BISMARCK - Adam Hamm is the best person to be North Dakota's new insurance commissioner because he has a genuine desire to be in public service, Gov. John Hoeven said Tuesday, in appointing the Fargo man to the post.
"As a (former) prosecutor, he understands what it means to stand up for people," Hoeven said.
Hamm said, "I see the position as an opportunity to continue the role of helping the people of North Dakota."
He said he does not have an insurance background and has a lot to learn. He went directly from the announcement up to the Insurance Department's Capitol tower office to meet its staff.
Hamm fills the position Jim Poolman vacated on Sept. 1, when he resigned to start a business consulting for the insurance industry. He will finish Poolman's term, which ends Dec. 31, 2008, and said he plans to run for the office in next year's elections.
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He said he'll start work at the Capi-tol the week of Oct. 22. He needs until then to close down his law practice, he said.
Hamm, 36, a Jamestown native who graduated from high school in Los Angeles, moved back to North Dakota to attend the University of North Dakota law school. He was a Cass County assistant state's attorney from 1998-2001, then went into private practice as a litigator.
North Dakota Democrats criticized the appointment, saying it's merely political payback for a GOP party stalwart. Hamm has been chairman of the Cass County Republican Party since 2002.
Jamie Selzler, executive director of the Democratic-NPL Party, said North Dakotans will have to question, over the next year, whether Hamm is spending his time learning the job of insurance commissioner or campaigning.
