Two candidates are vying for the open District 1 seat on the Public Service Commission. This district is the biggest in the state by land and covers much of eastern Montana, from the Rocky Boy’s Reservation to Glendive and Miles City. MTPR’s Clayton Murphy speaks with Keila Szpaller, deputy editor of the Daily Montanan, about the race and what this election may mean for Montanans.
Clayton Murphy Thanks for making the time today, Keila
Keila Szpaller Thanks, Clayton.
Clayton Murphy So not everyone is familiar with the Public Service Commission, but they play a pretty important role in delivering utilities to Montanans. What exactly is the PSC and why might this be an important race for voters to follow?
Keila Szpaller That's exactly right, Clayton. They do really important work, but sometimes it does feel like they're a little bit obscure. One big thing they do is regulate monopoly utilities like NorthWestern Energy.
When there's no competition, the PSC is supposed to make sure that monopolies’ rates are “just and reasonable.” They also do railroad and pipeline inspections, and they regulate garbage hauling. There are five commissioners elected by district and right now all of them are Republican.
Clayton Murphy So this is the District 1 race. What is this election for?
Keila Szpaller Right. This is where Commissioner Randy Pinocci is termed out. District 1 is a huge swath of eastern Montana with some chunks that cut into the middle of the state as far west as parts of Great Falls and Cascade County.
Clayton Murphy Can you tell us a bit about each candidate?
Keila Szpaller Yeah, there are two candidates running in this district: Democrat Angeline Cheek and Republican Jeff Pattison. Cheek is from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in eastern Montana. She has spent 18 years in Indigenous advocacy and community organizing, and she has a degree in criminal justice.
Pattison is from Glasgow, and he's in agriculture. He's a third generation farmer and rancher and a small business owner. He's also not new to politics. He was in the Montana Legislature before, in the House in 2001 and 2003.
Clayton Murphy And what do we know about them so far?
Keila Szpaller Well, you might not be surprised to hear that affordability is a theme for both of them, and both of them also talk about data centers in their campaigns. Jeff Pattison is running on reliable oversight and fair rates. He wants data centers to “pay to play” or pay their own way.
He also talks about modernizing hydro and coal infrastructure and planning for future nuclear options like small modular reactors. He wants to be sure farms and ranches are protected from any blackouts.
Angeline Cheek wants to “lower your power bill.” She's campaigning on making sure there are rules for data centers before they're approved. She also wants transparency. People can't see a lot of information filed about data centers because the documents are blacked out as proprietary. She says rates have gone up way too much and she will make sure that utilities prove they need increases so households that are least able to afford higher rates aren't absorbing them.
Clayton Murphy And what's the outlook on the race? Are there any clear favorites? Is this going to be a tight race?
Keila Szpaller It looks like it's an uphill battle for Angeline Cheek. This is a Republican district. Angeline Cheek won 12,000 votes in an uncontested primary. In contrast, 33,000 Republicans voted the Republican primary ballot, and Jeff Pattison alone won more than 22,000 of those.
Clayton Murphy And finally, why is this an important race for voters to follow?
Keila Szpaller The PSC is doing some big things right now. They've got a case that's open about how to deal with data centers. They're also considering a proposal to allow NorthWestern Energy to merge with Black Hills Corporation, a massive utility based in South Dakota with customers in eight states. All of these things have the potential to affect people's power bills. So it'll be good to hear what the candidates have to say about these issues.
Clayton Murphy Thanks so much, Kayla.
Keila Szpaller Thanks, Clayton.
MTPR will continue covering state elections and offer special coverage on election night, November 3, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
