Senate votes to fire Evers appointee to Public Service Commission

Republican state senators voted Tuesday to fire one of Gov. Tony Evers’ appointments to the state’s Public Service Commission, continuing a dispute with Evers over how government is run in Wisconsin and who gets to run it.

Senators voted 21-11 to reject the confirmation of Tyler Huebner, who was appointed by Evers in 2020 and reappointed in 2021. Because the Senate never acted on Huebner’s appointment, he had been serving on the PSC for nearly four years without confirmation.

Republicans, including Sen. Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, said they were voting against Huebner because he had taken “activist” positions on the PSC, including supporting a policy of lower utility rates for people with lower incomes.

“Their job is to be regulators, not policymakers,” Bradley said of the PSC. “Taking and using the position as a commissioner is a problem when you’re using that position to be an activist.”

The vote comes just months after Republicans voted against confirming eight other Evers appointees, including four to the state’s Natural Resources Board.

In Evers’ first term, Republican Senators voted to fire Brad Pfaff, who was at the time the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Pfaff, now a state senator from La Crosse, called the rejection of Huebner an attack on clean energy, the environment and the overall democratic process.

“Voters are sick and tired of partisan political games,” Pfaff said. “Yet here we are once again.”

In a statement released by the PSC, Huebner called it an honor and privilege to have served on the commission, saying he planned to build on his work there to tackle “some of the biggest challenges of our times” in a different capacity.

“I am proud of the work I put in and the decisions I made to balance safety, reliability, and affordability in the delivery of utility services, get people connected to high-speed internet, remove lead service lines and ensure clean drinking water, and so much more,” Huebner said.

Huebner previously served as the executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a group that advocates for renewable energy.

Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, issued a statement after the vote that also criticized Huebner for requiring utility companies to provide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion information to the PSC. Wanggaard also alleged that Huebner had not recused himself from issues on which he once lobbied.

“The reasons to reject Commissioner Huebner are not political, they are about following the law,” Wanggaard said.

Evers issued a statement blasting the vote by Republicans, saying their decision “defies logic,” and saying people like Huebner should be celebrated for their public service, not “bullied” and “vilified.”

“Republicans’ ongoing efforts to harass, disparage, and fire dedicated public servants is a serious threat to the basic functions of our government and democracy in our state,” Evers said. “Wisconsinites are sick of Republicans’ nonsense, and I don’t blame them.”

The vote to fire Huebner was nearly along party lines, with Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, joining Democrats in supporting Huebner.

In a separate vote Tuesday, Republicans voted 27-5 to confirm PSC Commissioner Summer Strand, another Evers appointee.