Jimmy Field served on the Public Service Commission, Louisiana's utility regulation board, for 16 years beginning in 1996. During his time on the commission, he was described by Republicans and Democrats alike as fair-minded. Less than two weeks after his retirement, Fields sat down with NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune to discuss his legacy and what's next. In the 1963 Cotton Bowl...
Jimmy Field served on the Public Service Commission, Louisiana's utility regulation board, for 16 years beginning in 1996. During his time on the commission, he was described by Republicans and Democrats alike as fair-minded. Less than two weeks after his retirement, Fields sat down with NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune to discuss his legacy and what's next.
In the 1963 Cotton Bowl against the Texas Longhorns, then 23-year old LSU quarterback Jimmy Field carried the Tigers to victory when he scored the game's only touchdown, a 22-yard run in the third quarter.
Fifty years later, the former QB who went on to law school and public service, finds himself free from constant pressure for the first time since his LSU days, after retiring from public life in December.
"I've always been really busy," Field said, noting he was married and had his first child before the LSU-TCU game his senior year. After a long career in law, he decided in the mid-1990s it was time to use the skills he had picked up practicing public utility and commercial law to give back to his fellow Louisianians.
Running for a seat on the five-member state Public Service Commission, which regulates electricity and gas, telecommunication and transport, seemed an appropriate choice. "I feel like God's given me some gifts and I ought to use them," Field said Thursday at his home in Baton Rouge.
"I thought I was the most qualified for [the PSC]. I had been involved in rate cases. I had done transportation cases. So I knew what was expected of a commissioner and how I thought I could be helpful."
Former PSC Vice Chairman Jimmy Field, in his Baton Rouge home, spent 16 years on the Public Service Commission, retiring at the end of 2012 at his family's urging.
In 1996, Field ran for the PSC's 2nd District seat, which represents 12 parishes in south-central Louisiana, including parts of East Baton Rouge. It was the need to campaign to this large-swath of constituents that partly kept Field from running again in 2012.
"I wouldn't have minded serving, but I didn't have the passion to go campaign in 12 parishes," Field said, saying he felt he had done his best during his 16-year tenure.
But it wasn't just the slog of a six- to eight-month campaign season that made Field decide to retire. The changing tone of the commission during the past few years has worn on him.
In 2009, two members, Republicans Eric Skrmetta in the 1st District and Clyde Holloway in the 4th District, began their tenures on the commission. Since then, PSC meetings have become stormier, often featuring clashes between Skrmetta and Democratic Chairman Foster Campbell of Bossier City.
"There isn't as much camaraderie with the commission as there used to be," Field said. However, Field said he believes that's due less to political factions and more because of the personalities of the commissioners.
"The problem is probably just a mix of strong personalities. And I'm not saying that's bad. That might be good," Field said. "I'm still close to a few of the commissioners personally and I talk to all of them basically, except one, before meetings."
It's not difficult to guess which commissioner rankles Field a bit. Although they share a party affiliation and Field said it's "nothing personal," he did admit he thinks Skrmetta has treated some witnesses who appeared before the commission in the pst with a lack of respect.
"It's nothing really personal," he said, noting that a particular interaction during the commission's last meeting of 2012 between Skrmetta and a representative from the New Orleans archdiocese was particularly unnerving. "I think it's more of a personality thing," Field said. "I don't think it's the politics, because I get along fine with Commissioner [Lambert] Boissier and Campbell and they're Democrats."
Campbell, elected in 2003, and Field worked together on several successful initiatives, including this past month's vote to reduce prison phone call rates for inmates. At the end of two heated meetings spent discussing a possible rate reduction, Boissier made a motion to reduce the rates, but only for calls made to family members, faith leaders, attorneys and certain government agencies. The issue was one Field and Campbell worked hard to pass before Field's term ended in December.
Field is also particularly proud that during his 16-year tenure, utility rates for Louisiana residents have stayed low. This partly because of a 2001 PSC lawsuit that ended in utility giant Entergy ensuring Louisiana ratepayers were offered the same low rates as those in other states, such as Arkansas.
The refund resulting from this suit can still be seen on ratepayers' Entergy statements as a credit, Field said. He also lobbied for market-based mechanisms during his time on the commission, which ensured that utility companies are running their plants with cost-effective fuel sources.
He added, however, that the commission's duty isn't anti-business. While protecting ratepayers, commissioners must ensure companies can claim a reasonable rate of return, he said. "The commission has to balance and keep the utilities healthy, and at the same time ensure they're efficient as possible," he said. In a state with large rural areas and harsh storm seasons, "reliability is really just an important as cost."
Campbell, often at odds with other Republican commissioners except for Field, said he is worried how the commission will work when Field leaves, but is optimistic things will work out in the long term. "I'm optimistic we'll get along fine. I don't know why we shouldn't. But we'll miss Jimmy," Campbell said a week after Field retired on Dec. 31. "First of all, he was honest. And if you were right, he was going to be with you."
Both Campbell and Field are looking forward to seeing how the new 2nd District commissioner, former natural resources secretary Scott Angelle, will fare. Campbell called Angelle "a nice guy," whereas Field said he hopes the Breaux Bridge Democrat-turned-Republican will tone down some of the rhetoric typical of the commission in recent years.
"I think that Scott is going to be a calming influence on the commission. He'll probably be more subdued than Campbell and Skrmetta," Field said.
At the end of his tenure, Field said, he feels proud he was able to "listen to both sides of every issue" and make a fair decision based on what was best for the public's interest. "I'm glad that I had this chapter in my life, and that I was able to serve the public. I did what I thought would glorify God and I think people respected that," Field said. "I wasn't going to favor one party over another; each case depended on its own facts."
Field said he will continue to practice law in Baton Rouge and may take up a position already offered to him with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
But no decision will be made for at least six to nine month, he said. "I promised Laura," he said, referring to his wife. Other than practicing law, one plan on the horizon is certain: He's going to spend more time tossing around the football with his grandkids.