Judge: Democrat Can Run for Ga. PSC Despite Not Living in District
"The court rejects the argument put forward by the petitioner which seeks to impose the residency requirement upon a person who might be elected to serve Commissioner Eaton's unexpired term," Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson wrote.
July 15, 2022 at 10:52 AM
3 minute read
Election and Political LawA judge has ruled that Democrat Shelia Edwards can remain on the ballot for Georgia's Public Service Commission even though she doesn't live in the district she would represent.
Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson ruled Wednesday that the District 3 election is exempt from the residency rule because candidates are running to fill the two unexpired years remaining on the term of former Commissioner Chuck Eaton. He resigned in 2021 when he was appointed as a judge.
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Republican Fitz Johnson to that post. Johnson is running this year to stay on the commission until 2024, and Democrats nominated Edwards in a May 24 primary to challenge him.
The commission regulates private, for-profit utilities including Georgia Power Co. and Atlanta Gas Light Co., meaning its decisions affect the pocketbooks of millions of Georgians.
Commissioners are elected statewide but generally must reside in particular districts. Edwards has faced continuing questions about whether it's legal for her to run in the 3rd District, which includes Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties, because she lives in the Mableton area of Cobb County.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger challenged Edwards' residency in an administrative proceeding. Days before the primary, Administrative Law Judge Shakara Barnes ruled that Edwards could run because she was bidding to fill the position vacated by Eaton. Barnes ruled that residency requirements only apply when a candidate is running for a full six-year term on the commission.
"When filling an unexpired PSC term, the residency of the appointee or elected official is not a deciding factor," Barnes wrote.
Chandra Fairley, the Democrat who finished second in the May 24 primary, filed an election challenge in Cobb County after the primary, seeking to overturn the ruling and have Edwards removed from the ballot.
Fairley argued that the vacancy ended when Kemp appointed Johnson and any exception to the residency rule doesn't apply to the 2022 election. If Edwards had been disqualified, the state Democratic Party would have decided on a replacement.
But Emerson adopted Barnes' reasoning that Johnson is running for a vacancy and thus exempt.
"The court rejects the argument put forward by the petitioner which seeks to impose the residency requirement upon a person who might be elected to serve Commissioner Eaton's unexpired term," Emerson wrote.
Bryan Sells, Fairley's lawyer, said Fairley could appeal. "My client is disappointed with the ruling and still reviewing her options," he wrote in an email Thursday.
A second residency challenge is pending against Democrat Patty Durand, who is challenging incumbent Republican Tim Echols in District 1 for a full six-year term. In that case, lawmakers redrew districts to exclude Durand, who had lived in Gwinnett County. She then moved to Conyers, part of the new district, but hadn't lived there for the required year when she qualified.
Raffensperger sought to remove Durand, but a judge kept her on the ballot. Durand presented evidence showing Echols traded text messages with Commission President Tricia Pridemore during redistricting, including Durand's Gwinnett County address, that helped Republicans draw her out. Durand argues she should be allowed to run because she was unconstitutionally targeted in redistricting, violating her 14th Amendment right to equal protection. The case's next hearing is set for July 26.
A third case could overturn the commission's entire election structure. That lawsuit, awaiting a judge's decision, argues that electing commissioners statewide discriminates against Black people, and seeks that only voters in a district will determine their commissioner.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1'I'm Staying Everything': Texas Bankruptcy Judge Halts Talc Trials Against J&J
- 2What We Know About the Kentucky Judge Killed in His Chambers
- 3Ex-Prosecutor and Judge Fatally Shot During Attempted Arrest on Federal Corruption Charges
- 4Judge Blasts Authors' Lawyers in Key AI Suit, Says Case Doomed Without Upgraded Team
- 5Federal Judge Won't Stop Title IX Investigation Into Former GMU Law Professor
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholders Christina M. Carroll and A. Michael Pratt have entered appearances for the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, Wendy Spicher in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The case, filed Aug. 13 in Texas Northern District Court by Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders; Ashcroft Sutton Reyes; and Locke Lord on behalf of TMX Finance Corporate Services, seeks to challenge the secretary’s ongoing attempt to regulate commercial lending activity outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The suit furthers contends that the secretary issued an investigative subpoena to TMX for potential violations of the Pennsylvania Loan Interest and Protection Law and the Consumer Discount Company Act despite TMX's business activities not being governed by such. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey, is 3:24-cv-02054, TMX Finance Corporate Services Inc v. Spicher.
Who Got The Work
Joseph J. Mueller and Rachel Bier of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have entered appearances for Omachron Alpha, Omachron Intellectual Property and SharkNinja Operating in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The action, filed Sept. 16 in Massachusetts District Court by Kirkland & Ellis, asserts three patents in connection with SharkNinja's sale of the 'Vertex' and 'Stratos' cordless vacuum cleaners. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, is 1:24-cv-12373, Dyson, Inc. et al v. SharkNinja, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Shloime Fellig of Latham & Watkins has entered an appearance for Ardelyx the company's CEO and CFO in a pending securities class action related to Xphozah, a drug which treats kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. The complaint, filed Aug. 16 in Massachusetts District Court by Pomerantz LLP, contends that the defendants failed to disclose that the company would not be seeking the drug’s acceptance into the Transitional Drug Add-on Payment Adjustment, a bundled payment system regulated by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin, is 1:24-cv-12119, Yarborough v. Ardelyx, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Alexander P. Ott, Megan Corrigan and Karen Gover of McDermott Will & Emery have entered appearances for Analog Devices, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of semiconductor processing equipment, in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, which asserts two patents, was filed July 9 in Massachusetts District Court by Arrowood LLP and the Devlin Law Firm on behalf of Ocean Semiconductors. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris, is 1:24-cv-11759, Ocean Semiconductors LLC v. Analog Devices Inc.
Who Got The Work
Forrest M. 'Teo' Seger of Clark Hill has entered an appearance for Equifax Information Services in a pending lawsuit for claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The case was filed Aug. 13 in Texas Western District Court by Halvorsen Klote on behalf of Quinton Humphrey. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, is 5:24-cv-00892, Humphrey v. LVNV Funding, LLC et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250