Report: Former commissioner kept consulting gig, had free housing at state prison
Former state Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Hodgen Mainda kept a lucrative consulting contract with his former employer and lived in free state-owned housing on the grounds of the old Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Mainda left his senior position at Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board last year, but signed a consulting agreement with EPB that would pay him $8,300 a month (later revised to $5,000) at the same time he was employed in his $161,904-per-year role of commissioner.
After Mainda announced he was stepping down from his state job last month, news reports surfaced that he had been the subject of a sexual misconduct investigation after a subordinate alleged unwanted advances had been made during an out-of-state work conference in February. Mainda denied inappropriate conduct.
Gov. Bill Lee was dismissive about questions over the propriety of holding a senior role in his administration while at the same time being paid by an outside entity, saying “alternative streams of income” are allowed as long as
they don’t present a conflict of interest. Mainda included consulting work in his state ethics disclosure, but didn’t say for whom he was serving as an adviser.
Tennessee Department of Correction spokeswoman Dorinda Carter told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that when TDOC Commissioner Parker reached out congratulate Mainda on his new job last year, he mentioned he was looking for housing. Parker offered Mainda the use of a home on the former prison property usually reserved for wardens, assistant commissioners, and staff.
“It was intended to be temporary,” Carter said. Mainda only moved out in October.
Federal insurance marketplace carriers now competing in 81 of 95 Tennessee counties
Six insurance carriers are now competing for business through the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplace in 81 of 95 Tennessee counties.
Among the five companies that have previously operated in the state, three (BlueCross, Bright Health, and Oscar Health) have proposed rate increases for upcoming fiscal year, while two (Celtic/Ambetter Insurance and Cigna) are planning decreases. UnitedHelathcare is a new entrant.
“Increased competition and lower prices perfectly align with Governor Lee’s vision to help support Tennessee consumers.”,” Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Hogden Mainda said in a statement.
The full release follows.
Continue readingLee names EPB vice president as new Commerce and Insurance commissioner
Gov. Bill Lee has named Hodgen Mainda, a vice president of Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board, as commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance. He succeeds Julie Mix McPeak, a holdover from Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, who left for a job in the private sector.
Here’s the release announcing Mainda’s appointment from the governor’s office:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Hodgen Mainda will serve in his cabinet as commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance.
“Hodgen joins my cabinet after an outstanding career as a community leader in Chattanooga,” said Lee. “He is respected for his ability to build partnerships across multiple sectors and we welcome his leadership to such a multifaceted department like Commerce & Insurance.”
Mainda currently serves as the vice president for community development at the Electric Power Board (EPB) in Chattanooga which is the first provider of Gigabit internet in the country. In his role with the EPB, Mainda built partnerships across the state and federal level and increased EPB’s role in regional economic development.
In addition to his work with EPB, Mainda serves on several non-profit boards including the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor’s Roundtable and the College of Business Advisory Board. Mainda is also a member of the Leadership Tennessee Class of 2019 and a 2018 graduate of the Harvard Business School Young American Leaders Program.
A native of Nairobi, Kenya, Mainda, moved to Tennessee in 1997 to study at Middle Tennessee State University. He is a graduate of the University of Eastern Africa and currently resides in Chattanooga with his wife and two children.
Mainda will begin at the Department of Commerce & Insurance on October 1, 2019.
