Just over two months after Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney vouched for his office and the state’s Public Service Commission to be switched from elected to appointed roles, all three public service commissioners are pushing back.
Northern District Commissioner Chris Brown, with the full backing of his two commission colleagues, responded to Chaney’s remarks on Tuesday and denounced any effort to prevent voters from choosing their elected officials.
“While I respect Commissioner Chaney and hope the heart behind his position comes from a place of integrity, I could not disagree with his rationale more,” Brown wrote in a press release. “Oftentimes it is the policies sought with the greatest of intentions that have the most detrimental and unsuspecting repercussions. Unfortunately, in these situations, it is always the people who pay the price.”
Chaney advocated that changing the offices to appointed positions would reduce the prospects of a candidate succumbing to corruption as it would end the process of accepting financial contributions for a political campaign. Brown, on the other hand, contends that stripping voters of the electoral process would shift power from the people to a handful of elites. He believes this opens the door for a greater level of corruption to go unchecked, crippling the perspective of a fair government.
Mississippi is one of just 10 states that elects its public service commissioners. The current makeup of the commission includes two Republicans, Brown and Southern District Commissioner Wayne Carr, and Democratic Central District Commissioner De’Keither Stamps. The body serves to regulate public utilities.
“Eliminating the right of the people to choose is a slippery slope. Take the Public Service Commission as an example,” Brown added. “One of the core strengths of an elected Public Service Commission is that its members are directly accountable to the public. We serve at the will of the people, not the political whims of a select few. Appointed leaders can and will be pressured in a way that cannot happen with an elected PSC.”
Brown further noted that the commission acts as an intermediary with the primary goal of ensuring that the people of Mississippi are protected from the potentially harmful decisions of big businesses. Though he conceded Chaney’s point that “dark money” could flow into elections via wealthy megadonors looking to use a prospective politician to advance their interests rather than the interests of the masses, Brown asserted that he trusts voters to adequately discern who is and isn’t fit to be a public servant.
“When dark money from hidden sources moved in against me to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the people of Mississippi sent them a clear message,” Brown wrote, pointing to his election last year. “They did not want a Public Service Commissioner bought and paid for by special interest groups. Luckily, against the preference of those seeking to transition these roles into appointments, voters had a choice.”
Chaney, a Republican who has been elected five times since 2007, plans to ask the state legislature to pass a law that would change his position from an elected one to one that is appointed by the governor. The bipartisan Public Service Commission unanimously urges lawmakers to decline the insurance commissioner’s proposal.
“I think it would be very irresponsible to follow Commissioner Mike Chaney’s recommendation to change Public Service Commissioners from elected positions to appointed positions,” Stamps wrote.
“That would destabilize billions of dollars in economic development just on a short-sided political whim to manipulate the process to benefit their friends,” Stamps continued. “The Public Service Commission directly impacts the affordability and reliability of our utilities, and that decision should be in the hands of voters. Electing these officials ensures accountability, transparency, and a direct voice for the people in matters that affect their daily lives. The Mississippi Public Service Commission currently operates with a much broader, deeper vision and we refuse to entertain bloviation.”
The upcoming legislative session will begin on January 7, 2025. It is uncertain where members of the Republican-led body stand on the matter.
