Ex-Insurance Department Staffer Enters Race for Georgia Commissioner

F. Maria Sheffield, a lawyer and former Georgia Department of Insurance staffer, is the latest candidate to open a campaign for state insurance commissioner. The incumbent, John Oxendine, is running for governor in 2010.

Sheffield, 35, is now an attorney with Burr & Forman in Atlanta, specializing in regulatory and corporate insurance law, public policy, government relations and coverage matters. She is counting on her mix of regulatory, political, legal and educational experience to differentiate her in a crowded Republican primary field.

"I've worked in the industry. I've worked as a regulator. I've worked as a litigator defending the industry," Sheffield said.

By age 25, she had completed a bachelor's degree, master's degrees in business administration and public administration and graduated from the Georgia State University College of Law. From 1991 to 1996, she served in several political and staff positions, including political coordinator for Oxendine's successful 1994 campaign for insurance commissioner. She served under Oxendine as an attorney for the insurance department from 1996 to 2002. Sheffield also took local leadership positions in Phil Gramm's 1996 presidential bid and George W. Bush's 2000 campaign.

With Congress considering proposals to establish a larger federal presence in insurance regulation, Sheffield said now is a unique time to step into a public service leadership role. Knowledge of regulatory systems and personnel is vital, she said.

"Our first service is to protect the interests of the consumers, but also to assist the industry in being compliant with the regulations on our books," Sheffield said.

Also in the hunt for the GOP nomination for state insurance and fire safety commissioner are state Sens. Seth Harp and Ralph Hudgens, Peachtree City Mayor Harold K. Logsdon, insurance broker Stephen Northington and health benefits consultant Gerry Purcell.

Mary Squires, a former state legislator and current executive director of the Georgia Society of Professional Benefit Administrators Inc., has declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination (BestWire, March 12, 2009).