TVA board candidates have Middle TN ties

TVA board candidates have Middle TN ties
The Tennessean 8 hrs ago

By Brad Schrade
THE TENNESSEAN

President Barack Obama is expected to nominate four board members to the Tennessee Valley Authority in the coming weeks or months, and several names being discussed within political circles have ties to Middle Tennessee.

Much is at stake as TVA tries to balance the sharp financial pressures bearing down on the agency with the national push to develop alternative energy sources to cut down on use of fossil fuels such as coal.

Those issues, plus the problems brought on by December's Kingston coal-ash disaster, have intensified interest in appointments to the nine-member board. The board has been the subject of criticism in recent months for a variety of issues, most recently for the election of Mike Duncan, the former national Republican Party chairman, as board chairman, starting next month.

Real estate investor and environmental activist John Noel, attorney and former U.S. Senate candidate Bob Tuke, both of Nashville, and state Rep. Mike McDonald of Portland, along with Middle Tennessee State University economics professor Barbara Haskew, all confirmed the White House had contacted them about the job.

The contact in recent weeks was brief and, as described, sounded like an initial phone call to gauge interest and ask basic questions such as: Do you pay your taxes?

"They wanted to see if my contact info was correct," said Haskew, who was a manager in TVA's rate design office in the 1980s. "They asked if there was anything that, if it came out, would be embarrassing. I couldn't think of anything."

Other possible candidates include Will Martin, a Nashville attorney and former Clinton administration official; former National Transportation Safety Board chairman James E. Hall, a University of Tennessee graduate and current trustee; and Nashville attorney Jerry Martin, Obama's state political director during the campaign.

The names of Former state Supreme Court Justice A.A. Birch of Nashville; Michele Haynes, a Gallatin real estate agent; and Billy Borchert, a leader with the plumbers and pipefitters union, have also been floated. The White House press office did not respond to an e-mail Friday seeking comment.

Once Obama nominates a candidate, the Senate must confirm the appointment. Traditionally, presidents have taken cues from the congressional delegation in TVA's territory, which stretches across Tennessee and parts of six other states. TVA is a federal corporation founded during the Great Depression. It pays for its operation through selling electricity and receives no tax dollars.

Democrats consulted

Because Tennessee's two senators are Republican, the White House turned to the state's House Democratic delegation for a list of suggestions.

"It's important that TVA has a strong board," said U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro. "Our objective is to get good strategic thinkers in there."

Gordon, the senior delegation member, submitted a list of names to the White House on behalf of the delegation. He would not discuss the details of the list, or how many names were submitted. Others have said the list had about 10 or 12 names. Many of the names above were on the list.

Gordon said he expected all four open slots would be nominated at the same time. He said he did not know exactly when that would happen but expected action soon.

There's a general feeling, he said, that TVA has not been performing to its maximum abilities. He said the basic criterion for those submitted was people who would bring a high level of confidence to the job.

The Democrats discussed the list they submitted openly with Tennessee's Republican Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, chairman of the TVA caucus. Both sides described the process as collegial.

"It's the same kind of criteria you'd look for in any multibillion (dollar) corporation," said Tom Ingram, Alexander's chief of staff. "The types of people who can deal with large, complex financial and business decisions. Not just who are there for politics."

Environmental groups are clamoring for Obama to nominate more environmentally friendly people to the board. In a letter last week to the White House, a dozen national and regional groups asked the president to use the appointments to transform the federal power producer into a leader in the clean energy field.

Distributors interested

"The environmental community nationwide is viewing this as a higher priority than they ever have before," said Stephen Smith, executive director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a Knoxville group that signed the letter. "I've never seen the environmental community this well organized to get some good people seated."

The 159 distributors, which deliver the TVA-generated power to customers across Tennessee and parts of other six states the authority serves, eye the appointment process from a different perspective.

They say the board appointments are just one of many changes in Washington, including proposed requirements to shift to more renewable energy in the coming decade, that could complicate their ability to deliver affordable electricity. Distributors say relations with the board and management in recent years have improved.

"We care about what this is going to do to the price of electricity and what's our role as they make changes," said Tom Purkey, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, which represents 23 co-op distributors across rural parts of the state. Purkey said the group will send representatives to Washington in early May to meet with members of Congress, and TVA will almost definitely be an issue that comes up.

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, has been critical of TVA, including the recent board vote to make Duncan the next chairman. That vote exposed a split on the board between the Tennessee members and non-Tennessee members.

Cooper said he has spoken to candidates the delegation submitted and told them the job ahead is not an easy one. While the board positions are classified as part time, he's encouraging everyone to treat it as a full-time assignment.

"We do feel strongly we want good people on the board," he said. "We want people who will balance the need for low electric bills with the need for cleaning up the environment."