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Among the 31 applicants for an open commissioner seat on the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio are outgoing state Sen. Sean O'Brien, former state Rep. Michael Verich and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judi French, a Sebring native who lost her re-election bid last month.
The seat, with a term that expires April 10, 2024, became available when Sam Randazzo, PUCO chairman, resigned Nov. 20, shortly after the FBI raided his house.
FirstEnergy Corp. wrote in a Securities and Exchange Commission report the day before his resignation that it paid $4 million to a firm run by a person who matches Randazzo's description, without providing his name, to end a consulting contract. After learning of the payment during an internal review related to a federal investigation into a controversial House Bill 6 nuclear bailout approved by the state, FirstEnergy fired top executives for violating company ethics policies.
A 12-member PUCO nominating council will meet Dec. 21 to consider candidates. It will recommend four finalists to Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, for consideration. After getting the list, DeWine has 30 days to appoint a commissioner from it or request a new list of four names from the council. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Ohio Senate.
State law doesn't permit more than three members of the same political affiliation on the five-member PUCO, but based on the current composition of the commission, this position can be filled by either a Republican or Democrat. Because DeWine and most state senators are Republicans, a Republican candidate is seen as having a huge advantage to get this appointment.
That didn't stop O'Brien, D-Bazetta, and Verich, a Warren Democrat, from applying for the job.
The annual salary range for the post is $73,715 to $195,728 with the governor determining the exact salary.
The PUCO oversees utility regulations in the state.
APPLICANTS
O'Brien, who's finishing a four-year term in the state Senate, lost re-election last month to Republican Sandra O'Brien of Lenox by 2 percent. He previously served six years in the Ohio House.
In his cover letter, Sean O'Brien wrote: "I feel I will be the only candidate that can offer a diverse and proven skill set in both the business and political worlds as well as have an impeccable record and reputation that will quickly set aside any lingering thoughts that the PUCO is not fully engaged, apolitical and not inappropriately placing its fingers on its scales to determine winners and losers based on anything other than merit and statutory direction."
O'Brien added: "My reputation for bipartisanship in the Ohio Legislature is well known. I have consistently worked across party lines on complex utility legislation in an effort to help Ohio consumers and businesses."
Among the committees he's on in the Senate is energy and public utilities.
O'Brien also is a lawyer, a partner in three commercial real estate ventures that focus on community revitalization and founder of the Trumbull County Community Foundation, a nonprofit that serves as fiscal agent for local charitable causes.
Also touting his work with Republicans was Verich, a former state representative elected to nine two-year terms. He resigned in December 1998 before he started serving his last term to join the State Employment Relations Board.
"I have worked closely with leadership on both sides of the political aisle with great success," he wrote. "I have earned the respect of Republicans and Democrats throughout my career in government. My leadership style is one to be inclusive of others and to elicit their ideas and knowledge."
Verich, an attorney and lobbyist, was appointed to state positions by past Republicans governors: SERB for 12 years, first by George V. Voinovich for six years and then for another six years by Bob Taft. He was appointed by John Kasich to the Ohio Lottery Commission in 2011 and the Environmental Review Appeals Commission twice: in 2013 and 2018. He still sits on the latter commission.
Verich submitted a resume to the PUCO that, at the top, lists his objective as getting a job with the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber.
French, who was raised in Sebring and currently lives in Grandview Heights, lost re-election last month to Jennifer Brunner by 10.6 percent for state Supreme Court justice. Her term ends Jan. 1.
French wrote: "For the past eight years, I have served as a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court, which has exclusive authority over appeals from the PUCO. I have participated in deciding appeals covering a wide variety of utility-related issues."
She also wrote her 32-year career as an attorney "has prepared me to fulfill the role of a PUCO commissioner."
That includes serving as a 10th District Court of Appeals judge, chief legal counsel to the governor when Taft held the job, chief legal counsel to the attorney general and an environmental lawyer at a corporation and at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Among the other candidates are Eugene Krebs of Camden, a former state House member and ex-chairman of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, and Stephen Serraino of Holland, an executive for the Upper Peninsula Power Co. in Marquette, Mich. They were both finalists for PUCO commissioner positions during DeWine's nearly two years as governor.