State Commissioner Elections Approach in 10 States, Emphasize Ethics and Energy Over Telecom

The Nov. 6 ballot includes elections for 19 different state commissioner spots in 10 states: one seat in Alabama, three in Arizona, two in Georgia, one in Louisiana, three in Montana, two in Nebraska, two in New Mexico, one in North Dakota, two in Oklahoma and two in South Dakota. This count excludes the Texas Railroad Commission, which doesn’t oversee telecom. Some states limit commissioners’ terms, preventing reelection runs. Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar and New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks are unable to seek reelection in 2012 for this reason. Other commissioners, including Nebraska’s Public Service Commission Chairman Tim Schram and Commissioner Frank Landis, are running unopposed. In most states, governors or the legislature appoint commissioners. Twelve states elect their public utility commissioners, sometimes by district and sometimes in statewide contests like in Alabama and Arizona.

Many commissioners facing reelection “don’t run statewide,” said Nancy LaPlaca, policy adviser to Arizona Corporation Commissioner Paul Newman, a Democrat facing that challenge. Commissioners often lack substantial funds for travel and campaigning, which makes that challenge greater, she said. Cavanaugh has raised $300,000 for her statewide campaign in Alabama, with a median donation of $100, she said, calling the sum “pretty large” and assisting her travel throughout the state’s 67 counties.

Telecom issues matter but don’t tend to be “something that’s talked about” in Arizona, said Will Greene, Newman’s campaign manager. “The biggest issue talked about in the campaign is energy,” he said. “We're running as the solar team.” The commissioner “has taken a stand for rural broadband” and low-income advocacy, Greene said, although the campaign website doesn’t list or describe any telecom issues. Rural broadband comes up “once in a while,” but the Arizona Corporation Commission has no authority over wireless rates, he said, which may limit people’s interest. In an hour-long October debate of nine ACC candidates vying for the three open seats, no one, including Newman and another incumbent, discussed any telecom issue in depth. The Alabama PSC’s telecom responsibilities are “administratively driven” and there’s “not a lot of points of disagreement” among the commissioners, Cavanaugh said. In Alabama, big election issues include coal, the EPA and jobs, she said. Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony, a Republican elected four times since 1988 and running unopposed this November, does tout telecom accomplishments. His campaign website refers to mandating “adoption of modern telephone equipment and technology standards statewide,” telemedicine, the creation of toll-free calling circles and high-speed Internet incentives, the “Anthony Plan” of pro-competitive telecom and his incentives for start-up telcos (http://xrl.us/bnv7xd).

Nationwide, major commission race issues “might center on energy policy, costs, and affordability,” said Jan Beecher, director of Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Utilities, by email. “In the communications space, universal service and broadband are key issues.” These types of elections tend to fly below the radar, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow David Damore told us. The nuanced nature of the positions hurt public interest, turnout is often low and there’s little literature on them, said Damore, a University of Nevada political science professor. The advantage thus falls to the regulated interests, who take more interest than the average voter in these elections, he said.

Newman faces multiple considerations in his November Arizona election. If he loses, his term would end in December, and his staff will disappear, according to LaPlaca. He’s not really looking much beyond the November election, she said -- and that includes the November NARUC meeting, she said, which begins Nov. 11 in Baltimore. He’s “waiting to see” on the election before making any decisions about NARUC, said LaPlaca: “If you lose, it’s just polite to leave the [commissioner travel] budget for the next person.” Newman’s incumbent opponent, Republican Commissioner Bob Stump, is registered for NARUC but is a NARUC board member and thus “encouraged” to attend, that organization’s spokesman said. None of the NARUC executive leadership is up for 2012 election in their states, he added. He described the occasional surprise in the past, as recently as in 2010. It’s “not unusual for a commissioner to lose a week out before our meeting,” he said.

Arizona’s election may have deregulation implications, LaPlaca said, pointing to the three Republican commissioners’ affiliation with the American Legislative Exchange Council and “pretty much pro-deregulation” stances. “Will deregulation take off?” she asked. “This election may have the answer.” Arizona’s also different from other states: “No other commission in the country has as much independent authority,” she said, citing the fact that governors don’t appoint its commissioners and that they run in a statewide race.

Other commission elections spotlight ethics. “I fought for the ex parte, we broadcast all of our meetings,” said Commissioner Chuck Eaton, Georgia Public Service Commission Republican incumbent, during an October debate in response to his two District 3 challengers. One had described its coziness with industry and “loss in trust of the public service commission throughout the state.” Neither Georgia PSC debate emphasized telecom. During an Oct. 1 Louisiana PSC election debate for one open District 2 position, two Republican candidates defended accepting donations from industries regulated by the PSC, a situation the Louisiana Democratic Party slammed as “divided loyalties” (http://xrl.us/bnv72z). Three New Mexico amendments on the November ballet will target its state commission, upping the qualifications for commissioners and removing insurance regulation and corporation paperwork. Think New Mexico, a policy group promoting the amendments, describes “an almost constant state of turmoil” in which the PRC has operated since its creation (http://xrl.us/bnvzsi).