Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday swore in John King as Georgia’s insurance commissioner, a role he’d held on an interim basis while his predecessor faced federal fraud charges.
Jim Beck was convicted in October, clearing the way for King to shed the interim title as King seeks a full term office in 2022. As it happened, King took the oath one day after Beck, 60, reported to the federal prison camp at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Beck was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for stealing $2 million from a former employer.
Kemp praised his fellow Republican, King, who is a former Doraville police chief and longtime Georgia National Guard general.
“From the battle fields of Iraq and Afghanistan to the streets of Doraville and Atlanta, General King is a highly decorated military serviceman and law enforcement official,” Kemp said. “In his current role, General King has done a remarkable job at restoring the public’s trust in the office and safeguarding consumers.”
King celebrated the appointment.
“When (Kemp) appointed me to serve as head of the Department of Insurance, I committed to restore integrity in the agency and put consumers first,” King tweeted moments after taking the oath. “Today, I’m proud to be sworn in by the Governor and will continue to serve with integrity!”
King is the first Hispanic person appointed to statewide office in Georgia, hoping in 2022 to be the first Hispanic person elected to statewide office here. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Matthew Wilson, D-Brookhaven, a trial lawyer, would become the first state official to openly belong to the broader LGBTQ community.
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