Right Call By Senate on Tainted Commissioner

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By Mark Toney
The Utility Reform Network (TURN)

Too often, the confirmation process for Gubernatorial appointees is just a rubber stamp, with well-connected officials easily winning seats on influential boards and commissions. But when we stand up and speak out, the public can have an impact.

Such was the case in the recent decision by the senate rules committee not to confirm Rachelle Chong to another 6 year term on the California Public Utilities Commission.  

Consumer groups have been urging rejection of Ms. Chong because of her close ties to AT&T and hard line ideological bent toward deregulation, which have resulted in higher prices and fewer rights for phone consumers. But unseating a sitting Commissioner is especially difficult, so even we were surprised when Rules Committee Chair Darrell Steinberg announced that the Committee would not hold a confirmation hearing for Ms. Chong, allowing her nomination to expire.

This is truly a historic victory for consumer groups in California. Never before has a governor's appointment to the CPUC been derailed by a popular movement. TURN and other consumer groups deluged the senate rules committee with documents, letters and other materials to make our case. And Commissioner Chong’s supporters did the same.

Senator Steinberg led the committee in focusing on the merits of the Chong nomination, devoting substantial staff time and energy to investigating the record provided by both sides. In his comments on the nomination, he focused on two especially glaring anti-consumer actions by Commissioner Chong, her proposal to raise rates for low income LifeLine customers and her abysmal track record as supervisor of CAB, the consumer affairs branch of the CPUC whose enforcement record dropped dramatically under Commissioner Chong’s watch.

What makes this David vs. Goliath victory especially sweet is that it wasn’t just the Governor we were up against. Challenging Commissioner Chong meant challenging the seemingly invincible AT&T, the main beneficiary of Chong's relentless crusade for deregulation, and one of the most powerful lobbyists in the nation. 

AT&T is the largest corporate contributor to state election campaigns in the California—having contributed to 113 of the 120 senators and asssemblymembers in Sacramento. And almost all of Commissioner Chong’s supporters were associated with groups that receive funding from AT&T.

ON TURN’s side was a coalition of grassroots groups that represent low-income and other vulnerable communities. TURN’s consumer alliance included groups like the Greenlining Institute, which had supported Commissioner Chong in the past but become disenchanted by her failure to craft adequate rules to stop abusive marketing practices against limited English speaking customers. 

We were also joined by San Diego’s Utility Consumers Action Network and the Tenderloin SRO Collaborative, which mobilized tenants to protest Commissioner Chong’s abysmal proposal to raise Lifeline rates, and 40 other organizations who sent in letters, made phone calls, lobbied the committee and responded to urgent appeals to take action. Our combined impact was strong enough to counter the phone companies’.  

Our efforts have the immediate impact of saving Lifeline from being changed from a fixed cost, affordable flat monthly rate to an unstable, fluctuating rate in which a voucher would provide a small, fixed discount but no cost controls. Thankfully, Commissioner Chong's proposed decision on Lifeline dies with the expiration of her term.  

More importantly, TURN has struck a blow against the ideology of deregulation in general and specifically against telecom deregulation. With Ms. Chong's departure, we have not only halted the crusade for deregulation, we might have the opportunity to turn back the tide and bring back some reasonable and necessary consumer protections.

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Mark Toney is the Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), who for more than 30 years has challenged California’s powerful energy and telephone companies, saving consumers and small businesses millions, and demanding reliable service and environmentally sound policies.