PSC candidate Repke has ties to Columbia Falls
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
Public Service candidate John Repke has ties to Columbia Falls. He was the former Chief Financial Officer of SmartLam, the specialty wood manufacturer.
Repke, a Democrat, has a master’s of business administration and has also worked in the oil industry, the waste management industry and also has taught business classes through the continuing education program at FVCC, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Economic Development, and Lake County Community Development Corporation.
“It’s time for me to give back,” Repke said in a recent interview.
He said he’s concerned about the PSC and previous scandals surrounding the commission.
He said the PSC needs to stick to its mission
“The PSC regulates the rates and service quality for investor owned electric, natural gas, water, waste-water, and legacy telecommunication companies. Though they differ in form and function, companies in these industries all have one thing in common, they are monopolies with a captive set of customers. It’s the PSC’s job to balance the interests of ratepayers who are concerned about utility rate increases, with the need to maintain a financially sound utility that is capable of providing reliable service,” he notes on his website.
He said if elected he plans to “represent the ratepayers well and do a thorough job.”
The PSC, he notes, does not create or endorse energy projects, it simply regulates them, he notes.
The PSC does not regulate Co-ops, like Flathead Electric, but a recent proposed rate hike of about 20% by Northwestern Energy has people concerned in other parts of the wide-ranging district that get their power and gas from the utility.
Repke is up against Dr. Annie Bucacek. Bucacek, a Republican, did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.
But Bucacek said on her website she endorsed, “amplified communication with the public ... notifications when there are relevant issues coming before the PSC or legislators.” And would look forward to working with the state Legislature “to assist in crafting and drafting legislation and testifying, based on PSC focus.”
She also said she would “curtail efforts to remove access to Montana’s coal and hydro-electric sources of power.”
Bucacek, a Kalispell doctor, was formerly a controversial member of the Flathead City-County Health Board. She opposed stay-at-home orders during the pandemic as being too restrictive and also questioned death rates of Covid-19.
Election Day is next Tuesday, Nov. 8.