In her bid for a second term as a Snohomish County PUD commissioner, Toni Olson is running on a record most candidates would envy.
Electricity rates have stabilized. The utility is ahead of the schedule required by Initiative 937 to develop a robust renewable-energy portfolio. It’s a leader in exploring promising local sources of renewable power, including tidal and geothermal. Its conservation programs are strong.
If ever there was a time not to make a change on the three-member commission, this is it. We strongly recommend voters re-elect Olson.
Public power issues are highly complex, and Olson has the experience to navigate them effectively. Before joining the commission in 2005, she spent 22 years working for the utility, retiring as an assistant general manager.
That background has been particularly valuable on the financial side of the operation. Olson understands the importance of scrutinizing money matters, having seen first-hand the results of the Enron debacle a decade ago, when the utility was more reactive than proactive to market conditions. She also has a firm grasp of the intricate details that contribute to stable rates, such as federal hydropower costs, the timing of strategic initiatives and system maintenance, the integration of wind and other renewables, and revenue the PUD gets by selling off surplus power.
Such knowledge is critical for giving clear guidance to the utility’s general manager, which is the commission’s No. 1 job.
Like fellow commissioners Dave Aldrich and Kathy Vaughn, Olson also is focused on the utility’s future. For instance, wind and solar are growing sources of power, but they generate electricity intermittently — when the wind is blowing and the sun is up, respectively. So the PUD is wisely looking into storage technologies — essentially huge batteries — to offset that shortcoming.
Olson is being challenged by Brian McMahan, who was a Fire District 1 commissioner until recently, when he moved out of the district. He’s currently the assistant fire chief in Mukilteo.
McMahan understands governance issues, but he’s not nearly as up to speed on the complicated issues facing the PUD as Olson. His chief criticism of the commission, that its support for green power and sustainability came late, seems misplaced. This is one of the greenest utilities in the country, its conservation strategies are solid and long-standing, and its exploration of new renewables is getting lots of national notice. Olson supports all of those efforts.
McMahan’s intentions are good, but he can’t match the experience and detailed knowledge Olson brings. Voters should let her put it to work for another six years.
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