NM to Appoint Regulators; Incumbents Remain in States

New Mexicans voted to switch from an elected Public Regulation Commission to one that's governor-appointed, with 55% voting yes Tuesday. It's the 40th state with appointed commissioners. A key state telecom commissioner will continue in her job, and many other elected incumbents also appeared to hold seats, showed state results Wednesday (see 2011040019). Denver is the latest and largest city to opt out of Colorado’s ban on municipal broadband.

New Mexico’s constitutional amendment to shift from five elected commissioners to three appointed ones takes effect in 2023. Until then, Democrats will maintain a 4-1 majority after keeping two seats that were up for election. With 59% of the vote, incumbent Cynthia Hall defeated Janice Arnold-Jones (R), said unofficial results. Democrat Joseph Maestas defeated Libertarian Christopher Luchini 71% to 29%.

Maestas is glad his campaign's call for PRC change resonated, he said in a Wednesday interview. Maestas didn’t support the constitutional amendment, which truncates his term to two years. It means Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) can “begin focusing on building it up and establishing it as a model regulatory organization,” he said. The PRC, recently evicted from its headquarters, needs more funding and expert staff, he said.

New Mexico needs a state broadband plan and more funding, said Maestas. “I’d like to see the PRC play a bigger role.” With a broadband fund in state USF, “the PRC has an incredible opportunity to approve some projects and create a stimulus,” and the commission should coordinate with other state agencies, he said. Maestas predicted the legislature will seek to bolster its state broadband office next session.

NARUC Telecom Committee Vice Chair Crystal Rhoades won reelection at the Nebraska Public Service Commission. Rhoades, a Democrat and the only Telecom Committee member up for reelection, defeated Republican opponent Tim Davis 62.4% to 37.6%. “I'm delighted that the voters in Omaha are pleased with my performance and I am looking forward to being their advocate for another term,” Rhoades emailed.

Other States

A second Democrat may join the five-member Arizona Corporation Commission. With 99% reporting, the three candidates with the most votes were Anna Tovar (D) at 18%, incumbent Lea Marquez Peterson (R) at 17% and Jim O’Connor (R) at 16.8%, said unofficial results. They would fill open seats in a pick-three contest.

Alabama voters reelected Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh as Public Service Commission president by a 62.3% to 37.6% margin, said unofficial results.

Georgia Public Service Commission incumbent Bubba McDonald (R) led Daniel Blackman (D) 50.8% to 46.1%. Incumbent Jason Shaw (R) was ahead of Robert Bryant (D) 51% to 45.4%.

Louisiana PSC incumbent Foster Campbell (D) defeated Shane Smiley (R) 53% to 47%, the state said. With no one getting 50% in another race, PSC Chairman Eric Skrmetta (R) and Allen Borne (D) are headed to a Dec. 5 runoff.

Republicans appeared to be ahead in the Montana PSC race, said results, with about 70% reporting. Incumbent Commissioner Tony O’Donnell (R) led Valerie McMurtry (D) 63% to 37%; James Brown (R) led Tom Woods (D) 54% to 46%; and Jennifer Fielder (R) led Monica Tranel (D) 52% to 48%.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission incumbent Todd Hiett (R) defeated Libertarian Todd Hagopian 76.1% to 23.9%, said unofficial results. North Dakota PSC Chairman Brian Kroshus (R) defeated challenger Casey Buchmann (D) 67.6% to 32.2%, that state said. South Dakota PUC Commissioner Gary Hanson (R) led Remi Bald Eagle (D) 69% to 25%, said unofficial results.

Status Quo

It's mostly status quo in the state legislatures where results were called, blogged National Conference of State Legislatures Executive Director Tim Storey and Director of Elections and Redistricting Wendy Underhill. Democrats may take the Arizona House and Republicans may win back the New Hampshire Senate, while Republican Greg Gianforte winning the Montana governor race resulted in the only new political trifecta, Storey and Underhill wrote Wednesday. “The lack of partisan change in the states is jaw dropping.”

Denver opted out of Colorado’s muni broadband ban (SB-152), with results showing 83.4% supporting ballot measure 2H. Berthoud and Englewood also opted out. This brings the state's total number of opt-outs to 115 of 270 municipalities and 43 of 64 counties. The results show voters "from Colorado’s largest cities to its smallest towns trust their municipal leaders to explore better and faster broadband options both internally, with other local governments, and with willing private sector providers,” emailed Colorado Municipal League Executive Director Kevin Bommer.

“Two-thirds of the counties in Colorado have now removed this legislative impediment to enhancing local broadband service,” emailed Colorado Counties Inc. Policy Director Eric Bergman. “The COVID pandemic has reminded us all how critical highspeed Internet is for distance learning, telehealth and working from home -- things that were maybe luxuries before but are now absolutely essential.”

In Chicago, 89.6% supported a ballot initiative asking the city to ensure all community areas have broadband access, showed results.

Election Notebook

Voters approved a sequel to the California Consumer Privacy Act (see 2011040028), as expected (see 2010230040). About 56% of voters supported the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), or Proposition 24, showed unofficial returns Tuesday. It would take effect Jan. 1, 2023. “We are at the beginning of a journey that will profoundly shape the fabric of our society by redefining who is in control of our most personal information and putting consumers back in charge of their own data,” said Prop 24 sponsor Alastair Mactaggart. CPRA “will sweep the country and I’m grateful to Californians for setting a new higher standard for how our data is treated,” said former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Californians for Consumer Privacy chair. Opponents conceded Wednesday. “While we came up short, millions of California voters still realized now is not the time to pass a measure riddled with serious flaws that creates a costly new privacy bureaucracy,” said No on 24 Campaign Chairperson Mary Ross and Campaign Strategist Marva Diaz in a statement. They noted they reduced support from a July poll that showed 77% support.

Michigan voters appeared to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to require search warrants to access electronic data and communications. The proposal would apply the same conditions required for the government to get a warrant to search a house or seize a person’s belongings. With 72 of 83 counties reporting, about 88.8% voted yes.