One Democrat, two Republicans face off for open Louisiana Public Service Commission seat
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to properly list two candidates’ political parties. We apologize for the error.
BATON ROUGE, LA. (BRPROUD) — People in south Louisiana will vote for a new Public Service Commissioner after Craig Green announced his resignation. Three candidates are in the race for the board that regulates utilities.
Republicans Jean-Paul Coussan and Julie Quinn and lone Democrat Nick Laborde are campaigning for the position.
There are two Democrats and two Republicans on the commission, so this open seat could be pivotal for regulatory changes in the state. The five-person commission has oversight over what companies are charging consumers and how they manage their grid. The second district stretches from Lafayette, around Baton Rouge, down to the Gulf.
Meet the candidates
Jean-Paul Coussan
Coussan is a state senator and previously served in the House for eight years. He works in a real estate investment company in Lafayette. He believes with major investments in the state coming from the current administration he can work through the PSC to make the state more attractive and evenly spread out costs.
“What we’re trying to do is keep up with the demand. And as the demand grows, you can’t just sit back and do nothing,” Coussan said. “And so basically we have to work with them to grow the supply, to meet the demand without the costs overburdening our everyday consumer.”
He also has an interest in expanding access to water. He hears about water needs a lot from the developments his company represents. As the chairman of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, he helped oversee the ongoing upgrade of the water systems across the state.
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Julie Quinn
Another Republican in the race is former state senator Julie Quinn. She said her experience in the legislature allowed her to be a conservative voice without being divisive. She works as a business attorney. During her time in the legislature, she was the chair of the Judiciary A Committee.
She is for expanding into alternative energy sources but believes it can’t be done too quickly.
“The rate at which it’s being forced upon us is not sustainable. But I certainly think there’s a place for all of those alternative energy sources just at a reasonable pace,” Quinn said.
Louisiana already has some of the lowest utility rates in the country. Quinn said she will work to maintain those and wants to create incentives for people to weatherproof their homes to reduce their utility usage during hot summers and cold winters.
Nick Laborde
On the other side of the aisle, Nick Laborde has gotten the stamp of approval from the Louisiana Democrats. Laborde comes from a long line of politicians but this would be his first elected office.
With summers getting hotter and hurricanes always on the horizon, he wants to pressure companies to harden their grid without costing consumers.
“I’m going to work to try to make Entergy pay more to invest in reform and accountability and sustainability so that we can do things that over the long term help our grid reduce the need to repair and rebuild and hopefully just make a difference for working people,” Laborde said.
What you need to know
Neither Republicans have gotten the endorsement of the Louisiana GOP yet.
The primary election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and the ballot will include the race for mayor of the city and president of the United States. The general election will determine any runoffs and is set for Saturday, Dec. 7.
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