Howard Mills III

Did we collect specific evidence that this was going on when Howard Mills was supervisor? No, but we didn't need to go that far back. However, having done a lot of these investigations, the kinds of problems that we saw are not the kinds of problems that spring up overnight. They are the kinds of problems that fester for years and years, and so I would be very surprised if these problems had not been going on for many years, back through several administrations, including his.

— Mark Peters, Chief Investigator, New York State Attorney General's Office, January 19, 2001. ^[10]

2004 campaign for U.S. Senate

Main article: United States Senate election in New York, 2004

In 2004 he dropped a bid for a fourth Assembly term in order to run against Charles Schumer for the U.S. Senate. He was considered a "sacrificial lamb" from the outset of the campaign. ^[13] He was nominated by the State Republican Committee after its fallout with the conservative front-runner Michael Benjamin, who had a significant advantage to Mills in both fund raising and campaign volunteers. ^[14] Mills was denied the nomination of the Conservative Party of New York State over the abortion issue. ^[15] He faced considerable difficulty raising money and getting name recognition. He raised only $600,000 for the race, while Schumer's campaign amassed over $24 million. ^[16] In the November election, as anticipated, Mills lost. His was the most lopsided contest for statewide office in New York State history, garnering 24% of the vote to Schumer's 71%. Marilyn O'Grady of the Conservative Party received 4%. Mills lost his own Assembly district, winning only Hamilton County, the least-populated and most Republican county in the state. Mills conceded the race minutes after polls closed and before any votes were counted.^{[ citation needed ]}

New York Superintendent of Insurance

In 2005, Mills was appointed by Governor George Pataki as the New York State Superintendent of Insurance, making him the state's top regulator of that industry. ^[4] Mills signed landmark settlement agreements with the world's largest insurer as well as three prominent U.S. insurance brokers, secured auto rate premium reductions, was involved in securing an extension of the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) through the end of 2007, and within the Insurance Department itself, created a Corporate Practices Unit within the agency's Office of General Counsel. ^[2]

After a New York Post article revealed that Mills had maintained his Assembly campaign account and continued raising funds while Insurance Superintendent, using them for purposes such as paying for a luxury car, dining out and purchasing gifts, Governor Pataki publicly chastised Mills' conduct. ^{[5] [17]} He served until 2007, when he reentered the private sector and became Chief Advisor, Insurance Industry Group, Deloitte & Touche USA. ^[18]

Mills was seriously considering entering New York's 19th congressional district election, 2008, against freshman incumbent John Hall. ^[5] Although Hall was targeted by National Republican Congressional Committee, they struggled to find a top tier candidate, and Mills' backers believed that he was up to the task. ^[19] However, in late 2007, Mills issued a press release stating he was not interested in running for congress. ^[20]

Howard Mills III
38th Superintendent of Insurance of New York
In office May 18, 2005 –December 31, 2006

U.S. Senate (class 3) from New York, 2004 ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chuck Schumer (I)	4,769,824	70.6%	Democrat hold
	Republican	Howard Mills III	1,625,069	24.6%
	Conservative	Marilyn F. O'Grady	220,960	3.4%
	Green	David McReynolds	36,942	0.5%
	Libertarian	Donald Silberger	19,072	0.3%
	Builders Party	Abe Hirschfeld	16,196	0.2%
	Socialist Workers	Martin Koppel	14,811	0.2%

References

1. Tiber, Elliot. "How Woodstock Happened... Part 2, Discoverynet, reprinted from The Times Herald-Record, Woodstock Commemorative Edition (1994)
2. "Official Biography - Howard Mills III - Superintendent Archived 2008-02-07 at the Wayback Machine ". New York State Insurance Department Archived 2005-06-29 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved on January 25, 2007.
3. Slackman, Michael (2004-10-11). "3 Weeks Out, Refrain in Senate Race Is Still, Howard Who?". New York Times . Retrieved 2017-12-31.
4. "Governor Pataki announces new Insurance Superintendent". Greater New York Council of Insurance Brokers ^{[ permanent dead link ]}. December 24, 2004.
5. Celock, John. "Mills Mulling Run Against Hall" Archived 2008-01-06 at the Wayback Machine . City Hall News. November 27, 2007.
6. "People of the State of New York v The Town of Wallkill". United States District Court, Southern District of New York. January 17, 2007. Retrieved from Times Herald-Record article entitled "Text of the attorney general's complaint" on February 29, 2008.
7. Hegedus, Nathan. "Wallkill cops face Spitzer's scrutiny". Times Herald-Record . January 17, 2001.
8. Herbert, Bob. "In America; Police Predators". New York Times . January 25, 2001.
9. "False arrest claim set for trial". Times Herald-Record . March 1, 2003.
10. "Coscette v Town of Wallkill, et al." New York Appellate Division Reports . October 18, 2001.
11. Barry, Dan. "Seeing Lawless Police Behavior, State Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Small Town". New York Times . January 19, 2001.
12. "Key dates in Wallkill police controversy". Times Herald-Record . January 19, 2007.
13. "Senate hopeful claims GOP bosses snubbed him". Albany Times-Union , February 25, 2004.
14. Humbert, Mark. Major Parties to Anoint their Senate Combatants. Associated Press . May 15, 2004.
15. Remember Senate 2004, November 20, 2005.
16. 2004 New York Senate Race Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine OpenSecrets
17. Benjamin, Elizabeth. "Odds and Ends" ^{[ permanent dead link ]}. Albany Times-Union . December 27, 2006.
18. Levensohn, Michael. "Mills to take job with financial firm when he leaves as state Insurance head". Times Herald-Record . December 27, 2006.
19. James, Alexa. "Mills mulling run against John Hall". Times Herald-Record . November 29, 2007.
20. Benjamin, Elizabeth. "Mills: Don't Believe The Hype" Archived 2008-01-01 at the Wayback Machine . New York Daily News . November 29, 2007.
21. "NYS Board of Elections United States Senator Election Returns". New York State Board of Elections . Retrieved on February 29, 2008.

New York State Assembly
Preceded by John Bonacic	New York State Assembly, 95th District 1999–2002	Succeeded by Ryan Karben
Preceded by Joel Miller	New York State Assembly, 97th District 2003–2004	Succeeded by Ann Rabbitt
Party political offices
Preceded by Al D'Amato	Republican nominee for U.S. Senate (Class 3) from New York 2004	Succeeded by Jay Townsend
Political offices
Preceded by Gregory V. Serio	Superintendent of Insurance of New York 2005–2006	Succeeded by Louis W. Pietroluongo