Florida Senate Committee Confirms Citizens Property Insurance President and CEO

 

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”) President and CEO Barry Gilway was confirmed in his position by the Florida Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections today, April 1, 2013. 

Although Mr. Gilway was hired in June 2012 by Citizens’ Board of Governors in a competitive search, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz said that his chamber has the ability to hold confirmations on Citizens’ president, although he does not believe it has been done heretofore.  According to a Sun-Sentinel report, President Gaetz said he wanted Senators to have the opportunity to express their concern with Citizens’ operations.

Mr. Gilway was scheduled today among a long list of gubernatorial appointees awaiting normal Senate confirmation. 

To view the meeting materials, click here (Mr. Gilway’s completed recommendation form is on Page 11).

A recap of today’s meeting by THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA is reprinted below.

 

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CITIZENS CEO BACKED, BUT LAWMAKERS WANT BETTER COMMUNICATION

By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 1, 2013 ……….. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. President and CEO Barry Gilway’s clear interest in improving the culture and public perception of the state-backed company allowed him to weather a tempered-storm of complaints from lawmakers on Monday.

Gilway, appointed to the position last June, was unanimously backed for confirmation Monday by the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, where he admitted being “naïve” about the size of some of the problems to be confronted by his agency.

But the backing came with reservations and a request that Gilway be required to provide more periodic updates to legislators as the agency works to improve its image while shifting many of its least risky policies into the private market.

“He’s been here nine months and I’m hoping that in the next year that there is progress made,” said Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, who said he would grade Gilway’s job performance as “incomplete.”

Senators dredged up a litany of complaints about the size of Citizens and how the agency has been run in the past. Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, said Citizens continues to have a number of trust issues that must be improved with policyholders.

“We want to have confidence, we think that things are slowly, starting, maybe, hopefully to get a little bit better,” Flores said.

Lawmakers did credit Gilway’s outlook for improving the agency’s credibility as they advanced his confirmation to the full Senate. Committee Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said he had intended to give Gilway a harder time during the hearing, but attitude is about “80 percent of the game and I think you’ve got the right attitude.”

Gilway, while giving himself a “D” grade for his media management and “C” for work with legislators, admitted that recent changes to company employee travel spending and internal oversight may not have been “succinctly” handled if it hadn’t been for constant media attention on the agency.

“We attempted to improve the overall organization, we did improve the overall organization, but the communication could have been far, far better,” said Gilway, who was hired for his private sector experience by the Citizens Property Board of Governors.

Without Senate confirmation, the board would have to reconsider his appointment.

“I had no question about your qualifications,” said Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon. “But given all the events that have taken place there were some questions in my mind about whether or not you could get your head around the environment in which you operate, that we’re spending the public’s money we have a different obligation here with respect to governance than we might have in the private sector.”

Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi have recently questioned Gilway over his lenient handling of employees whose travel spending habits have recently come into question.

Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, has said he expected to do a better job this year of approving confirmations than the 2012 body, when eight of Scott’s appointments were confirmed but almost 400 others never made the Senate floor. With gubernatorial appointments, if the Senate fails to take up an appointment, the governor can reappoint the person and keep them on, but they must be confirmed by the Senate the next year.

-END-
4/1/13

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