John Randolph Ingram (June 12, 1929 – January 6, 2013) was an American
Democratic politician, attorney, and
insurance commissioner
An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...
. He served as
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
's
Commissioner of Insurance from 1973 until 1985.
Biography
Early life
John Randolph Ingram was born on June 12, 1929, in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
.
He attended
Asheboro High School
Asheboro High School is a public high school in the Asheboro City Schools system of Asheboro, North Carolina.
Overview
Asheboro High School graduated its first class of three graduates in 1905. In 1950, it moved to its current location on Park S ...
. He graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from the
Kenan–Flagler Business School at the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
in 1951.
He earned his ''
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
'' from
University of North Carolina School of Law
The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...
in 1954.
Career
He practiced as an attorney, serving on the board of directors of the
North Carolina Bar Association
The North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) is the voluntary (non-mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of North Carolina. NCBA membership is voluntary and tax money is not involved in its support. In contrast, the North Carolina State Bar an ...
.
He served as a lawyer in the JAG Corps. After serving, he returned to North Carolina where he started his political career.
He first ran for election to represent
Randolph County Randolph County is the name of eight counties in the United States:
*Randolph County, Alabama
*Randolph County, Arkansas
*Randolph County, Georgia
*Randolph County, Illinois
*Randolph County, Indiana
*Randolph County, Missouri
*Randolph County, Nort ...
in the
North Carolina House of Representatives
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...
in 1960, but lost.
He ran for the state House again, winning in 1970, and served for one term, during which he introduced the bill reducing the
voting age
A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain before they become eligible to vote in a public election. The most common voting age is 18 years; however, voting ages as low as 16 and as high as 25 currently exist
(s ...
to 18 in North Carolina, and also advocated for
auto insurance
Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for automobile, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bod ...
reform.
He won his post as Commissioner of Insurance in 1972.
In that role, he was known as a
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
and was an outspoken holder of the office.
He won re-election in 1976 and 1980. He considered the abolition of
assigned risk
Assigned risk is a government-required method of providing insurance coverage to an individual by compelling insurance companies to service them when such companies would ordinarily not do so due to perceive risk of insuring the individual as a cus ...
for young drivers to be the highlight of his career as Commissioner.
Throughout his tenure, he consistently rejected insurance rate increases, although these were overturned by appellate courts in 32 of 33 cases.
This brought him into conflict with the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
, which, in 1977, stripped the Commissioner's office of its rate-capping powers.
He was indirectly threatened by the Insurance lobby which made many attempts to infiltrate his campaigns and cabinet. This led to the firing of aides and deputies, including successor
Jim Long
Jim Long (born Timothy John Moynihan; February 7, 1943 – May 30 2022) was an American entrepreneur, whose pioneering marketing concepts and creative “firsts” are iconic in the broadcast music industry.
Experienced in the development of int ...
, and holding meetings in
parking garages
A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
over fears his office was bugged.
He ran for the Democratic nomination for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 1978, 1986, and 1990. He won the Democratic nomination in the second ballot
in the 1978 election against the banker
Luther H. Hodges, Jr., who outspent him by $1.7m to only $50,000.
In the general election, Ingram lost to the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
incumbent
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ...
. He ran for the position of
Governor of North Carolina
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
in 1984, to replace
Jim Hunt
James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...
, whose term ended per constitutional term limits. However,
in the primary election, Ingram finished fifth in a crowded field, with 9% of the vote.
In 1986,
Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pre ...
won the nomination on the first ballot, with Ingram coming second, with 16% of the vote. Ingram came third in the
1990 primary, with 17%, behind
Harvey Gantt
Harvey Bernard Gantt (born January 14, 1943) is an American architect and Democratic politician active in North Carolina. The first African-American student admitted to Clemson University after attending Iowa State University, Gantt graduated wi ...
and
Mike Easley
Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first
governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony.
A member of ...
.
In these later races, Ingram was known to focus primarily to issues of insurance. In the 1990 election, at first, Ingram refused to answer questions about any other topic, focusing on
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
. However, he was known as
pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
, and favoured federal funding of abortion for poor victims of rape and
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
.
Death
He died on January 6, 2013, from complications of heart disease.
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, John
Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
North Carolina Commissioners of Insurance
North Carolina lawyers
UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School alumni
1929 births
2013 deaths
Jesse Helms
Southern Methodists
American United Methodists