Clean energy advocate Peter Hubbard defeated former state legislator Keisha Sean Waites in the Democratic primary runoff on July 15 to secure the party’s nomination for Public Service Commission (PSC) District 3. He will face Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson on Nov. 4.
The PSC is the state’s utilities regulator for electricity, natural gas, telecom, and rural internet. Most notably, it sets the rates for Georgia Power, and it also has authority over railroad rates and spurs.
Hubbard won 58.2% (66,081 votes) to Waites 41.8% (47,495 votes), according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office as of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. However, those figures won’t be finalized for another few days. Voters statewide elect the five Public Service Commissioners, but candidates must reside in their district. District 3 comprises Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton Counties.
“I am grateful to be nominated the Democratic PSC candidate for District 3,” Hubbard said in a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle. “The PSC general election this Nov. 4 matters to all Georgians because power bills are skyrocketing, no one is holding the current Republican PSC accountable, and voters have the power to change that.”
Hubbard said he and his fellow Democrat, Alicia Johnson, running for PSC seats “come ready with experience, plans, and grit to fight for seniors, low income households, and all those who deserve a lower power bill.”
For the other PSC seat, District 2, up for election in November, Johnson will face Republican incumbent Tim Echols.
Waites said that she will support Hubbard and “work tirelessly to ensure a victory in the general election,” in a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle. “Our focus now shifts to uniting behind a shared vision for a Public Service Commission that truly serves the public,” she said.
Waites bested Hubbard in the Democratic primary for District 3 on June 17, but neither secured more than 50% of the vote, prompting the runoff. A third candidate, Robert Jones, received 25,898 votes in the Democratic primary, eliminating him from the runoff.
For the July 15 runoff, Hubbard dominated the vote in the core metro Atlanta counties, winning a majority of the vote in Gwinnett, Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb Counties. Waites carried only Clayton County. As with the PSC District 2 and District 3 primaries, the Democratic runoff between Hubbard and Waites was marked by extremely low turnout, with just over 110,000 Georgians casting a ballot, out of 7.4 million registered active voters.