Calloway Turns Down Ind. Commissioner Post

The Evansville man whom Gov. Mitch Daniels had appointed as the state’s insurance commissioner has decided to turn down the position, the governor’s office said last Thursday.

Daniels announced the pick of Harold Calloway on Dec. 29, and he was slated to begin work at the Department of Insurance on March 1.

“Harold informed me that because of a personal and financial disruption to his business, he’ll be unable to take a role in state government,” Daniels said in a statement released by his office. “I’m disappointed, but understand that not everyone can make a commitment to public service.”

Calloway, 58, is an agent with State Farm Insurance and has one of the largest agencies in Evansville, according to Daniels’ office.

Calloway, who is black, was the first minority appointed to Daniels’ incoming Republican administration. Daniels has since appointed two other minorities: State Excise Police Superintendent Alex Huskey, a black man, and Labor Commissioner Miguel Rivera, who is Hispanic.

Before his career in insurance, Calloway was a case worker in the Vanderburgh County Welfare Department, director of the Evansville Head Start program, and director of student financial aid at the University of Southern Indiana.

The Department of Insurance enforces laws and regulations that apply to insurance companies and their policies, licenses agents, and helps regulate health maintenance organizations, insurance holding companies and various other entities.

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