and GOP gubernatorial candidate currently leading the polls, must be having a great day.
In 2003, Fortune ran a short article about a speech Oxendine delivered to auto-insurance managers. The AJC’s Jim Galloway posted a snippet from the piece:
First, Oxendine said, those managers ought to be wary of the 12 states in which the insurance commissioner is elected — Georgia is one of them — because “we are different.” Details: “We are a pain in the butt. We are very high-maintenance…. I am not a professional regulator, I am a politician…. I’m going to do what I think is going to get me reelected.”
Oxendine does believe, he says, that insurers are entitled to a fair and reasonable profit: “I am not one of these Socialists never ever going to give out a rate increase.” But, he said, “you need to realize that you have to find a way to always make me look good in front of the voters.”
As for campaign contributions, he noted he wasn’t allowed to take them from insurance companies, but money from individuals is entirely acceptable. And gettable: “I’m the incumbent. You all are going to give me money because you’re afraid not to.”
Let’s keep these pearls of wisdom coming!