Another exciting post about an overlooked, yet important government office: public service commissioner. The PSC covers telecommunications and utilities - in other words, they influence our lives every day. Additionally, these positions are perfect stepping stones for bigger and better things down the road so we must choose wisely.
We have two seats to fill this year. Apparently there are 5 elected officials who represent the five different districts in Georgia. And even though the commissioner who covers district 2 (where I live) is not up for election, Georgia voters are able to vote for commissioners in other districts. This seems a little odd to me. Looking at the district map, I don't know if I'm the best person to decide what people in other districts in Georgia need. I have to wonder who drew the map and how they rationalized cobbling together the different districts.
As the article in Atlanta magazine points out, "if you care about the environment, keep a close eye on the PSC." I recommend reading the article and the questions & answers from the various candidates. Apparently there's a huge nuclear power plant project that's way over-budget and very overdue that is a hot topic for these candidates. Two of the candidates Eaton and Pridemore, both incumbents in their districts, have been accused of accepting donations from companies involved with the construction of the project. I read an article that explained these accusations more in depth - click here.
Here are the candidates up for election this year:
District 3: Chuck Eaton, Lindy Miller, and Ryan Graham
In reading through Chuck Eaton's blog, I was disheartened to see inflammatory language (i.e. "radical liberals" and referring to California's ideology negatively). I was on board reading through his bio, but the issues page turned me off. I'm realizing more and more as I research the candidates that I truly oppose negative rhetoric. Some may say both sides are guilty and that's true, but when you get down to the individual candidate level there are differences. I'm choosing to vote for individuals and not parties.
Lindy Miller is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School which focuses on public policy and public administration. She is into lowering utility bills and investing in solar energy. She believes in carrying on with the nuclear plant, but only if we can shift the cost back onto the shareholders constructing it rather than ratepayers. Overall she's looking like a strong candidate.
Information is rather sparse on Graham's website which is troubling to me. I found the interview questions from the Atlanta magazine article to be more enlightening. Graham is in favor of creating open markets for all of our utilities to increase competitive rates. He is opposed to the nuclear power plant project, but doesn't suggest what to do about it. I doubt we can just leave a nuclear power plant half built.
District 5: Tricia Pridemore, Dawn Randolph, and John Turpish
To put it bluntly, I don't like any of these candidates. Pridemore is super conservative and we do not see eye to eye on issues like gun control and abortion. I was thinking to myself that why should it matter that a public service commissioner thinks about guns and babies, but then I remembered this is one of those stepping stone positions. If she moves up in her political career, Pridemore could end up in political positions where she will have the power to influence decisions related to her personal beliefs. So, nope to Pridemore.
Randolph's website had a negative impact on my opinion of her. I agreed with her answers in the Atlanta magazine article, but then when I went to her website I felt that the pictures were odd (some looked like selfies from Instagram) and the language was not polished. I'm struggling to get on board with Randolph.
Turpish's site is like Graham's from district 3. Information is sparse on his website, but it's also sparse in his answers to the questions from Atlanta magazine. It's hard to get behind someone who doesn't provide much information about themselves and their beliefs.
For me, deciding on who to vote for in District 5 comes down to thinking about who would do less damage should they decide to move up the political ladder.
Good luck on your research of these candidates! I urge you to go to their websites and think about who represents you and your beliefs.
We have two seats to fill this year. Apparently there are 5 elected officials who represent the five different districts in Georgia. And even though the commissioner who covers district 2 (where I live) is not up for election, Georgia voters are able to vote for commissioners in other districts. This seems a little odd to me. Looking at the district map, I don't know if I'm the best person to decide what people in other districts in Georgia need. I have to wonder who drew the map and how they rationalized cobbling together the different districts.
Here are the candidates up for election this year:
District 3: Chuck Eaton, Lindy Miller, and Ryan Graham
In reading through Chuck Eaton's blog, I was disheartened to see inflammatory language (i.e. "radical liberals" and referring to California's ideology negatively). I was on board reading through his bio, but the issues page turned me off. I'm realizing more and more as I research the candidates that I truly oppose negative rhetoric. Some may say both sides are guilty and that's true, but when you get down to the individual candidate level there are differences. I'm choosing to vote for individuals and not parties.
Lindy Miller is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School which focuses on public policy and public administration. She is into lowering utility bills and investing in solar energy. She believes in carrying on with the nuclear plant, but only if we can shift the cost back onto the shareholders constructing it rather than ratepayers. Overall she's looking like a strong candidate.
Information is rather sparse on Graham's website which is troubling to me. I found the interview questions from the Atlanta magazine article to be more enlightening. Graham is in favor of creating open markets for all of our utilities to increase competitive rates. He is opposed to the nuclear power plant project, but doesn't suggest what to do about it. I doubt we can just leave a nuclear power plant half built.
District 5: Tricia Pridemore, Dawn Randolph, and John Turpish
To put it bluntly, I don't like any of these candidates. Pridemore is super conservative and we do not see eye to eye on issues like gun control and abortion. I was thinking to myself that why should it matter that a public service commissioner thinks about guns and babies, but then I remembered this is one of those stepping stone positions. If she moves up in her political career, Pridemore could end up in political positions where she will have the power to influence decisions related to her personal beliefs. So, nope to Pridemore.
Randolph's website had a negative impact on my opinion of her. I agreed with her answers in the Atlanta magazine article, but then when I went to her website I felt that the pictures were odd (some looked like selfies from Instagram) and the language was not polished. I'm struggling to get on board with Randolph.
Turpish's site is like Graham's from district 3. Information is sparse on his website, but it's also sparse in his answers to the questions from Atlanta magazine. It's hard to get behind someone who doesn't provide much information about themselves and their beliefs.
For me, deciding on who to vote for in District 5 comes down to thinking about who would do less damage should they decide to move up the political ladder.
Good luck on your research of these candidates! I urge you to go to their websites and think about who represents you and your beliefs.
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