Vermont Financial Regulator Mike Pieciak to Step Down Next Month

Mike Pieciak, the commissioner of Vermont’s Division of Monetary Regulation who grew to become a family title whereas presenting COVID-19 information at pandemic press briefings, is stepping down from his job on Might 16.

Pieciak mentioned on Wednesday that he’ll take a while to contemplate different alternatives, though he did not say what these are. He has no plans to depart Vermont.

“I am involved in public service, and I am additionally involved in exploring different choices which might be on the market,” he mentioned in an interview. “Now that the announcement is on the market, there’s a chance to take a beat with a transparent eye and take into consideration which a kind of makes essentially the most sense.”

Seven Days profiled Pieciak in March. He’s a licensed lawyer who lives in Winooski together with his associate, Will Holder. He entered the Division of Monetary Regulation in 2014, when then-governor Peter Shumlin appointed him deputy commissioner of the securities division. Pieciak stayed on after Gov. Phil Scott, who was elected in 2016, appointed him commissioner in 2017.

Pieciak performed a comparatively low-profile function in state authorities till the pandemic started, when Scott requested him to guide Vermont’s COVID-19 modeling. Pieciak grew to become a well-known presence throughout his common televised briefings in regards to the state’s virus case numbers and response. The Division of Monetary Regulation additionally administered hazard pay grants to front-line employees within the early months of the pandemic.

Pieciak mentioned that the information of the announcement was emotional for him and others within the division. Within the early weeks of the pandemic, many individuals labored seven days every week to fulfill the regulatory wants that arose from modifications in insurance coverage, prescription drug refills, and different issues, he mentioned. The common press briefings, then 3 times every week, added one other layer of labor.

“There are unsung heroes in our division who stepped up and labored with the entire stakeholders to ensure all people was nicely taken care of on this once-in-a-lifetime scenario,” he mentioned.

Pieciak was born and raised in Brattleboro, then accomplished his undergraduate diploma at Union School in Schenectady, N.Y., the place he additionally performed on the soccer workforce. He graduated from the College of Miami Faculty of Regulation and spent 5 years working for legislation corporations in Vermont and New York Metropolis. When he was 24, he was chosen as certainly one of 4 Hillary Clinton delegates to characterize Vermont on the 2008 Democratic Nationwide Conference.

In 2012, when Pieciak was working on the workplace of Downs Rachlin Martin in Burlington, he served as marketing campaign supervisor for incumbent Democratic lawyer normal Invoice Sorrell, who gained once more that 12 months.

Regardless of these connections, Pieciak describes himself as apolitical, and declined to enter element about whether or not he may run for workplace.

“I simply wish to have a while to be considerate about them and think about them,” he mentioned of the opposite alternatives which have arisen. “I feel it is necessary to step away from the  division earlier than making a call on one thing else. I simply wish to go together with a transparent thoughts.”

The commissioner oversees about 100 employees members who regulate a whole bunch of native, nationwide and worldwide firms within the banking and insurance coverage industries. Deputy Commissioner Kevin Gaffney will function interim commissioner after Pieciak’s departure, Scott mentioned within the assertion.