ATLANTA (AP) — Peter Hubbard claimed victory Tuesday over Keisha Waites in a runoff to settle the Democratic nominee for a post on the Georgia Public Service Commission.
The runoff was necessary under Georgia law to choose a winner after neither won a majority in a June 17 primary. Waites finished first and Hubbard finished second in that earlier three-way race, but Hubbard built a strong lead in unofficial returns Tuesday, showing particular strength in the core metro Atlanta counties of Fulton and DeKalb according to numbers posted by Georgia's secretary of state.
The commission oversees utilities including Georgia Power Co, and Hubbard promised in a statement to “fight for seniors, low-income households and all those who deserve a lower power bill.”
“Power bills are skyrocketing, no one is hold the current Republican PSC accountable and voters have the the power to change that,” Hubbard said.
The winner will face Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson in November in the District 3 race. Republicans in June chose incumbent Tim Echols, who has been on the Public Service Commission since 2011, to face Democrat Alicia Johnson of Augusta in the District 2 race. Voters statewide cast ballots for each of the five seats on the commission, but candidates must live in a particular district.
Waites conceded in a message to supporters, saying she would support Hubbard in November in a "shared vision for a Public Service Commission that truly serves the public.
Turnout was exceedingly low in early voting for the runoff, but improved somewhat, topping 100,000, or a little more than 1% of Georgia's more than 8 million registered voters.
Debate centered on bills charged by Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co. Georgia Power customers have seen bills rise six times in recent years because of higher natural gas costs and construction projects including two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, and other factors. A typical Georgia Power residential customer now pays more than $175 a month, including taxes.
The commission sets rates and oversees generation plans for Georgia Power, which serves 2.3 million customers statewide. Now, all five commission seats are held by Republicans.
A green energy advocate, Hubbard touted his experience testifying before the commission and developing alternative plans that emphasize a shift toward solar power stored in batteries, rather than building more natural gas plants.
Waites is a former state House member and former Atlanta City Council member. She emphasized that she would give representation to Black people and Democrats on the commission.
The commission also oversees some natural gas rates for Atlanta Gas Light and Liberty Gas.
Georgia usually doesn’t have statewide elections in odd-numbered years, but these were pushed back after elections were delayed by a lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the statewide voting scheme as discriminatory to Black people. No Georgia Public Service Commission elections have been held since 2022 because of the lawsuit.
Fitz Johnson was appointed to the commission in 2021 by Gov. Brian Kemp and has never faced voters. He was supposed to run for the last two years of his predecessor’s term in 2022. Instead, the District 3 winner can run again next year for a six-year term, after lawmakers rewrote the terms.
Echols was supposed to run for a six-year term in 2022. Instead, the District 2 winner will serve for five years, with the next election in 2030.
Jeff Amy, The Associated Press
