Eight candidates have made the cut and will be interviewed to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Florida Public Service Commission, according to a short list released Tuesday by a state PSC nominating council.
PSC member Lisa Edgar, whose expiring term will create the vacancy Jan. 1, is among the candidates on the list. Edgar, who joined the PSC in 2005, was among 23 candidates who applied for the $130,000-a-year job, The PSC regulates a host of utilities including electric-power producers, water suppliers and telecommunications firms.
Also making the cut was Ken Littlefield, a Republican House member from 1999 to 2006 who was appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush to a PSC term that started in January 2007. Littlefield's tenure was brief, as Bush's successor, Charlie Crist, appointed someone else to serve on the five-member panel shortly after taking office.
This time around, Littlefield has secured recommendations from a host of GOP luminaries including Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
Others on the short list include public officials and private industry executives. Candidates will be interviewed by the nominating council, which will forward a recommendation to Gov. Rick Scott, who makes the appointment.
Rounding out the field are:
-- Joseph "Jose" Colon, of Kissimmee, a member of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and a retired assistant vice president for Manufacturers Hanover Trust.
-- Glenn Forrest, of Orlando, senior professional engineer for the St. Johns River Water Management District. Forrest's employment history includes work dealing with storm water management, water storage and water source development.
-- Daniel Louis, of Jacksonville, a consultant and retired chief administrative law judge of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
-- William Martin, of Winter Park, who has worked as a senior fiscal analyst for the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. He is currently employed at Fishkind & Associates, an Orlando-based consulting firm.
-- Donald Polmann, of Dunedin, director of science and engineering for Tampa Bay Water. A professional engineer, Polmann earned a Ph.D. in hydrology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990.
-- Luz Weinberg, an Aventura city commissioner and director of communications for Bouygues Civil Works Florida, the builder of the Port of Miami Access Tunnel.
