Newcomer wins seat on Louisiana Public Service Commission

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Newcomer Davante Lewis has won Saturday’s runoff for a seat on Louisiana’s Public Service Commission. The 30-year-old progressive policy advocate beat incumbent Lambert Boissiere III, who has held the seat for nearly 18 years. The five-member commission’s role includes regulating electric utilities, prison telephone rates and telecommunications. The multiparish election stretching from Baton Rouge to New Orleans has received national attention as major utility companies and outside political action committees poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race. Climate activists have become focused on the commission in a state with a front-row seat to climate change impacts where thousands of jobs are tied to the oil and gas industry.