Brief Biographies of GOP Insurance Candidates
Republican candidates for insurance commissioner:
NAME: David J. Powell.
AGE: 56.
HOMETOWN: El Dorado.
EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in education, University of Nebraska, 1968.
EXPERIENCE: Taught high school math and economics for 10 years; has operated insurance agency and financial consulting and planning service for 25 years in El Dorado.
PERSONAL: Married, with grown son and daughter; has coached El Dorado High School divers for 25 years.
NAME: Sandy Praeger.
AGE: 57.
HOMETOWN: Lawrence.
EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in education, University of Kansas, 1966.
EXPERIENCE: Health care consultant; served on Lawrence City Commission, 1985-89; mayor of Lawrence, 1986-87; member, Kansas House, 1991-92; member, Kansas Senate since 1992; chairwoman, Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee since 2001.
PERSONAL: Married, two children.
NAME: Bryan Riley.
AGE: 37.
HOMETOWN: Wichita.
EDUCATION: Undergraduate degree in economics, Kansas State University, 1987; graduate degree in economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1989.
EXPERIENCE: Worked for conservative research group, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Washington, 1989-96, starting as a policy analyst and rising to director of budget policy; executive director, Kansas Public Policy Institute, 1996-98; Republican nominee for insurance commissioner, 1998; operates long-term care insurance business in Wichita.
PERSONAL: Single.