THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 2, 1995 TAG: 9505020272
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. decided not to nominate Dare County political heavyweight R.V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr. to the North Carolina Utilities Commission on Monday, recommending instead a deputy attorney general with experience in utilities cases.
Hunt nominated Jo Anne Sanford, a special deputy attorney general, for a seat on the prestigious utilities commission.
Owens said in a telephone interview that he told Hunt Thursday night to withdraw him from consideration.
The seven-member utilities commission regulates state utility rates and investigates consumer complaints regarding utility operations and services. It has jurisdiction over public electric, telephone, natural gas, water and sewer companies, passenger and freight carriers, and railroads.
Membership on the commission, with its salary of more than $80,000 a year, is a plum political appointment.
For the past two weeks, Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat and Owens' brother-in-law, has lobbied publicly for a commission member from northeastern North Carolina. Basnight's public arm-twisting on behalf of Owens has been the target of criticism in some state newspapers.
Owens said his decision not to seek the appointment came in part because of the recent spate of adverse publicity he, Hunt and Basnight have received regarding his possible appointment.
Owens also said he is happy with his current post as Hunt's eastern North Carolina representative.
``I didn't want to take the governor and Marc through this tirade any longer,'' Owens said. ``I don't need it, and I am just not a desk person.''
``Jo Anne is very well-qualified,'' he said. ``I think she's an excellent choice.''
Sanford has been with the Department of Justice in Raleigh since 1975. She comes from southside North Carolina. She was recommended for the job in an editorial in the (Raleigh) News & Observer that sharply criticized the idea of appointing Owens.
As a special deputy attorney general, she is in charge of one of the department's largest sections, representing public and state agencies in utilities matters, the Department of Insurance, the secretary of state, the state auditor, the Teachers and State Employees' Health Plan and other agencies.
``Jo Anne has the kind of experience to meet the challenges this commission will face in the future,'' Hunt said in a news release. ``In the attorney general's office she's been an advocate for consumers while also being fair to companies.''
Hunt also nominated Robert Gruber for reappointment as executive director of the utilities commission's public staff.
The General Assembly must confirm both nominations within 60 days. by CNB