Gov.-elect Dan Malloy announced Tuesday that Howard F. Pitkin will remain commissioner of the state Department of Banking under his administration.
Pitkin, who started at the banking department more than 30 years ago, has been commissioner for five years, according to a news release from the Malloy administration.
“Howard Pitkin has had a long, successful tenure at the Department of Banking, and I’ve been impressed with his leadership since [he become] commissioner five years ago,” Malloy said. “The Connecticut Department of Banking will play a large part in our state’s economic recovery and I’m pleased he will continue in this role.”
Pitkin said he was glad to continue leading the department and was looking forward to working with Malloy.
“Connecticut consumers need to have confidence in their banking institutions as we begin to re-emerge from the recession and move toward recovery,” he said in a prepared statement.
Before being appointed commissioner by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Pitkin was the department’s chief of administration.
Minutes after announcing Pitkin’s reappointment, Malloy also announced the interim reappointment of three other commissioners.
Commissioner Peter O’Meara of the Department of Developmental Services; Commissioner Jeffrey Parker of the Department of Transportation; and Commissioner Michael Starkowski of the Department of Social Services all will be staying in their positions until Malloy finds permanent replacements, according to a Tuesday press release.
Malloy had said he would be conducting a national search to find new commissioners for the social services and transportation departments. Today he announced he will also conduct nationwide searches for the top positions at the Education and Environmental Protection departments.
“While the search for a permanent replacement for these three commissioners continues, I appreciate their willingness to stay in their current positions to ensure the continuity of services and operations in their respective departments,” Malloy said in a prepared statement. “It’s of the utmost importance to me that the people and communities these departments serve do not experience a disruption when one administration takes the place of another.”