Meet John

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine

In 1994, John Oxendine upset a well-funded Democrat incumbent to become Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner.  He is Georgia’s longest-serving Republican statewide constitutional officer and has been the leading vote-getter in his last two elections.

A Conservative Leader

Heading the first major state agency under Republican control, John Oxendine pioneered the application of business principles to Georgia state government.  He has consistently returned money to the taxpayers and currently operates his department on roughly the same budget as when he was first elected almost 16 years ago.

John has brought the power of the private sector to bear in addressing Georgia's challenges. His creative, public-private partnership in developing the most comprehensive telemedicine program in the United States has expanded the availability of first-class healthcare to every Georgia citizen without spending taxpayer dollars.

Putting Taxpayers First

As Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner, John has put fiscal responsibility into practice and produced results. Although he’s implemented tough budgets, his department has improved service levels, while at the same time reigning in costs. He reduced his staff by 31%, consolidated functions, and focused on cutting administrative overhead.  In order to better serve the taxpayers, John keeps his office open until 7 PM on weeknights and always has a live person answer the phone.

Helping Small Businesses to Create Jobs

John understands the burden that government regulations can have on small businesses. Before being elected Insurance Commissioner, he owned and ran a small law firm, Oxendine and Associates, employing half-a-dozen workers.

When John was first elected as Insurance Commissioner, Georgia's small businesses paid some of the highest workers' compensation insurance rates in the nation, yet workers received some of the lowest benefits. Small businesses were being forced to cut their payrolls or even close because they could not afford this mandatory coverage.

In his first months in office, John restructured the workers' compensation assigned risk pool. Within a year, new insurance companies were offering less-expensive options for small business owners. As a result of this restructuring, rates plummeted as much as 50% and benefits to injured workers increased.
Under his restructuring of workers' compensation, small businesses and entrepreneurs could once again afford to do business in Georgia.

Leading on Healthcare

John was the first statewide constitutional officer in the country to refuse to implement the first phase of Obamacare – a government run insurance pool that according the Obama administration’s own actuary is seriously underfunded.   John believes that not only is it unconstitutional, but it will ultimately lead to an additional $1 billion or more in annual spending by Georgia on Medicaid alone.

A Lifetime of Service

John earned a triple major in Christianity, Greek, and Political Science from Mercer University. He remained in Macon to attend the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer and earned his law degree in 1987.

After college, John demonstrated his natural leadership abilities and passion for public service when he helped Governor Joe Frank Harris get elected to office.

During the Governor Harris administration, John served on the State Personnel Board and was elevated to Chairman of the Board by the Governor.

John has served on the boards of the Southeastern Regional Board of Operation Hope, Georgia Board of Safe America Foundation, Safe Kids of Georgia, and the Northeast Georgia Boy Scouts of America.

John attended DeKalb County public schools. After graduating from high school, his family moved to Gwinnett County, where John still lives.

John and his wife, Ivy, have four children, J.W., Philip, Caroline, and Baby Jake. The Oxendines are active with their church, Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church, where John serves as an usher.