Republican Tim Echols Tuesday cruised to his party’s nomination for another term on the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates utilities in the Peach State.

With 157 of Georgia’s 159 counties reporting as of 9:45 p.m., Echols had amassed 76.2% of the vote in the PSC’s District 2 to just 23.8% for challenger Lee Muns of Columbia County, according to unofficial results. Echols, who lives near Hoschton near Athens, will take on Democrat Alicia Johnson in November.

Meanwhile, former Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Sean Waites was by far the top vote-getter in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination in PSC District 3 but was headed for a runoff next month with second-place finisher Peter Hubbard. With 47.2% of the vote as of 9:45 p.m., Waites fell short of the 50%-plus-one-vote margin needed to avoid a runoff.

Hubbard, a clean-energy advocate, was running second with 32.1% of the vote, with former utilities executive Robert Jones trailing in third with 20.7%. The winner of the July 15 runoff between Waites and Hubbard will face incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson in November.

Echols was elected to the PSC in 2010 and reelected in 2016. His term was supposed to expire in 2022 but was extended when the election was postponed by a lawsuit challenging the way members of the commission are elected. The plaintiffs argued that electing commissioners statewide instead of by district dilutes violates the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act by making it more difficult for Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

While the case was pending, the 2022 and 2024 PSC elections were postponed. As a result, Echols got three more years on his six-year term, while Fitz Johnson – appointed to the commission in 2021 – didn’t have to face Georgia voters until this year.

A federal appeals court eventually ruled against the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, leaving the system of statewide elections of members of the PSC intact.

The commission’s District 2 covers Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties. District 3 stretches from Atlanta’s eastern and southeastern suburbs to Savannah.

What is the Public Service Commission?: The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) is a government agency responsible for regulating essential public utilities in the state of Georgia, such as electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, and transportation services. Their job is ensure that these services are reliable, affordable, and accessible to the public. The PSC consists of five members who are elected by the citizens of Georgia. These members, also known as commissioners, are chosen through statewide elections, where voters decide who will represent them on the PSC.

🛑 🛑 🛑

Before You Dismiss This Article…

We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.

When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.

The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.

Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.

Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.

Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service

Dave Williams is the Bureau Chief for Capitol Beat News Service. He is a veteran reporter who has reported on Georgia state government and politics since 1999. Before that, he covered Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.