Conn.’s Cogswell Willing to Stay as Chief if Asked by New Gov. Rell

Connecticut may soon have a new face in the office of state insurance commissioner.

Or not.

Newly-installed Gov. M. Jodi Rell got down to business in her first full week on the job by asking some of the commissioners appointed by her predecessor, John G. Rowland, to become part of her new administration.

According to the Associated Press, more than seven commissioners were summoned to the governor’s executive residence to the first round of interviews with Rell and her chief of staff, Lisa Moody.

Four of those told Associated Press that Rell asked them to stay on board. They included Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Gary DeFilippo, Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz, Revenue Services Commissioner Pam Law and Public Health Commissioner Robert J. Galvin.

In addition to the four who said the new governor asked them to stay, the commissioners who run the departments of Correction, Agriculture and Labor were seen leaving the residence the afternoon of the interviews.

Not mentioned in that early report: Insurance Commissioner Susan Cogswell.

However, Cogswell did meet with Rell last week at another meeting, according to her spokesperson Kate Kierban-Pagani, who added that Cogswell is prepared to stay if asked.

“They discussed insurance issues and markets in Connecticut and the commissioner indicated her willingness to stay on the job,” Kierban-Pagani told Insurance Journal.

Rell did not ask Cogswell to remain on the job at their meeting, she said.

Cogswell is not necessarily in danger of losing her job. There is no heat on her department and she is a loyal Republican, insurance insiders note.

Rell had asked about 60 commissioners, deputy commissioners, agency heads and the executive director of the quasi-public Connecticut Development Authority to submit letters of resignation, effective Aug. 1.

The governor hopes to finish the interviews over the next few weeks and make an announcement next month on who is going and staying, according to Rell’s office.

Rell and her entourage have been tightlipped about whom she hopes to retain for her administration and whom she plans to replace.

“We’re in a critical organizational stage of the administration at this point,” said Dennis Schain, Rell’s spokesman. “She’s committed to holding these meetings, analyzing any changes that she decides to make and filling these positions as soon as possible.”

Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz, originally recruited by Rell for that job, said she was not insulted that Rell asked for her resignation. Schwartz said it is expected.

“I think she means business. She’s taking charge,” Schwartz told Associated Press. “She asked me to stay and I of course said yes.”

DeFilippo said he met with Rell for about 20 minutes to talk about various issues facing DMV, including the state’s troubled vehicle emissions program.

“That will be a topic for another day,” DeFilippo said. “We’ll be meeting. There’s a lot of talk about. I look forward to working with her.”

Rell was sworn in as Connecticut’s 87th governor on July 1 after her three-time Republican running mate, former Gov. Rowland, resigned while facing possible impeachment and a federal corruption investigation.

Cogswell, a Torrington resident, was appointed by Rowland in June 2000 to be insurance commissioner. She is the state’s first female commissioner.

Prior to becoming commissioner, Cogswell served for nine years as a Republican Torrington city councilman while also working as the Connecticut Insurance Department’s chief of staff. Cogswell has also held management positions in both insurance and banking, including with Travelers Indemnity Company and Chase Manhattan Bank.

During her tenure she has overseen and approved a number of industry transactions including the merger of Travelers Property Casualty Corp. with The St. Paul Companies and Prudential’s acquisition of CIGNA Life Insurance Company in March of this year. In November, 2000, she approved the sale of Aetna Life Insurance Company to Ing Groep, N.V.

Associated Press reports were used in this story.