At press time for this issue of Insurance Journal, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher was in Anchorage, Alaska, attending a meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. He may be enjoying that distant state’s cool climate in more ways than one, as the heat he faces when he returns to Oklahoma has nothing to do with the weather.
Whether or not Fisher intends to take in a little whale watching or wild salmon fishing up there I don’t know, but back home the Oklahoma Senate is preparing for an impeachment trial that could result in Fisher’s ouster from the office he was first elected to in 1998.
Such an outcome would culminate what may be one of the worst years of Fisher’s life. Beginning with an arrest in August 2003 for driving under the influence of alcohol, Fisher’s record has gone from bad to worse. He’s received citations from the state Ethics Commission, is facing several federal felony charges for embezzlement and for operating a charity illegally, has been impeached by the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a unanimous vote, and now he’s fighting to keep his job.
By many accounts—judging from subjective comments I’ve received from various industry professionals over the past few years—Fisher, a former insurance agent, has done a good job as insurance commissioner. They say he has worked for an appropriate balance between the interests of consumers, agents and insurance companies. Some have even suggested that Fisher may be guilty of bad judgment but has probably not acted with criminal intent.
Still others, commenting on IJ’s Web site, www.insurancejournal.com, believe Fisher’s reported troubles are only the “tip of the iceberg.”
One of the hallmarks of our legal system in the United States is that the man is innocent until proven guilty. Fisher, who has steadfastly insisted he’s done nothing wrong, will have the chance to defend his actions in trials in both the courts and the state Senate.
However, maintaining that the commissioner “has lost the confidence of his fellow elected officials and the people who elected him,” Gov. Brad Henry has repeatedly called for Fisher to resign from office, which he so far has refused to do.
And innocent or not, with Fisher’s legal troubles mounting and the distractions they inevitably bring, one has to wonder, who’s running the insurance shop in Oklahoma?
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