Georgia Public Service Commission election faces another legal hurdle

Georgians voted for two Public Service Commission seats in last week’s primaries, and one race is heading to a runoff on July 15.

Yet there’s a chance that November’s general election could be canceled due to another legal challenge, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a motion to expedite a lawsuit alleging this year’s special elections violate the Georgia Constitution’s requirement for the state’s utility regulators to serve six-year terms.

The case could be heard in August or September, and a ruling could come in the days, weeks or months afterward.

While the Georgia Constitution calls for six-year PSC terms, a bill passed by the General Assembly last year rescheduled the elections and their terms following a lawsuit contending that statewide elections dilute Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. All five members of the PSC are Republicans, and four are white.

For the two seats up for election this year, one of the winners will serve a one-year term and the other will serve a five-year term, according to the bill.

Bryan Sells, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said it’s unclear how a ruling in his favor would affect this year’s PSC elections, and a decision might not come until after election day on Nov. 4.

“We’re not looking to stop elections,” Sells said, adding that the House bill “was designed to give political cover to the incumbents on the PSC, and it just stinks to high heaven.”

Legislators who supported rescheduling the PSC elections have said voters deserve an opportunity to elect their representatives to the utility regulator for the first time since 2020.

Commissioner Tim Echols, one of the incumbents up for reelection, has said it’s important to maintain staggered terms on the PSC. The other incumbent, Commissioner Fitz Johnson, hasn’t commented.

The July 15 runoff will feature Democrats Keisha Sean Waites and Peter Hubbard, with the winner facing Johnson in November. Echols is being challenged by Democrat Alicia Johnson in the general election.

Things to know

Good morning! Here are three things to know today:

Three W’s and a repeal

Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP

Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP

State Rep. Derrick Jackson, D-Tyrone, is starting to lay out his policy ideas for Georgians now that he is a Democratic candidate for governor in 2026.

On today’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast, Jackson said the first thing he’d do as governor is repeal Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, just as quickly as Gov. Brian Kemp passed it in his first term.

Other than that, Jackson said he’s planning to focus his campaign on “the three W’s— work, wages and wealth.”

“I’m going to introduce a very bold initiative to create wealth,” he said, committing to eliminate state income taxes for nurses, military veterans, teachers, and anyone over the age of 65.

“Now we can create wealth. Now we can make sure that individuals do whatever they desire to have their quality of life to look like,” he said. “They will have dollars in their pockets each and every day because they won’t have state taxes.”

School voucher update

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Georgia’s new Promise Scholarships — private school vouchers for K-12 students who attend low-performing public schools — have attracted about 13,000 applicants so far, with more than 8,300 considered preliminarily eligible, according to a story from Capitol Beat News Service.

State lawmakers budgeted $141 million for the scholarships this year, enough to fund more than 21,000 scholarships. At current application levels, the program is expected to cost taxpayers as much as $84 million.

Each of the scholarships is worth $6,500 and can be used to pay for private school tuition, tutoring or other education costs.

The Promise Scholarship application deadline is June 30.

Big Apple

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

A familiar Georgia face is on the campaign trail in New York, promoting Zohran Mamdani’s bid for mayor of New York City in a razor-tight Democratic primary against top rival Andrew Cuomo.

“Zohran is someone worth all the work,” said state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Duluth Democrat. “We need more Zohrans who not only care and have the right values but are just as passionate about building the right infrastructure to make those values a reality.”

An Emerson College poll released Monday indicates the race is too close to call, though it suggests Mamdani — a state legislator and democratic socialist — is gaining support in the crowded field.

More than 384,000 Democrats have already cast ballots in New York’s mayoral primary, nearly double the pace from four years ago. Strategists say the outcome will hinge on which candidate can mobilize their base today.

The race is even more unpredictable because of New York’s voting system. This election is only the second time ranked-choice voting is being used in a mayoral primary, and an election day heat wave could also affect turnout.

Listen up

Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP

Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast, the hosts discuss how the military strikes against Iran are having ripple effects in Georgia politics. State Rep. Derrick Jackson, D-Tyrone, also joins the show to discuss his newly announced campaign for governor.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Quick hits

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ office is holding another round of constituent services events in metro Atlanta, with the goal of holding mobile office hours in all 159 Georgia counties for the third year in a row.

MTG is still Team Trump

Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene may have disagreed with President Donald Trump’s decision to authorize strikes in Iran. But she is also bristling at the notion that they are feuding or that her speaking out has caused a rift in their relationship.

“Contrary to what Democrats think, MAGA is not a cult,” the Rome Republican told the AJC on Monday. “President Trump is not a king, and Republicans can have policy disagreements. That’s actually healthy.”

Greene said she hasn’t spoken to the president in the days since she went public with her concerns about any U.S. involvement in Israel’s conflict with Iran. But she also insists their relationship is strong enough to survive the disagreement even as she continues to support a strict isolationist approach to foreign policy.

“There’s no split between myself and the president and any narrative created in the media or by anyone else is absolutely lying,” Greene said.

Today in Washington

Shoutouts

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

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Before you go

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC

The AJC’s investigation into Georgia’s state prison crisis sparked legislative review or action in both the U.S. Senate and the state Legislature. On Friday, the journalism led by reporters Carrie Teegardin and Danny Robbins earned the Georgia Press Association’s Freedom of Information Award, considered the association’s most prestigious prize.

In a note to the newsroom staff, AJC Editor-in-Chief Leroy Chapman wrote: “this is how a newspaper serves its community.”

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.