Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is naming a former Franklin County judge to be the next chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Former Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jenifer French will chair the PUCO, though she lacks experience with utilities. But DeWine told the City Club of Cleveland he thinks having no background with the industry is a good thing right now, and that she has the needed skills. “A very smart judge," DeWine said, "someone who has a reputation of studying the facts, taking very complex set of facts, digging through that to come to a just resolution.”
French replaces Sam Randazzo, who resigned last year after the FBI searched his home, looking into a $4 million payment from First Energy.
DeWine rejected the first batch of finalists but chose to take one of them, former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judi French, to lead the Ohio Department of Insurance.
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