Gregoire taps Sidran as utility watchdog

OLYMPIA – Mark Sidran is coming to Olympia after all.

Sidran hoped to succeed Gov. Christine Gregoire as attorney general, but narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Deborah Senn. But Gregoire is bringing him to a high-visibility post anyway. Wednesday, she appointed the former Seattle city attorney and mayoral candidate to head the state’s powerful three-member Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The commission has broad jurisdiction over investor-owned telecommunications and power utilities, setting rates for Qwest, for instance.

Besides being a utility watchdog, the panel should take the lead in keeping the state and its consumers abreast of developments in the telecommunications and energy fields, Gregoire said. She said the panel also will help fight possible rate increases by the Bonneville Power Administration. The increases being proposed by the Bush administration would stifle the state’s economic recovery, she said.