Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere III was pushed to a runoff in his bid for re-election Tuesday, a promising sign for climate activists who have spent big to unseat him and usher in a more progressive candidate.
Boissiere, of New Orleans, fell well short of the 50% needed to win outright in Louisiana’s jungle primary. With all precincts in the 3rd District counted, Davante Lewis, a young policy advocate from Baton Rouge, had secured the coveted spot in the runoff by placing second out of five candidates. He garnered 18% of the vote, while Boissiere had 43%.
Lewis narrowly edged the Rev. Gregory Manning of New Orleans, who also enjoyed backing from progressive organizations. Manning received 17% of the vote.
Two other challengers, Willie Jones and Jesse Thompson, picked off sizable numbers of voters, a key factor in denying Boissiere the victory. They received 13% and 9%, respectively.
The result was a blow to Boissiere, who is seeking a final term on the PSC, an obscure regulatory body that handles multi-billion-dollar decisions about electric bills, telecommunications companies and other things.
A surprising setback
A member of a prominent New Orleans political family, Boissiere is facing his toughest re-election bid since taking office in 2005. A super PAC called Keep the Lights On, which is aligned with the Environmental Defense Fund, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking him in the primary. Voters Organized to Educate, a progressive New Orleans outfit, backed Lewis.
Lewis advanced to the runoff despite having far less money than Boissiere in the primary. Boissiere benefited from big donations, mostly from industries he regulates, including Entergy executives, something his challengers highlighted during the primary.
The race comes as voters are being hammered with high electric bills, which have endured for months as natural gas prices remain stubbornly high. Louisiana’s utilities, with approval from the PSC, have relied more heavily on natural gas to create electricity than nearly all of their counterparts.
The campaigns now look toward a Dec. 10 runoff. Boissiere’s critics hope Lewis’ strong showing in the primary will unleash a new raft of campaign donations and endorsements.
Boissiere spent heavily in the primary, draining his warchest, though he reloaded with donations, mostly from people connected to the PSC, in the days leading up to Tuesday.
In the other PSC race contested Tuesday, Commissioner Mike Francis, of Crowley, easily won re-election to his southwest Louisiana district. He defeated fellow Republican Shalon Latour and independent Keith Bodin. Francis, like Boissiere, held a huge fund-raising edge over his opponents.
With all precincts reporting, Francis garnered 59% of the vote, compared to 22% for Latour and 19% for Bodin.
An obscure body
The PSC historically has drawn little scrutiny or attention from voters. But the obscure body is facing a number of consequential decisions. Among them: how to prepare Louisiana’s aging and battered electric grid from climate change-fueled hurricanes, how to best transition away from fossil fuels, and whether to break up Entergy’s and Cleco’s monopolies.
Lewis ran on a platform of change, promising to adopt a ratepayer's bill of rights to end electric shutoffs, ban excessive late fees and limit utility profits. He called for rooftop solar and investments to protect against hurricanes. He also vowed to reject donations from any entity regulated by the PSC and supports getting the power sector to 100% renewable energy by 2035, in line with the governor's climate task force.
Boissiere has chafed at critics’ contention that he’s not sufficiently progressive, highlighting his votes for renewable energy and competitive energy deals for co-ops that were vehemently opposed by Entergy.