Two Democrats vie for insurance position

Thanks to the surprise retirement of Jim Long, North Carolina will have a new insurance commissioner for the first time since 1985.

The man voters choose to succeed Long will help determine how much North Carolinians pay for auto, health and other insurance. He'll regulate the industry and field consumer complaints.

Two Democrats are vying for the job. Assistant Commissioner Wayne Goodwin wants to continue the legacy of his boss, who's known for keeping auto insurance rates low. David C. Smith, a lawyer who practices in Raleigh and a relative outsider to the public sector, has more changes planned; he says the Department of Insurance needs to do more to make health insurance affordable.

The winner of the May 6 primary will face Republican John Odom, a former member of the Raleigh City Council, in the November election.

The primary's genesis was controversial: Many observers had assumed that Long, a Democrat, would run for a seventh term. Other Democrats didn't see much point in challenging a popular commissioner who has held the job for more than two decades.

But on Feb. 29, a couple of hours before the noon deadline to file for office, Long announced he wasn't running. He then escorted Goodwin to the State Board of Elections as Goodwin put his own name on the ballot.

Long was accused of trying to fake out the competition and clear the field for Goodwin. If that was the plan, it didn't work. Smith, who was out of town at the time, had a friend deliver his paperwork as soon as the news broke -- "with 25 minutes to spare," Smith said. Smith said he wouldn't have run against Long because he thinks Long has performed well enough.

Long and Goodwin deny that they took part in electoral maneuvering. Goodwin says that he didn't learn of Long's decision until the evening before and that he was as "surprised as anyone."

Smith and Goodwin are lawyers by trade, both lifelong North Carolinians, both educated at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Goodwin, a former state legislator, said that he has the legislative connections needed for the commissioner's job and that his opponent is beholden to the insurance industry.

Smith, who practices employee benefits law and is president-elect of the N.C. Health Underwriters Association, countered that there's nothing wrong with understanding the industry and that he has long been passionate about the field.

"I'm not just some guy who threw my name on the ballot," Smith said.

Smith said the commissioner needs to show more leadership in health insurance, particularly by helping small businesses find cheaper ways to buy it for employees. In the '90s, Smith served on a state board that helped small businesses set up co-ops to buy health coverage. Now he is examining how to spread the cost of expensive claims among insurers in several states.

"Nearly everybody talks about health-care reform," said Smith, who said he had to drop his own health coverage when he was self-employed. "But only one person can do something about the people who sell it day in and day out, and that's the insurance commissioner."

Goodwin said he would crack down on insurance fraud, including consumers making false claims and agents practicing without being licensed. Goodwin also said he thinks collection agencies, which the Department of Insurance oversees, are likely to harass or defraud consumers given current mortgage conditions.

The commissioner's office also needs to bring state building codes up to par with those of surrounding states, he said.

"Because at some point," Goodwin said, "we are going to have a hurricane."