Ten State Commissions Have 17 Seats at Stake Nov. 2

The contest for 3 open seats on the Mont. PSC has been highlighted by Western Wireless’s intervention in the election campaign. In the contest for Comr. Jay Stovall’s Dist. 2 seat representing southeastern Mont., Laurel building contractor Brad Molnar (R) faces Russell Doty (D) of Great Falls, a former state lawmaker and one-time PSC attorney. In the contest for Comr. Bob Rowe’s Dist. 3 seat representing southwestern Mont., Ed McCrane (R), a Bozeman property developer, faces Bob Raney (D) of Livingston, a public policy consultant and former state lawmaker. For Comr. Matt Brainard’s Dist 4 seat covering western Mont., state House Speaker Doug Mood (R) faces Geoff Badenoch (D), retired dir. of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency.

The Mont. race turned controversial after Western Wireless CEO John Stanton in Sept. asked 14 company board members and senior managers to make personal campaign contributions to the 3 Republicans and one Democrat running for open seats on the Mont. PSC. Western -- which does business in Mont. as Cellular One -- has a request before the PSC to be designated an eligible telecom carrier authorized to receive universal service subsidies, and it has been trying for ETC status since 1997. Approval of ETC status in Mont. would be worth up to $11 million annually in universal service subsidies to Western.

The 14 company officials and their spouses were asked to each donate the maximum allowable $130 to the 3 Republican candidates and to Democrat Raney, which would have given each candidate $3,640. Western defended its donations, saying it was a citizen of the state and had a right to encourage support for preferred political candidates. Mont. law prohibits utilities from making direct corporate contributions to PSC candidates, but the law doesn’t affect utility officials or employees acting as individuals. Western has business operations in 2 other states with elected commissions, S.D. and Okla., but didn’t involve itself in those contests.

The Mont. Dist. 2 contest also turned testy as Molnar and Doty exchanged formal election complaints. Molnar last week filed a formal election complaint alleging that Doty is ineligible to run for the PSC because Doty wasn’t a Mont. resident and registered voter when he filed his candidacy. Doty called the charge “frivolous” and filed a counter-complaint Tues. accusing Molnar of engaging in political civil libel. The Mont. Political Practices Commission is investigating Molnar’s charge that Doty didn’t meet the statutory requirement that he be a “qualified elector” when he filed and is expected to also address Doty’s counter-complaint, but final decisions aren’t likely before the Nov. 2 election. Molnar claimed Doty didn’t have a legal residence in Mont. and gave as his address that of the Democratic Party chairman for Yellowstone County. Doty said he had met the legal qualifications for a PSC candidacy on the day he filed and has voted in local elections since then. Doty in his counter-complaint said Molnar went “beyond the limits of the law in making 15 false statements. These are more than differences of opinion or dueling facts. These statements libel and slander me.” Mont. law doesn’t have a minimum residency requirement for voter registration and specifies only that someone registering provide a Mont. mailing address.

Ariz. has a 5-way race for 3 full terms on the Corporation Commission plus an additional contest to fill the unexpired term of former Comr. Jim Irvin, who resigned. In the contest for the full terms, Republican incumbent Comrs. Mike Gleason, Jeff Hatch-Miller and Bill Mundell are seeking their 2nd terms. Gleason and Hatch- Miller were elected in 2002 to abbreviated first terms as part of the agency’s expansion to 5 members. Their Democratic challengers are Phoenix tax attorney Mark Manoil and former Tucson TV news anchor Nina Trasoff. In the contest for the last 2 years of Irvin’s term, Republican incumbent Comr. Kris Mayes, appointed last year for the interim until the election, is opposed by 2 Libertarian candidates, Rick Fowlkes and Zelig Hess, who are running write-in campaigns. The major issues in the election have been energy-related.

In N.M., there are 2 open seats on the Public Regulation Commission with no incumbents running. Vying to succeed Comr. Herb Hughes in the Dist. 1 seat representing the Albuquerque area are energy attorney Ward Camp (R) and regulatory consultant Jason Marks (D). Contending to replace Comr. Jerome Block in the Dist. 3 seat representing the Santa Fe area are Native American activist John Gonzales (R) and former deputy state treasurer Ben Lujan (D). The main telecom issue is how to hold Qwest to the $788 million network investment commitment it made in order to win price cap regulation. Qwest has said it’s having trouble meeting its commitment due to changed business conditions; the PRC is investigating.

In La., state Sen. Cleo Fields (D) is running against another Democrat, New Orleans Court Constable Lambert Boissiere, for the Dist. 3 PSC seat of Comr. Irma Dixson (D), who was defeated in the primary. The La. PSC election process pits all contenders against each other in multiple primary rounds until one gets a majority, or 2 are left for the general election. In Ga., incumbent Comr. Robert Baker (R) is seeking his 3rd PSC term. He’s opposed by Mac Barber (D), a former PSC member who resigned in 1998 to seek another state office and whose attempt to run for the PSC in 2002 was derailed by the state courts because of residency problems. Also running is Libertarian JaLynn Hudnall. The major issues in these states are energy-related.

In N.D., Comr. Kevin Cramer (R), appointed to fill the unexpired term of former Comr. Leo Reinhold, is seeking election to his first full PSC term. He’s opposed by state labor investigator Ron Gumeringer (D). The major telecom issue centers on what the state should be doing to improve wireless service coverage and fill in the dead zones. In Okla., Comr. Denise Bode (R) is seeking her 2nd full elected term on the Corporation Commission. She’s opposed by John Wylie (D), an Oologah newspaper publisher. The major telecom issue is what the commission can do to encourage telecom carriers to invest in the state.

In Neb., with 2 seats up for election, incumbent PSC Comr. Rod Johnson (R) is seeking his 3rd term and PSC Chmn. Jerry Vap (R) his 2nd. They face challenges from independent candidates Peter Rosberg and Anna Rosberg in a low-key contest. In S.D., Democratic incumbent Jim Burg is seeking his 3rd PSC term. He’s opposed by Republican Dustin Johnson, economic development coordinator for the S.D. Governor’s Office. Also running are Sioux Falls businessman Steve Willis of the Constitution Party and Libertarian candidate Tony Ryan. Energy issues have dominated the campaign. In Ala., PSC Pres. Jim Sullivan (R) is running unopposed for his 5th term. State Democratic Party officials said they were deterred from running a PSC candidate largely because Sullivan in Jan. already had $400,000 in his 2004 campaign fund, an enormous amount for a PSC election, with good prospects for collecting more during the campaign.