Republican lawmakers have fired a member of the state Public Service Commission who was appointed by Democratic Governor Tony Evers. State Senate Republicans on Tuesday fired commissioner Tyler Huebner who Democrat Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) called highly qualified.
“What matters is the political party and who appointed you,” Pfaff said. “That’s unfortunate.”
Republican Julian Bradley (R-Franklin) noted the Senate has approved hundreds of Governor Tony Evers appointees. “If this were purely political I suspect those numbers would be significantly lower.”
Bradley and Pfaff both serve on the Senate Utilities & Technology Committee, which voted along partisan lines last week against confirming Huebner. Wisconsin Examiner reported that Bradley alluded to a PSC-approved pilot program providing subsidies to low-income homeowners and renters as well as the attention that PSC officials have paid to concerns about climate change and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in generating power.
Evers, who appointed Huebner in 2020, quickly named PSC administrator Kristy Nieta to the commission. Evers called Huebner’s firing baseless.
The state Senate also voted Tuesday to confirm Summer Strand to the PSC. Evers appointed Strand to chair the commission last week, after chair Rebecca Valq announced she’ll leave the position February 2nd.