Jim Brown was the third (yes, third) consecutive Louisiana insurance commissioner to be convicted of a federal offense. Brown's predecessor Doug Green was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the Champion Insurance scandal in the 80's. Green's predecessor, Sherman Bernard, served a sentence for accepting monetary bribes disguised as campaign donations.

Wooley himself received some unwanted press in 2005 after he used state funds ($40,000) to buy a limited edition Harley-Davidson pickup truck. Wooley later returned the vehicle and Louisiana Legislature passed a law requiring elected state officials to get permission from the Legislature's budget committee before using state funds to buy "luxury vehicles."

Between the tarnished image of the Louisiana Insurance Department and the gulf hurricanes in 2005, it's not hard to see that Wooley's had his work cut out for him. Nonetheless, he feels proud of his accomplishments as Lousiana Insurance Commissioner.

In his statement, he said:

When I took over as Commissioner, I knew I didn't stand a chance of improving the regulatory climate without repairing the tarnished image of an office in which all public trust had been destroyed. Gradually, with the help of my chief deputy Jim Donelon and the entire Department of Insurance staff, we were able to restore confidence in our office, which helped us develop a more competitive market and increase the availability of property insurance.

With the challenges facing the State of Louisiana, we can only hope the new commissioner will keep things moving in the right direction.

[Bonus Link: Read Wooley's complete statement here, courtesy of Insurance Journal.]