The chairs of the Oconee County Democratic and Republican parties sent out emails to their followers on Friday encouraging them to vote in the upcoming Public Service Commission elections–something voters have not had a chance to do since 2020.
Early voting in the June 17 party primaries begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday (May 27) at the Oconee County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon Highway, north of Watkinsville, and runs through June 13.
Democrats will find five names on the ballot, one for District 2 and four for District 3.
Republicans will find three names on the ballot, two for District 2, and one for District 3.
Oconee County is one of 38 counties in District 2, but voters across the state vote in all five districts in Public Service Commission races. All five incumbents are Republicans.
That election district oddity has been challenged unsuccessfully, and the legal action resulted in the delay in the elections that are on the ballot this year.
Preparation for the June 17 primary and any needed runoff on July 15 were a prominent part of discussion at the brief May 12 meeting of the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration.
Victoria Cruz, who has appeared frequently before the Oconee County Election Board, during the public comment section of that May 12 meeting reviewed what she said are important provisions of President Donald Trump’s executive order on elections.
Public Service
The five-member Public Service Commission sets the rates charged and the services provided by telecommunications, natural gas, and electric utilities in Georgia and also sets pipeline safety regulations.
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| From Election And Registration Board |
The Public Service Commission has overseen the development of the four-unit Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, which has experienced numerous construction delays and cost overruns.
The Commission approved rate increases for Georgia Power, dominant owner of Plant Vogtle, once in 2023 and twice in 2024, and it was expected to decide on another rate increase request this year.
Instead, the Public Service Commission has announced an agreement that will postpone any additional increase for at least three years, moving it beyond the Nov. 4 elections for Districts 2 and 3 and the November 2026 election for District 5.
Elections for District 1 and District 4 are scheduled for 2028. Commissioners serve six-year terms.
Oconee County Democratic Party Chair Harold Thompson sent out an email message on May 19 saying “we're canvassing starting Saturday, May 31st until Primary Election Day on June 17th. We're raising awareness about the PSC elections and why they are important. Come join us, we meet up at the Oconee Library at 10 a.m.”
He sent out a reminder of the canvassing on Friday (May 23).
Kathy Hurley, Chair of the Oconee County Republican Party, also sent out an email on Friday (May 23) saying “Finally, after protracted legal proceedings, the Primary Election for Public Service Commissioner will begin Advanced Voting on Tuesday, May 27th. Let's make sure we get out and vote!”
She told recipients to ask for the Republican Party ballot.
Democratic Candidates On Ballot
Alicia M. Johnson, a resident of Savannah and a managing principal at Health Management Associates in Atlanta, is running unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination in District 2.
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| Democratic Ballot |
District 2 stretches from eastern metropolitan Atlanta to the Savannah River and from Hart County to Chatham County.
Four Democrats, Daniel Blackman, Peter Hubbard, Robert Jones, and Keisha Sean Waites, are competing for the party nomination in District 3, which consists of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties.
Blackman, Hubbard and Jones appeared before the Oconee County Democratic Party on May 15.
Blackman, originally from Forsyth County, served in the Biden administration as the Regional Administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Southeast Region.
Hubbard, from Atlanta, describes himself as a solar and storage developer. He has created a nonprofit, Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, to promote clean energy.
Jones, of Atlanta, has worked for the California Public Utilities Commission, at Telecom Utility, and for Microsoft.
Waites is a former member of the Atlanta City Council and the Georgia House of representatives. Her background is in emergency management.
Thompson confirmed in an email on Friday that the party canvassing is to create voter awareness and to get out the vote. “All of the Dem candidates are listed on the flyer we’re handing out,” he wrote.
Republican Candidates On Ballot
On the Republican Ballot, incumbent Tim Echols and Lee Muns are candidates for the party’s nomination for District 2 Commissioner, and incumbent Fitz Johnson is unopposed for District 3.
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| Republican Ballot |
Echols, who lives in Hoschton in Jackson County, was first elected to the Public Service Commission in 2010. Echols has a weekly radio show called Energy Matters.
Muns, a resident of Harlem in Columbia County, was founder of Muns Welding and Mechanical Inc. and has been active in Columbia County public service projects and with the county Republican Party.
Johnson, of Atlanta, is a retired businessman who owned Atlanta Beat, professional soccer team in the Women's United Soccer Association. He was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Gov. Brain Kemp in 2021 and is facing his first election.
Oconee County Republican Party Chair Hurley said she invited all three of the candidates to attend the May 19 party meeting, but none accepted the invitation.
Echols sent Kennesaw State University student Daniel Shaver, who spoke on Echols’s behalf.
At that meeting, Rep. Houston Gaines from the 120th State House District said he was concerned about turnout on Nov. 4.
Gaines said he expected turnout to be light, and that urban areas of the state were more likely to have high turnout than the rural areas. Rural turnout has been crucial for Republican Party success in recent years.
May 12 Election Board Meeting
Following a discussion of the Public Service Commission elections, the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration on May 12 set its next meeting for 3 p.m. on June 20 at the Oconee County Administrative Building. The purpose of the meeting it to pre-certify the results of the June 17 Special Primary Election.
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| Cruz 5/12/2025 |
If all eligible ballots have been submitted and processed, the certification meeting will follow, and the Board will certify the results of the June 17 Special Primary Election.
Cruz, in her comments, told the Board that she “just wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the President's executive order on elections.”
“I don't know if there's some misunderstanding about this,” she said, “thinking that it is violating the states’s rights to conduct their own elections. It's not really. The executive order applies the only to the federal elections.”
“It is just some common sense stuff,” Cruz continued. “It is against the law for non-citizens to vote in our elections, but there are several areas where verification of citizenship is not being done.”
The Department of Homeland Security is going to provide, “without fee, citizenship verification data,” Cruz said.
Access to a lot of the databases in the past was available to election offices for a fee, she said, “and a lot of elections offices didn't want to pay $1 to $2 per interrogation.”
Cruz said Social Security Numbers “can be used to verify voters” through the Department of Driver Services.
Video
The video below is from the May 12 meeting of the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration, meeting for the first time in the Commission Chamber of the Oconee County Administrative Building.
Cruz made her comments at 2:44 in the video.
Atlanta Area Council Scouting American has invited all of the PSC candidates from both parties to attend a candidate forum at 7 p.m. on May 27. Links to join the forum via Zoom are here.
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