Adam Hamm for Insurance Commissioner!

Election year will soon be upon us and the candidates are preparing their announcements. One very important post whose occupant will be determined by the voters next November is that of ND Insurance Commissioner. It appears as though one of the candidates looking for the support of his party is Representative Jasper Schneider. I'll tip my hand and come right out with the fact that I intend to support our incumbent Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm, but before my endorsement I'll share a few reasons why.

Jasper Schneider has a well documented record of hopping merrily from project to project without ever really seeing any of them through to their logical conclusions. Schneider has spent two years as an Attorney, and apparently lost interest in that venture. He's spent one year as a State Legislator, elected by the people of his home district, and quickly decided that gig wasn't for him either. Now he's decided he wants to become Insurance Commissioner, which raises some legitimate questions. Jasper is 28 years old and has shown a pattern indicating an inability to commit to one job. Is it reasonable to expect ND voters to take a chance on a candidate whom, based on past precedent, will not stick with the job he is elected to? Is it the responsibility of voters to help him weed through jobs, worse, elected positions, like so many sock drawers, until he finds the one he likes?

In some of Schneider's first comments regarding the Insurance Commissioner position, he said that the post would give him a platform from which to help handle the state's troubled Workforce Safety and Insurance Agency. Given the fact that the Insurance Department has no regulatory involvement with WSI, this begs the question(s)--does he even know what statutory authority the Insurance Commissioner has, AND that any change in this role involving WSI would require legislative action (a role he apparently can't wait to desert)?

For my money, Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm deserves our votes next November. He has a proven record of commitment and dedication as a successful Attorney for nearly a decade including the difficult prosecution and conviction of Kyle Bell for the murder of 11 year old Jeanna North. The people of North Dakota should expect, and in fact deserve an Insurance Commissioner who brings a depth of experience to the job instead of a year or two of this or that.

Posted by: J. Trandem