Metcalf back as
insurance regulator

The former state senator will take
the place of future judge
Rey Graulty

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Former state Sen. Wayne Metcalf, who was defeated in the Democratic primary in September, will again be the state's insurance commissioner.

Metcalf, 46, will return to his old post Dec. 31 when his legislative successor, Rey Graulty, becomes a state Circuit judge, Gov. Ben Cayetano announced yesterday.

"As co-chair of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee last session, Metcalf was instrumental in passing a patient's Bill of Rights, which protects consumers from unfair medical insurance denials," Cayetano said.

Metcalf, whose political career has been intertwined with Graulty's in recent years, was Cayetano's first insurance commissioner.

In 1997, when Cayetano selected Metcalf to succeed then-state Sen. Richard Matsuura, who resigned because he was dying of cancer, Cayetano named Graulty to replace Metcalf. Graulty had lost his Senate re-election bid in 1996, defeated in the Democratic primary.

Graulty has been nominated to fill the seat of retiring state Circuit Judge Herbert Shimabukuro -- not outgoing state Circuit Judge James Aiona Jr. as initially announced by Cayetano's office.

The state Senate must confirm Graulty's appointment.

Metcalf said that as insurance commissioner he will work to protect consumers from unfair practices and save them money.

Metcalf was a state representative from 1984 to 1992, including six years as House Judiciary chairman.

As insurance commissioner, he was a key player in the Cayetano administration's efforts to lower the cost of workers' compensation and automobile insurance.