Birmingham News political reporter Chuck Dean put out a good piece yesterday with some interesting quotes from both candidates for Public Service Commission President: Democrat Lucy Baxley and Republican Twinkle Cavanaugh. The PSC President race may not be the most exciting of this election cycle, but the importance of the post and a stark contrast between the two candidates is clear after they were given the opportunity to give their pitch in their own words.
Let’s briefly break this down…
When unemployment is over 8%, every elected official better be looking at potential ways to spur economic growth. The PSC plays a major role in setting utility rates, so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where they could give Alabama a leg up over competing states by simply keeping Alabama energy rates low. When companies like ThyssenKrupp, Hyundai, and AIRBUS look to build plants with tens-of-thousands, if not hundreds-of-thousands of square feet, do you honestly think they don’t care how much it’s going to cost to power such a huge operation? Well…apparently Lucy Baxley does…
“…at the state level [economic development] belongs to the governor, to the leadership of the Legislature and to the corporate leadership of Alabama,” Baxley said. “Businesses make decisions to stay in Alabama or come here for a lot of reasons known mostly to them and getting fat tax breaks is probably a lot more important than what they pay for electricity.”
Meanwhile, Cavanaugh gets it. “We know low taxes attract people and businesses to Alabama. But what is often overlooked by some — but not by companies — is the cost of utilities,” Cavanaugh told the News. “Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said one of the key reasons [ThyssenKrupp] picked Alabama was that utility cost in his state were just a lot higher than in Alabama. And I’m fighting to keep them low…”
Second, if you believe in the junk science behind the man-made-global-warming-Al-Gore nonsense…you’re in luck, because we have a candidate for you…
“I’ve lived in Alabama all my life and most of the time it’s hot, but it’s getting hotter in places where its usually cooler,” Baxley opined. “So I guess [global warming is taking place], and if the scientists tell us we’re causing it, then we need to do something about it.”
But if you care about the 5,000 jobs the coal industry provides in Alabama and believe the EPA has turned into little more than an attack machine for radical environmentalists, Twinkle Cavanaugh is probably more your speed…
“If Barack Obama has his way, coal production and the use of coal to produce much of our electricity in Alabama and throughout the South would cost much more… President Obama’s administration is trying to shut down much of our nation’s coal production and move jobs back to the east coast and he’s using global warming as the excuse. As president of the PSC, I will fight Barack Obama and his EPA.”
Next, if you think the United States is on the right track — that we’re better off today than we were four years ago — and believe that President Obama needs a second term to double-down on our current direction, Baxley is once again your best bet. When asked how she would be voting in the Presidential race, Baxley said, “I’m voting Democratic. I always have. I will until the day I die because I care most about everyday people and solving their problems first. I might be the last Democrat in a state office, but I’m a proud one.”
But even if you aren’t sure about all of this political stuff, I’m certain you will at least agree that anyone who’s making $105,000 per year in taxpayer money should at least show up for work every day. Right?
“Do I come to the office every day? No,” said Baxley. “Do I travel the state as often as I did in those other offices? No. And, if I had been elected governor in 2006, I probably would have had to resign because that’s just a different job.”
Well…ok then. The choice is yours, Alabama.
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