O'Malley To Tap Tyler For Insurance Post

Ralph S. Tyler, Gov. Martin O'Malley's chief legal counsel, will be named tomorrow as the state's new insurance commissioner, according to several people familiar with the selection.

O'Malley (D) has scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference to announce his pick to head the Maryland Insurance Administration, an independent agency that regulates insurance providers, including health, homeowners, automobile and life.

Tyler, 60, served as city solicitor during O'Malley's tenure as mayor of Baltimore and gained prominence for suing Baltimore Gas & Electric Company as part of an effort to mitigate a 72 percent rate increase proposed by the company.

After O'Malley won the governor's race in November, he tapped Tyler, an earnest lawyer with a dry sense of humor, to serve as executive director of his transition team. Tyler started working as O'Malley's chief legal counsel the day O'Malley was inaugurated in January.

O'Malley has been relatively slow to fill the insurance commissioner post. Peggy Watson, a deputy chief of staff, has been serving in an acting capacity.