Randazzo influence remains within the agency and must be removed
More than four months after the FBI raid on Sam Randazzo’s home and his subsequent resignation from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine has selected former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jenifer French as his replacement and new Commission Chair. The Ohio Consumers Power Alliance has spent those months calling on Governor DeWine to appoint someone who could offer Ohio a fresh start, not a rubber stamp for utilities. Someone who had no financial ties to the same utilities they would be charged with regulating. Someone who was ready to put Ohio consumers first.
We are disappointed that Governor DeWine rejected those with consumer advocacy experience earlier in this process, and we call Ms. French to demonstrate a dedication to increasing equity, fairness, and access to services at the community level at a time when corruption has been winning the day in Ohio.
Unfortunately, French is coming to the PUCO with no consumer advocacy experience or energy policy background. This will make the PUCO even more reliant on Scott Elisar, the Commission’s legislative and policy director. Elisar, Randazzo’s former law firm colleague, was appointed by indicted former Speaker Larry Householder to fill a vacancy left by Sam Randazzo on the PUCO nominating council in early 2019. He was subsequently hired by Randazzo to his current leadership position within the PUCO. Sam Randazzo may be gone, but Governor DeWine has stopped short of cleaning house at the PUCO.
Once confirmed, Jenifer French’s first order of business as PUCO Chair should be to remove the final vestige of the Householder and Randazzo era at the agency. We call on her to replace Scott Elisar as legislative and policy director and begin to restore confidence in the state’s regulatory process.
Ohioans deserve better than what we got with Sam Randazzo. We deserve an energy policy that is not clouded by corruption and lies. We offer our congratulations to Ms. French and urge her to bring dignity, transparency, and the consumer perspective back to the PUCO. We urge her to provide a fresh start.
- Rachael Belz, Director, Ohio Consumers Power Alliance
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