[StBernard] 4 vie in heated battle for open PSC seat

[Westley Annis]

Boy-oh-boy....old politicians are harder to get rid of than vampires!  I
guess both are:
a.  afraid of the daylight
b.  have to stake them to really get rid of  'em!

Schwegmann and Odinet.

Schwegmann:  How to lose a family grocery dynasty in 3 easy steps.

Odinet:           Old, term-limited House members don't go away; they find a
new state job
to run for.

The other 2 I don't know anything about.  Anybody else know about them?

JY




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	4 vie in heated battle for open PSC seat
	by Robert Travis Scott, The Times-Picayune 
	Monday September 22, 2008, 9:39
	 PM
	BATON ROUGE -- A surprise open seat on the Oct. 4 primary ballot for
Public
	Service Commission has put four candidates in a heated battle to
represent a
	New Orleans area district on some of the major energy regulation
issues
	facing Louisiana.
	
	The commission, which once was a stepping stone in the political
career of
	Gov. Huey Long, has evolved into a critical agency coping with
soaring
	utility bills, the quest for alternative energy sources and
post-hurricane
	power outages.
	
	Since 1997, north shore lawyer Jay Blossman has held the 1st
District seat,
	which represents a 12-parish area including St. Tammany, St. Bernard
and
	most of Jefferson and the River parishes, as well as a piece of the
New
	Orleans lakeshore. After qualifying in July to run for a third term,
	Blossman unexpectedly dropped out of the race when the sign-up
period was
	over.
	
	While that move may have shut out some potential
	 candidates who didn't want
	to run against Blossman's well-financed re-election machine, the
ballot
	will
	have two former elected officials and two other previous political
	candidates seeking their first election victories.
	
	John Schwegmann, the former grocery chain owner who held the
commission seat
	for 15 years, is a non-party candidate back for another try. Ken
Odinet, a
	former 20-year member of the state House of Representatives,
switched in
	July from Democrat to Republican, generally a more favorable party
for the
	district.
	
	Eric Skrmetta, a Republican lawyer, has fallen short in previous
attempts to
	win a state House seat. Bruce Kincade, a Metairie lawyer, is a
non-party
	candidate who has run unsuccessfully in contests for parish
president and
	assessor.
	
	Each candidate has characterized Blossman as too cozy with the
powerful
	utility companies he regulates. A legislative auditor's report in
	 2003
	documented a freewheeling standard for commissioners and agency
staff, many
	of whom routinely accepted dinners, golf games and other perks from
	utilities.
	
	Blossman frequented utility companies' Superdome suites and a power
company
	picked up Blossman's tab at a Santa Fe spa. Earlier this year,
Blossman
	wrote a letter on commission stationery to regulated motor carriers
asking
	them to meet with a young friend who was a salesman for a satellite
tracking
	system. A state inspector general investigation concluded that the
letter
	was a possible violation of state ethics laws.
	
	In reaction to these events, all the 1st District candidates have
championed
	themselves as customer advocates who will shun the influence of
utilities
	while giving the companies a fair hearing. But there are key
differences.
	
	Skrmetta sees ethical lapses in an otherwise effective commissioner,
whereas
	Schwegmann and Odinet say
	 Blossman is unfit for office. Skrmetta has
	welcomed an endorsement from Blossman, who is helping with
introductions and
	campaign fundraising. Also, Skrmetta is taking campaign
contributions from
	power and phone companies while the others have pledged not to
accept money
	from regulated utilities.
	
	All the candidates want to address that portion of the power bill
that
	charges a substantial fee, or fuel adjustment, for increased costs
of
	natural gas, a fuel used in abundance by Entergy for generating
electricity.
	
	Here is a look at each candidate:
	
	Bruce Kincade
	
	Kincade, 56, is a lawyer with a specialty in taxes who has run
	unsuccessfully for Jefferson Parish president and assessor.
	
	He had given his campaign $10,000 as of his most recent disclosure
report.
	
	Kincade said he was motivated to run partly because of the
increasing
	electricity bill for his home, especially the fuel adjustment
charge,
	 which
	he calls "obnoxious."
	
	Kincade said consumers are being taken advantage of by utilities and
there
	is not enough equilibrium in the financial risks taken by
shareholders
	versus ratepayers.
	
	Utilities should get at least 20 percent of their energy from
renewable
	resources, he said. More than any other candidate, Kincade
emphasizes
	increased solar power as the answer to higher energy bills.
	
	Kincade said that as a commissioner he would be checking to see "if
there
	is
	any reality" to the utility calculations for consumer bills, and
that
	"moral
	suasion" could also be used to convince the companies to ease rates.
	
	Ken Odinet Sr.
	
	Odinet, 77, is a lifelong advocate of his home St. Bernard Parish.
His
	engineering career has provided experiences with offshore drilling,
marine
	construction and pipeline work, and he continues to run his own
consulting
	business.
	
	During his terms in the
	 state Legislature from 1988 to 2008, he served on
	the Ways & Means, Natural Resources and Labor committees. He
narrowly lost
	a
	bid for a state Senate seat last year.
	
	He has money left from his Senate campaign that he can use in the
PSC race.
	His latest disclosure report showed a little more than $22,000.
	
	Odinet said he would address the fuel adjustment problem by pressing
for
	different types of fuel, particularly nuclear, for power generation.
He said
	he would consider a way for the state to finance nuclear power
expansion,
	selling the power to the energy companies.
	
	He favors deregulation of the power industry, shifting toward
private power
	plants to supply more electricity.
	
	"Let supply and demand take care of things, " Odinet said.
	"We're surely not
	keeping prices down with the regulation we have now."
	
	Odinet wants the power companies to get insurance to help compensate
for
	future
	 storm damage or build up a fund in advance, with the commission
	providing oversight of customer charges to help pay for those hedge
costs.
	
	John Schwegmann
	
	Schwegmann, 62, comes from a well-known family in the New Orleans
area. His
	father, a famous supermarket innovator, held a seat on the Public
Service
	Commission. His wife, Melinda, was lieutenant governor from
1992-1996 and a
	state representative.
	
	When his father stepped down from the PSC, Schwegmann won the seat
and
	served from 1981 to 1996. He was ousted by Blossman in a tight
election.
	
	He has raised about $25,000.
	
	Schwegmann, who previously ran a banking company, said that once in
office
	he would concentrate on the electric utilities and closely review
their
	financial reports to better judge their rate charges.
	
	"I think I can ask a lot of the needed, probing questions, "
	Schwegmann
	said.
	
	He would explore the possibility of
	 a partnership between the public and
	private sectors to produce natural gas from the state's rich
reserves in a
	way that could bring lower prices on utility bills.
	
	Also, while utilities are entitled to collect storm damage repair
costs and
	some other types of expenses from power customers, the companies and
their
	shareholders should not be immune from poor business decisions that
unfairly
	burden the ratepayer, he said.
	
	Schwegmann said while in office he fought for extra generating
capacity by
	private companies that could be sold into the main power grids,
thereby
	creating more competition for power supply. He would support an
expansion of
	nuclear power generation, but limit the burden on consumers for cost
	overruns, which in the past cost ratepayers billions of dollars.
	
	Eric Skrmetta
	
	Skrmetta, 49, is a lawyer who owns a seafood-processing equipment
company
	and has been involved in numerous civic
	 groups. He has served as a traffic
	judge in Jefferson Parish and a mediator for insurance claims
settlements
	after Hurricane Katrina. In a business deal in the 1990s, he turned
a $1,000
	investment into a $5.6 million buyout of his interest in the Harvey
Boomtown
	riverboat casino.
	
	He was a member of the Causeway Commission and ran twice in crowded
fields
	for a state House seat.
	
	Skrmetta said he will put more than $100,000 of his own money into
his
	campaign while also soliciting money from contributors, including
regulated
	companies. His competitors' refusal to accept utility money is a
sign that
	they are unfairly prejudiced toward them, he said.
	
	"They have animosity toward one side in the equation, " Skrmetta
	said.
	
	To deal with spikes in fuel adjustments, Skrmetta would try to
ensure that
	the special gas charges on bills come down as fast as they go up to
	accurately match commodity market
	 swings. For the long term, the answer lies
	in greater diversification of the types of power plants, with an
emphasis on
	more nuclear power, petroleum-coke and biomass in the future, he
said. More
	solar power would be a partial solution.
	
	Diversified energy sources could be made a requirement for
utilities, he
	said. When new power plants are delayed or running over planned
costs, the
	extra financial burden should be shared by the companies, he said.
	
	"We don't want a never-ending story of why it's not completed,
	" Skrmetta
	said, noting his campaign slogan: "Power should rest with our
consumers,
	not
	utility companies."
	
	The commission has five elected representatives serving staggered
six-year
	terms. The agency regulates utilities, some phone services and a
variety of
	intrastate transport companies, including movers, tour buses and
limousine
	services.
	
	In addition to St. Tammany, St. Bernard and
	 much of the east bank of
	Jefferson Parish, the 1st District covers Plaquemines, Tangipahoa,
	Washington and St. Helena parishes and parts of Ascension,
Livingston,
	Orleans, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes.
	
	. . . . . . .
	
	Robert Travis Scott can be reached at rscott at timespicayune.com or
	225.342.4197.