CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Tuesday tapped a former insurance executive to serve as state treasurer, a key position as Detroit moves through the largest municipal bankruptcy filing to date.
R. Kevin Clinton's appointment comes three days after Andy Dillon, who was treasurer since Snyder took office in January 2011, stepped down amid a messy divorce. Dillon was a key architect in the state takeover of Detroit.
Clinton will take over the job on Nov. 1.
He is currently the director of the Department of Insurance and Financial Services, a position Snyder appointed him to in March. Before that, Clinton had been commissioner to the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation since 2011.
"Kevin Clinton is an experienced and capable leader with a track record of success," Snyder said in a statement. "I am confident he will serve the Department of Treasury and the people of our great state well as we continue our work to reinvent Michigan."
The Michigan treasurer is an important position in the cabinet who oversees the state's troubled local municipalities and school districts, including whether or not they should be taken over or allowed to file for bankruptcy.
The treasurer also acts as chair of the Michigan Finance Authority, one of the state's largest bond issuers.
The Department of Insurance and Financial Services is responsible for regulating the state's financial industries, including banks, credit unions, and insurance companies, according to a state web site.
Before joining the state, Clinton spent six years as president and CEO of American Physicians Capital Inc., a medical professional liability company insurance provider.
Before that he was president and CEO of MEEMIC Insurance Company, a property and casualty insurance holding company.
Dillon, 51, announced the resignation last Friday. It came after months of negative headlines over a bitter divorce with his wife, as well as a stint in alcohol rehab and questions over campaign finances.
As treasurer, Dillon played a key role in pushing for stronger state control over local affairs in troubled credits, including passing the state's current law, Public Act 436, and working with Detroit officials to draft a consent agreement that would allow the city to stay out of state oversight.
Dillon was later a member of the review team that investigated Detroit's finances in the months leading up to the state takeover, and recommended that Snyder appoint an emergency manager.
Before becoming treasurer under the Republican governor, he was three-term Democratic legislator and Speaker of the House for two of those terms.
Clinton's appointment must be confirmed by the state Senate.
