Public Service Commission Candidate John Northrop

CalCo Dems were highly pleased to have as our September guest speaker John Northrop. John, is running for Alabama Public Service (PSC) Place 1.

He gave us a bit about his background as that relates to why he's running for the PSC and what his goals are. John grew up in Andalusia, went to Samford University, and then became a journalist. He later decided to go into education and earned advanced degrees from Harvard. He served in the State Department of Education in Kentucky. For 14 years before retiring he headed the Alabama Institute for the Arts.

We let some attendees get away before we got the pic, lol! It was an interested and attentive group with good questions that Northrop was happy to answer!

John has always had a special appreciation for the environment. He recognizes that we are at a critical point, where we must take actions to reduce our inputs to global warming to preserve civilization. Non-carbon energy technologies offer a pathway to meet those needs, but Alabama has resisted taking that path. Instead, Alabama Power has an incentive system that rewards harmful, carbon-fueled energy.

The PSC is the body that is supposed to balance the needs of industry with the concerns of citizens. For years, the PSC has failed to do that. A key part of the problem is a lack of public awareness and engagement in looking out for their own interests.

John seeks only one term. Part of his goal, which relates to his educational background, is to increase public awareness and engagement about utilities and their operation. In the PSC, he'll insist on transparency in decision making, in contrast to the usually-private consultations that have been practiced.

He also wants to create a 5-year, strategic planning process that will move Alabama toward a clean-energy future. Those present received his comments and answers to questions very favorably. We look forward to supporting him. Visit his Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/john.northrop.865761 and his website at https://www.johnnorthropforpsc.com/ While you are on the website - donate via his Act Blue account. 

Watch the video below for photos of the September meeting :) https://youtu.be/myo8KcGBU2M

--Jim Williams, Community Volunteer & Political Activist