Nikki Haley's Insurance Director Resigns :: :: FITSNewsFITSNews

David Black ? Gov. Nikki Haley?s choice to lead the S.C. Department of Insurance (SCDOI) ? abruptly resigned his post on Wednesday.

A resident of Greenville, S.C., Black was tapped by Haley to lead the agency less than a year ago. The former president and chief executive officer of Liberty Life Insurance, Black did not say what prompted his decision to step down ? only that it was reached last week.

?After reflection, I decided last week it would be best for me to resign as Director of the Agency,? Black wrote in an email to his employees.

?Since I have enjoyed this work and your friendship, this was not an easy decision,? Black continued. ?I have been touched from the very beginning by your hospitality and inspired by your hard work and dedication to making improvements within the Department for the public benefit. I know you?re proud of how much has been accomplished on every front in 2011.?

A copy of Black?s email was forwarded to a state lawmaker, who in turn provided it to FITS.

Black did not immediately respond to our request for comment. As is its custom, Haley?s office refused to respond to our request for comment.

?We?re thrilled that David Black has agreed to serve at the Department of Insurance,? Haley said in nominating Black on January 20. ?He understands that (SCDOI) can and should be an economic development agency, and that the agency must be as customer friendly and as pro-business as possible.?

?I?m really excited to accept this appointment,? Black said at the time. ?I look forward to working with the whole team.?

What changed in eleven months?

We?re not sure yet ? but we?re digging.

Early speculation centers on Black?s resignation having something to do with the brewing scandal over Haley?s rigged health care exchange committee ? which wasted money from a $1 million Obamacare grant to ?study? the feasibility of implementing a statewide exchange.

Emails published months later revealed that Haley?s administration predetermined the outcome of the hearing ? which has prompted at least one U.S. Senator to call for a federal investigation.

?It was certainly not the intent for those taxpayer funds to be distributed for a predetermined and meaningless outcome,? U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said of Haley?s health care exchange panel. ?Spending taxpayer funds to construct an ideologically-motivated fa?ade not only violates Congress?s intent, but also the public?s trust in government.?

Compounding the problem is the fact that Haley?s administration failed to produce the emails when they were requested by a mainstream media outlet under the state?s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Black is not the first high-profile member of Haley?s administration to jump ship.

George Schroeder ? who was appointed Inspector General in March ? lasted just six weeks. Schroeder?s resignation was never publicly announced ? with his departure having to be belatedly confirmed by the Associated Press over a month after the fact.

In July, Eleanor Kitzman ? Haley?s choice to lead the quasi-legislative, quasi-executive S.C. Budget and Control Board (SCBCB) ? stepped down to become Commissioner of Insurance in Texas. She was on the job just six months. The following month, Haley?s deputy chief of staff Trey Walker resigned his post.

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Source: http://www.fitsnews.com/2011/12/28/nikki-haleys-insurance-director-resigns/

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