Praeger hires 2 staff from AG

Topeka ? Commissioner-elect Sandy Praeger is giving two important Insurance Department jobs to longtime staffers in the attorney general’s office, where a conservative Republican will take over.

Praeger has named John Campbell, senior deputy attorney general, as the Insurance Department’s next chief legal counsel. She also has appointed Neil Woerman, the attorney general’s director of budget and special projects, as her director of information technology.

Praeger and Attorney General-elect Phill Kline take office Jan. 13, and Campbell and Woerman begin their new jobs then.

“It’s a chance for me to focus in on a subject,” Campbell said. “I figure that health care and health insurance will be the big issues over the next 20 years, and I want to be in on them.”

Praeger also has named House Insurance Committee Chairman Bob Tomlinson, R-Roeland Park, as assistant commissioner.

Kline’s victory led some Republicans to speculate about Stovall staffers leaving the attorney general’s office.

¢ Assistant Commissioner: Rep. Bob Tomlinson, Roeland Park, chairman of the House Insurance Committee.¢ Chief Legal Counsel: John Campbell, Topeka, senior deputy attorney general.¢ Special Counsel: Jerry Wells, Lawrence, former executive director of the Koch Crime Commission and former Douglas County district attorney.¢ Director of Information Technology: Neil Woerman, Topeka, director of budget and special projects for the attorney general’s office.¢ Communications Director: Scott Holeman, Lawrence, communications director for outgoing House Speaker Kent Glasscock.¢ Assistant to the Commissioner: Karen Rippel, Topeka, executive assistant to Senate President Dave Kerr.

Stovall endorsed Sen. David Adkins of Leawood in the Republican attorney general’s primary and had a news conference late in the campaign to criticize Kline. But Kline said the transition is going smoothly.

Woerman said his new job will allow him to handle only computer systems, rather than dealing with other administrative issues.

Woerman has worked for the attorney general’s office for 24 years, including as former Atty. Gen. Bob Stephan’s chief of staff.

Campbell joined the attorney general’s office in 1981 and became senior deputy in 1995, when Stovall took office.

He said that instead of handling a wide range of issues as senior deputy, he wanted to focus on one area of the law.