Eric Skrmetta

Eric Frederick Skrmetta (born October 1, 1958) is an attorney from Metairie, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from District 1, which includes suburban New Orleans, the eastern Florida Parishes, and the River Parishes.^[1]

The Public Service Commission is an influential regulatory agency which was the political springboard for former Governors Huey Long, Jimmie Davis, and John McKeithen.^[2]

Education and background

Skrmetta's parents were the late Alfreda Gertrude Duffel Skrmetta and Raphael Quentin "Ray" Skrmetta, Sr. (c. 1921–2012) of Metairie in Jefferson Parish. Ray Skrmetta was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and made his living as a processor and packer in the seafood industry. After service as a cadet in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, Ray Skrmetta founded Skrmetta Machinery Corporation and developed several inventions used in the seafood processing business. He subsequently acquired Southern Shell Fish Company in Harvey and was a member of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. Eric Skrmetta's paternal grandparents were Paul Cecil Skrmetta, a native of the island of Brač in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia and the former Elizabeth Nora Grantham, originally from Bay Springs in Jasper County, Mississippi. Skrmetta has a brother, Dennis M. Skrmetta and a sister, Barbara D. Skrmetta and her husband, Whitner Church. A second brother, Raphael, Jr., is deceased.^[3]

Eric Skrmetta graduated from Brother Martin High School in his native New Orleans. He then attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where in 1981 he received his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial technology. In 1985, he was a cum laude graduate (Juris Doctor) of Southern University Law Center, passed the Louisiana bar exam, and entered the practice of law. In 1986, Skrmetta received his LL.M. in admiralty law from Tulane University Law School. Since 1989, he has focused on legal mediation. He holds the District 81 seat on the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee. In 2003, he ran unsuccessfully for the District 81 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[4] The position instead went to the strongly pro-life Republican John LaBruzzo, also of Metairie.

Election 2008

Skrmetta won the race for Public Service Commissioner in a runoff on November 4, 2008, after two other candidates (Bruce Kincade and Kenneth L. Odinet Sr.) were eliminated in the nonpartisan blanket primary. His runoff opponent was former Public Service Commissioner John F. Schwegmann, a former Democrat who had no party affiliation.^[5] Skrmetta had the support of then-incumbent commissioner Jay Blossman, who was disgraced by scandal and barred by term limits from seeking reelection.^[6] Skrmetta assumed his commissionership office on January 1, 2009, for a term ending on December 31, 2014. Skrmetta's campaign demonstrated the political utility of open web sites such as Facebook.^[7]

Public Service Commissioner

Skrmetta is one of five public service commissioners; colleagues include Foster Campbell and Clyde C. Holloway. On the PSC, Skrmetta has sought clarification of Louisiana’s ethics regulations, which have tightened since the state’s Populist past. In particular he has sought to displace meal reimbursements to commissioners from regulated utility companies with the PSC itself paying such expenses.^[8] On his first day in office he voted against an ethics reform measure that would have prevented Commissioners from receiving free meals from businesses regulated by the Public Service Commission. Lee Zurik from Fox 8 WVUE and Lauren McGaughy of the Times Picayune published a troubling joint investigative report that examined the enormous influence of utilities and potential for conflicts of interest at the Public Service Commission. The report focused especially on Eric Skrmetta as the favorite recipient of utility campaign contributions, including one utility under investigation for breaking the law who held a fundraiser for Skrmetta who then later attempted to negotiate a closed door settlement for them. In a related matter, Skrmetta engaged in a heated and personal exchange with Associate Director Rob Tasman from the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops that Skrmetta's critics held up as proof of arrogance and rude behavior. Skrmetta was also caught up in a corruption controversy involving the solar industry after reporters uncovered a leaked email that purported to contain the parameters of a secret deal brokered by Eric Skrmetta with a solar industry lobbyist.

Skrmetta also holds the District 81 seat on the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee. On March 24, 2012, he handily defeated John S. Treen, brother of the late Governor David C. Treen, 447 votes (63.3 percent) to 259 (36.7 percent), to claim the central committee seat.^[9]

Election of 2014

On November 4, 2014, Skrmetta was forced into a December 6 runoff election with the Democrat-turned-Republican Forest Gabriel Bradley-Wright (born 1977), a consumer advocate. Bradley-Wright led a three-candidate field with 99,271 votes (38.5 percent). Skrmetta followed with 95,372 votes (37 percent), and another Republican, Allen "Al" Leone, trailed with 63,442 votes (24.6 percent).^[10] Leone, a real estate executive who sits on the Jefferson Parish Republican Executive Committee and held a critical one-fourth of the ballots cast in the primary, endorsed Bradley-Wright. According to Leone, Bradley-Wright has been "leading the fight to reduce the monthly utility bills of Louisiana families and business owners for years. When it comes to energy policy, he's one of the brightest minds in the state, and we couldn't hope for a more honest and dedicated public servant."^[11]

Wright's primary strategy has been to highlight the conflict of interest between Skrmetta, utilities he regulates, and consumers. Wright hammered Skrmetta for taking 80% of his campaign funds from the utilities he regulates at the PSC. Skrmetta in return has attacked Wright as an Obama supporter who used to have longer hair.

In the last days leading up to the runoff election, the two candidates traded increasingly harsh attacks. Skrmetta accused Bradley-Wright of battery against his neighbor while Wright has released documents showing hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal stock profits off of utilities regulated by Skrmetta. The attacks from Skrmetta backfired when it was revealed that Wright was the victim and that the perpetrator was currently in jail for attempted homicide, after having run over a man with a truck and then taking a hostage, a situation which led to a SWAT standoff. Skrmetta's financial advisor defended his client over the investments in an email circulated to supporters. The email argues that Skrmetta did not make those investment decisions. Wright's campaign maintains that Skrmetta's financial disclosures still affirm that Skrmetta was aware that he was a shareholder in utilities which he regulated and did nothing to have those investments removed from his portfolio.

The Bradley-Wright—Skrmetta showdown has divided the PSC itself. Clyde C. Holloway, a conservative member from Rapides Parish, endorsed Skrmetta, while a Democrat commissioner, Foster Campbell of Bossier Parish, has contributed to Wright's campaign. Holloway said that he considers Skrmetta an independent conservative with whom he usually agrees on issues before the commission.

By a margin of 4,037 votes, Skrmetta won reelection in 2014 to the PSC. He polled 119,684 votes (50.85 percent) to Bradley-Wright's 115,647 (49.15 percent). Without his strong showing in Jefferson Parish, Skrmetta would have been defeated. He won in only two other parishes, St. Tammany and Washington. The returns were delayed in three precincts in Orleans Parish, but the late total solidified Skrmetta's narrow lead.^[12]

Late support from LOG PAC (Louisiana Oil and Gas Political Action Committee), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, and the Koch brothers played crucial roles in bringing Skrmetta just over the threshold for victory.

Personal life

Eric Skrmetta and his wife, the former Deborah Gibson, have two children. They are involved in various religious and community organizations, reside in Metairie, and attend Saint Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church there.^[13]

Skrmetta is the president of the local "Skull and Bones" chapter of the Safari Club, a controversial organization that promotes the hunting of rare, exotic, and endangered animals.

Notes