Pataki Will Tap Mills for Top Insurance Post

ALBANY – State Assemblyman Howard Mills, who failed miserably in his bid this year to unseat Senator Schumer, will be nominated by fellow Republican, Governor Pataki, to become state insurance superintendent, the governor announced yesterday.Mr. Mills would replace Gregory Serio in the $127,000-a-year post. Mr. Pataki said Mr. Serio, who has headed the state Insurance Department since May 2001, would be taking an unspecified job in the private sector after he departs next month. Mr. Mills’ nomination will be subject to confirmation by the Republican-led state Senate.With top state Republican leaders struggling to find someone they thought would be a credible challenger to Mr. Schumer, Mr. Mills came to the rescue in February when he called Mr. Pataki and said he would run for the Senate instead of seeking re-election to the Democratic-controlled Assembly where he was deputy minority leader.The Orange County Republican was given little chance against Mr. Schumer, who had amassed a more than $25 million war chest in preparation for his bid for a second, six-year term. Speculation began immediately about what Mr. Pataki might have promised Mr. Mills to get him to take on the task. Both denied any deals for a job had been cut.In the end, Mr. Schumer won 71% of the vote, a record for a U.S. Senate race in New York, while Mr. Mills got just 24% of the vote.Despite the drubbing, Mr. Mills won kudos from fellow Republicans as a tireless campaigner and they quickly anointed him as one of the party’s rising stars. Mr.Mills,40,has served in the Democratic-controlled Assembly for three, two-year terms. He served on the chamber’s Insurance Committee.“Howard has built a solid reputation in the New York state Legislature and worked extensively on insurance issues, and I know he will do an outstanding job as our state’s next insurance superintendent,” Mr. Pataki said in a statement issued by his office.“Mr. Mills is a bright, capable and hard-working public servant and I believe he is a fine choice for the post,” Mr. Schumer said. The Senator added that he would like to see Mr. Mills press to continue the lowering of auto insurance rates to reflect the drop in auto theft in New York.Mr. Mills, a graduate of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, also studied at Oxford University in England and holds a master’s degree in government and public affairs from American University in Washington, D.C.New York’s insurance superintendent is responsible for regulating more than 1,000 insurance companies operating in the state.

Pataki Will Tap Mills for Top Insurance Post

Pataki Will Tap Mills for Top Insurance Post

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