Complete Story
12/01/2016
Kasich appointee Howard Petricoff not likely to gain PUCO seat
In an unusual move, an Ohio Senate panel has recommended rejection Gov. John Kasich's appointee to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The Senate Public Utilities Committee voted this morning to oppose the appointment of Howard Petricoff, a veteran attorney on utility cases. The full Senate still needs to vote on this, but senators do not expect the outcome to change.
Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, cited two reasons for the vote. Petricoff has represented so many energy companies that he needs to recuse himself from many key cases. In addition, he said Senate leaders advised Kasich's staff of concerns about Petricoff before the nomination was made, but Kasich ignored those concerns.
The only vote in favor of Petricoff was from the only Democrat present for the meeting.
