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From the start, Miller has opposed Eachus' reappointment ("The US West Connection," 500 Words, WW, Feb. 25, 1998). Last week the Lake Oswego Republican sent Eachus a series of questions on 15 topics, which he wants the chairman to address at an April 8 legislative hearing. Most of the questions are legitimate. The first topic, however, strikes us as a red herring. Miller notes that "the PUC seems to be in the news quite often" and wants to know how many press releases the agency sends out, whether Eachus writes them, and whether "such an aggressive press program" is a good use of public funds. As any government reporter in town will tell you, when it comes to aggressive PR, the PUC can't compete with the Legislature. During a legislative session, lawmakers such as Miller send out dozens of press releases touting their accomplishments. There are at least six legislative aides, whose annual salaries range between $30,000 and $42,000, in charge of media relations. (These are full-time jobs, even though the legislature is in session just six months every two years.) The PUC, by comparison, has just one staffer whose duties include media relations. Ron Karten, who earns $39,624 annually, has averaged one press release a week during the last six months. Given the number of big decisions the PUC has been involved in recently, it's no surprise Eachus has been in the news. The commission has weighed in on the Enron/PGE merger, ongoing complaints about US West's customer service and BPA rate increases. If anything, we'd argue that, given the huge amount of money at stake for ratepayers, the PUC might want to boost its ability to publicize its actions. Miller did not return WW's calls. For his part, Eachus sees Miller's opening question as an attempt to "muzzle" the commission. "I'm sure US West would love it if we didn't issue press releases on their service quality," Eachus says. |
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