Foster Campbell announced recently he would be a candidate for re-election to the North Louisiana seat on the Louisiana Public Service Commission.
Campbell was elected to the PSC in November 2002 after serving 27 years in the Louisiana Senate representing Northwest Louisiana. The upcoming election is Saturday, Oct. 4.
“I said in 2002 that I would be an active commissioner,” Campbell said. “Since taking office in 2003 I have held more than 125 public meetings, visited every one of the 24 parishes in my district multiple times, and hosted the full commission in North Louisiana six times.
“More importantly, I have asked the difficult questions, challenged utilities and the commission to be more responsive to the people, and raised ethics standards at the commission. I take the job seriously and ask for the chance to continue my service.”
Campbell, D-Bossier City, owns two insurance agencies in Bossier City and farms cattle at Elm Grove. He has six children.
At the PSC he has fought with Entergy Corporation over the rates charged by its two PSC-regulated electric utilities, Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States. He killed million-dollar bonuses for company executives and questioned the company’s ownership of a fleet of million-dollar aircraft.
In 2004 Campbell made national and international news by delivering telephone service to the tiny Mink community in Natchitoches Parish. Mink residents had petitioned politicians and telephone officials for more than 40 years for telephones. Campbell later got telephone service for the Shaw-Blackhawk community in rural Concordia Parish.
Campbell has championed the plight of battered women. In 2007 he persuaded the PSC to eliminate start-up deposits for victims of family violence. That year he also passed a rule prohibiting electric and gas cutoffs during periods of extreme weather.
Days after Hurricane Katrina, Campbell contacted Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin about communications challenges facing hurricane evacuees. The result was a grant of $39 million in free cell phones and service for Katrina evacuees.
Last year, following a commission meeting at Toledo Bend Lake, Campbell persuaded the PSC to solve an age-old problem and raise the lake level by restricting hydropower production during periods of low rain.
“That compromise happened because the commissioners visited Sabine Parish and saw the importance of the lake to this region,” Campbell said.Campbell has also championed renewable energy, convenient bill-paying and railroad crossing safety.
Bossier City, La. —
