McCamley wants to restore public’s trust in PRC
Bill McCamley, Democratic candidate for the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, knows what people think about the PRC.
“There have been ethical issues,” McCamley said, referring to PRC members who have faced charges of assault, embezzlement or sexual harassment within the last few years. “When people see the PRC, that’s all they see.”
McCamley says his background in ethics makes him an ideal candidate to restore the public’s trust in the regulatory body.
In 2004, at the age of 26, McCamley was elected to the Doña Ana County Commission, which he said was having its own ethical issues at the time. One of his first acts as commissioner, he said, was to write the commission’s ethics policy.
If ethics is his favorite word, accountability is a close second.
McCamley is currently on the board of Common Cause New Mexico, an organization concerned with government reform and accountability.
“The PRC is the only mechanism to provide accountability for large private-sector monopolies,” McCamley said. “Take Qwest, for example. People can’t go anywhere else, and they can’t vote for Qwest’s board of directors, so they have no recourse. It’s the PRC’s job to hold companies like Qwest accountable.”
In addition to phone companies, McCamley said, the PRC regulates propane providers, insurance providers, fire marshals, all point-to-point transport like taxis, ambulances, tow trucks, limos, and the Railrunner, and rural electric co-ops.
“In the case of electric co-ops,” McCamley said, “the members do have some recourse, because they elect their trustees. With co-ops you do have a mechanism for people to have their voices heard.”
If necessary, McCamley said, if there’s a breakdown in communication between the members-owners of an electric co-op and their board, the PRC could step in and act as a mediator.
“There are two questions you would have to ask before deciding if the PRC should step in,” he said. “One, are there problems that are interfering with the provision of service, and two, has the election process itself become controversial, with people feeling that they didn’t get a fair election and that their voices aren’t being heard.”
If the administrative system breaks down, McCamley said, he would see a role for the PRC.
“But you don’t want to take away sovereignty,” he said. “For the state to come in, you have to have x, y and z. You don’t want Santa Fe coming down and throwing their weight around, getting all heavy-handed and issuing directives from above, unless there’s a clear case for it.”
McCamley attended the annual meeting of the SEC in April, when so many people showed up that anyone who was not a voting member was asked to leave the building by the Socorro Fire Department. He said he observed the proceedings from outside the door.
“That was an example of the system at work,” he said. “People came to have a say in how their co-op is run.”
McCamley said he has attended seven out of eight PNM meetings, and the annual meetings of every rural electric co-ops in the state, to familiarize himself with the issues and the people. “I’m trying to get to know all the parties so I can walk in the door on the first day and be effective,” he said.
Regulation of insurance providers will be another hot topic for the PRC when the effects of recent health care legislation begin to make themselves felt.
“The question there is, how do you work to provide policy that will allow the most people possible to get affordable health care,” McCamley said.
Energy policy is another concern.
“When you look at things like energy policy, the larger issues, for example of job creation through alternative energy, are also a smaller daily issue,” McCamley said. “They affect people’s pocketbooks every single month, when they pay their bills.”
McCamley, who lives in Las Cruces, has a bachelor’s degree in government from NMSU and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, with a focus on mediation and negotiation.
In 2008, he ran for Congress against Democrat Harry Teague.
“I raised $474,000 on the phone, and was considerably outspent by Harry Teague, who wrote his campaign a check for $750,000,” McCamley said. “Even so, I only lost by four points.” If elected to the District 5 seat of the PRC, McCamley said, “I promise to work really hard, come to communities and listen to their concerns, and to tell the truth.”
One of the things he would prefer not to do is to get entrenched in Santa Fe, and lose touch with the communities he is elected to serve.
“People say ‘politician’ like it was a bad thing,” McCamley said. “But actually, the word politician comes from greek word polis which means community. A politician should represent the community. I have a background in ethics and standing up for the little people, and I’m really passionate about this.”
When McCamley is not standing up for the little people, he plays soccer in the over-30 league in Las Cruces, and watches sporting events such as the world basketball championships with his father.
“To unwind, I like to watch SportsCenter, or listen to live music,” McCamley said. “I really enjoy a good local rock band.”
Contact Suzanne Barteau