Residency may affect additional PSC race

Georgia Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett, who is supposed to live in South Georgia, owns only one home in the state.

It’s in North Georgia.

Because of that, the Republican incumbent is poised to join the line of PSC candidates hit with residency challenges recently.

And Republican Secretary of State Karen Handel has an interesting decision to make.

Everett’s opponent, Libertarian John Monds, asked Handel to investigate Wednesday. If she agrees, both PSC races will have a candidate fighting to stay on the ballot.

Democrat Jim Powell, running for the other PSC seat, is waiting for a Supreme Court residency ruling. Handel put him in that position by appealing a lower court ruling in his favor.

Democrats already are accusing Handel of playing politics with her office. If she doesn’t investigate Everett, the criticism will grow.

Powell is running against Republican Lauren McDonald, a former commissioner heavily backed by utilities.

The Everett challenge is based on the fact that he owns no home in his South Georgia district.

He sold his original Albany residence after his mother died. It had belonged to her and had to be sold under her will. He lists a second district address as his residence now, but the property belongs to his son. Everett says he rents space from him.

Everett also rents an apartment in Atlanta, paid for until recently by campaign funds. He gets his mail at an Atlanta post office box.

He said he does both because state law requires him to be in Atlanta most of every week to do his job.

He and his wife do own a home in Habersham County in North Georgia. Everett, 70, says he will retire there eventually.

He also votes in his district, has his legal paperwork in his district and registers his car in his district, where he has lived for decades. His Harley is registered in the mountains, he said, because that’s where he rides.

“This is the fourth challenge to a commissioner’s residency,” he said. “None of them held up.”

Commissioner Bobby Baker won a residency fight this year and McDonald challenged an opponent’s residency in 2002.

State law requires commissioners to work full-time at an Atlanta job.

It also requires them to run statewide out of one of five geographic districts. Everett’s district is the farthest away.

Handel spokesman Matt Carrothers said he hasn’t seen the complaint against Everett, but said it is probably too late. State law requires any challenge to happen within two weeks of a candidate’s filing.

But Powell said the complaint against him was also late.

“I’m going to be very interested to see how Karen Handel handles this,” he said.