David Staples, Libertarian candidate for Georgia Public Service Commission
In the race for Seat 3, GOP incumbent Chuck Eaton took heat from both his Democrat and Libertarian challengers for being too cozy with lobbyists.
Staples had the stage to himself for a half-hour, as the incumbent Republican in his race refused to show up.
See more from the Savannah Morning News:
For seat 5, GOP incumbent Stan Wise issued a statement afterward explaining that he boycotted the event because the club represented him with an empty lectern during a similar debate for the primary when eye surgery left him unable to participate.
“Rather than recognize what should have been an excusable medical absence, these journalists attempted to embarrass my campaign by placing an empty podium on stage,” he said, adding that he also objected to one of the journalists on the panel who didn’t report negative news about his primary opponent.
So, he wasn’t able to defend himself when his general election challenger, Libertarian David Staples, attacked.
“Do you honestly believe that voters are actually OK with your sleeping during hearings, reading newspapers during hearings, accepting $14,000 in lobbyists’ gifts, accepting 96 percent of your campaign contributions from attorneys, executives and lobbyists of utilities you’re charged with regulating, and do you believe that it’s OK having utility lobbyists actively campaigning for you, namely Mr. Michael Shawn Davis?” Staples asked when the format allowed him to question the absent Wise.
Staples noted that Wise has broken no law, but that the activities would stop if a better man were elected.
In the debate for seat 3, GOP incumbent Chuck Eaton denied opponents’ accusations that he is too cozy with the companies he regulates.
“I’ve never granted Georgia Power Company any of the rate increases they’ve requested,” he said, adding that he only voted for pared-down rate hikes.
Democrat Steve Oppenheimer and Libertarian Brad Ploeger blasted away from either side. Oppenheimer said electricity rates had risen 24 percent during Eaton’s six-year term and that residential rates for natural gas were among the highest in the continental United States.
The incumbent blamed federal regulations for half the expense of the latest electric rate increase, but Oppenheimer didn’t agree.
“Rates are increasing because you voted 10 times to put on higher rates,” he said. “… It’s not because of the EPA.”
Ploeger criticized the incumbent for opposing a “risk sharing” plan that would have reduced the allowable profit Georgia Power could earn on its expansion of Plant Vogtle if construction of the two nuclear reactors go over budget. Eaton dismissed it as a gimmick that would weaken the commission’s current authority to prohibit the company from earning any profits on construction waste.
Again, the challenger didn’t agree.
“We’re talking about experimental, nuclear reactors that have never been built in the United States,” Ploeger said. “Right now, all risk is on the ratepayers. The investors are guaranteed to make a profit. I don’t think that’s the best thing for the ratepayers of Georgia.”
Follow Us