Broadband on Ballot in State Elections Nov. 8

Eight state utility commissions have elections this year. It would have been nine, but the Supreme Court postponed Georgia Public Service Commission elections for incumbent Republicans Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson in August due to litigation over whether its voting system unlawfully diluted Black citizens’ votes (see 2208220052).

“Classic market failure” in telecom resulted in underserved rural areas, said Warigia Bowman (D), a University of Tulsa law professor running for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC). Bowman, Kim David (R) and Don Underwood (I) are vying to replace Chairman Dana Murphy (R). The OCC is “incredibly powerful” and should do more to scrutinize telecom, which “behaves like a monopoly in the absence of regulation,” said Bowman, who wrote her 2001 master’s thesis on advanced services for rural Texas.

If elected commissioner, Bowman wants a state audit on what places need internet, she said: “I have literally had children on the campaign trail … telling me they can’t do their homework because there’s no internet” at home and “they have to go to Walmart and McDonald’s” to get online. Oklahoma has federal money to fix the problem, she said: “What we’re lacking right now is the political will.” Bowman admitted it’s an “uphill battle” to win election in a red state where all three existing OCC members are Republican.

NARUC Telecom Committee ex-Chairman Nelson faces a challenge from Jeff Barth (D) in South Dakota. Nelson joined the PUC in 2011 and won reelection in 2016. He feels good about this year’s race, he said. “I don’t take anything for granted, and I am working hard every single day … to make sure things come out well on Election Day.”

Telecom hasn’t been “the top-of-mind issue” for voters on the campaign trail that it was in past cycles, said Nelson. That could be due to the percentage of South Dakota census blocks with broadband increasing to 94% from 48% over the past six years, said Nelson, citing FCC Form 477 data. Nelson attributes the gain to telecom companies’ “determination … to get this job finished,” Gov. Kristi Noem (R) creating a state fund, various federal funding sources, and the PUC’s work identifying unserved areas and encouraging investment, the Republican said. Reaching the remaining 6% is important, said Nelson. The PUC won’t play a big role distributing broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) money, but Nelson said he plans in an unofficial capacity to flag areas needing focus.

“There’s still a need for regulation because there’s no economic reason for the cellular people to build a tower out in the middle of nowhere, and yet those people need the same service,” said Barth, Nelson’s Democratic opponent. The PUC has a role to play, “especially when it looks at administering federal funds,” he said. “We got a lot of money from the feds to promote broadband,” but “a lot of it is sitting in their back pockets somewhere because here in South Dakota they’re so proud they won’t even use the money that’s been given them.” Barth hasn’t heard many complaints on the campaign trail about broadband, but poor wireless service has come up, he said.

Barth worked 31 years as a telecom technician “climbing poles and digging holes” for Northwestern Bell and subsequent iterations of the company now called Lumen in Iowa and South Dakota, he said. Barth then ran for and was elected commissioner of Minnehaha County, South Dakota, where he has been the body’s lone Democrat.

In Arizona, five candidates are running for two spots at the five-member Corporation Commission. Commissioner Sandra Kennedy (D) is seeking to keep her seat. Commissioner Justin Olson (R) left his to run for U.S. Senate, though he lost the primary. Newcomers vying with Kennedy include Lauren Kuby (D), Nick Myers (R), Kevin Thompson (R) and Christina Gibson (I). Myers was an Olson aide and his website refers to a background in software engineering and management for telecom and semiconductor industries.

The Alabama PSC has two of three seats up for election. Incumbent Republicans Jeremy Oden and Chris Beeker face challenges from Libertarians Ron Bishop and Laura Lane, respectively. At the Montana PSC, John Repke (D) is running against Ann Bukacek (R) for the seat of Commissioner Brad Johnson (R). Randy Pinocci (D) is running unopposed. North Dakota PSC incumbent Republicans Julie Fedorchak, the current chair, and Sheri Haugen-Hoffart face challenges from Democrats Melanie Moniz and Trygve Hammer, respectively. The Louisiana PSC will have primaries Nov. 8 for incumbent commissioners Lambert Boissiere (D) and Mike Francis (R); the general election there is Dec. 10.

Republicans Kevin Stocker and Eric Kamler are running unopposed to join the Nebraska PSC, after they defeated incumbents Mary Ridder and Rod Johnson, respectively, in the primaries. With nearly $300 million coming to Nebraska for broadband expansion over the next two years, the 5th district in western Nebraska, “now more than ever needs strong representation and understanding of the problems and issues to ensure rural Nebraskans have the same access of digital technology needed to remain competitive on the world stage,” said Stocker in a Ballotpedia survey.

State, Local Ballot Votes

Alabama residents will vote on a constitutional amendment to allow the state or its counties and municipalities “to grant federal award funds or any other source of funding designated for broadband infrastructure by state law to public or private entities for providing or expanding broadband infrastructure.”

New Mexico has a ballot vote to amend its constitution to allow state funds to be used for “essential services” including “broadband internet,” said a New Mexico Legislative Council Service summary. It would allow “direct state investment” and public-private partnerships to provide the services. The change could help the state “leverage its share of federal dollars to achieve the broadest access to internet service throughout the state,” it said.

More Colorado communities will vote Nov. 8 on opting out of SB-152, the state’s municipal broadband ban. Douglas County will consider opting out of Colorado’s muni broadband ban, said Colorado Counties, Inc., Policy Director Eric Bergman. So will municipalities Castle Pines, Lone Tree and Pueblo, the Colorado Municipal League said.

Out of 217 Colorado municipalities, 119 earlier opted out of the 2005 restriction; so have 44 of 64 counties. Most votes weren’t close. The Colorado Broadband Office plans to seek legislation to remove the state’s ban next year, Executive Director Brandy Reitter said in August at the NATOA conference (see 2208300036).

Many regard broadband “as basic infrastructure, and a modern utility need, for all citizens -- on par with roads, water systems, and energy grids,” wrote Fred Galves, Colorado State University-Pueblo special assistant to the president-community engagement, in an Oct. 9 opinion in The Pueblo Chieftain. Many parts of Pueblo lack adequate internet, but the Colorado ban “took away our right to directly or indirectly provide broadband.”