Time to redraw gerrymandered PSC boundaries

Back in April, a groundswell of volunteers put a first-time candidate and lifelong Independent on the ballot. Over 150 volunteers, from Libby to Lolo, came out of the woodwork to support my campaign for the Public Service Commission, the government body that regulates utility companies. Many of these volunteers were strangers to me, but together, we built a campaign that prioritized regular people’s pocketbooks over political parties and corporate profits.  

This burst of nonpartisan energy wasn’t enough to win in a gerrymandered district drawn by legislators to guarantee victory for my opponent, but it was enough to earn the trust of an unusually high number of people on both sides of the aisle across western Montana. In PSC District 4, which stretches across seven counties from Ravalli to Lincoln, more than 3,000 voters cast their ballots for both President-elect Trump and an independent candidate running against an incumbent Republican commissioner in a district drawn to ensure a Republican win. Ultimately, over 57,000 Montanans from across the political spectrum cast votes for a nonpartisan candidate during a hyper partisan period in American history.  

In a different year, in a less polarized election not dominated by national politics, this upstart campaign could have achieved an upset. But here’s the good news: That year might be just around the corner.  

Currently, neighbors living across the street from each other in Missoula, Kalispell, Great Falls, Helena, Bozeman, Billings and other cities are represented by different Public Service Commissioners even though they share the same electrical, water and sewer lines. That’s because the 2023 Legislature carved up cities and towns for the sole purpose of ensuring an extreme advantage for one party and protecting specific Republican incumbents. Thankfully, voters called legislators out for cheating, and earlier this year, a judge ordered the upcoming legislature to fix this political hack job. 

Now, legislators heading to Helena for the next legislative session in January will be required to draw new boundaries for all five PSC districts. If voters put pressure on legislators to draw fair boundaries, then we’ll have competitive PSC races again, forcing commissioners to be more responsive to ratepayers. If we have competitive races again, then commissioners will be more likely to prioritize the concerns of consumers. And if commissioners prioritize consumers, then Montanans can win the fight for affordable power. 

I understand this call to action arrives fast on the heels of an election year where you couldn’t escape the overwhelming ads, calls and flyers but here’s the thing, we still live in a democracy. It’s an intensely polarized democracy, manipulated by billionaires and heavily controlled by powerful political parties. But it’s our democracy, and we always should fight to make it stronger.  

For me, this work begins by expressing gratitude to voters, including those who didn’t vote for me. In this country, voters have the power to elect people over puppets, and I’m sincerely grateful to every person who cast a ballot this year. 

This work also begins by tipping my hat to the PSC candidates who won. There were three PSC races on the ballot in Montana this year. The winners of those races are Jeff Welborn, a new commissioner, Brad Molnar, a former commissioner, and Jennifer Fielder, an incumbent commissioner and my opponent. I hope their electoral success leads to fewer unanimous votes in favor of rate hikes and more substantive debate over how to deliver affordable power to ratepayers.  

Finally, and most importantly, this work begins by encouraging all voters — blue, red, yellow, green and everyone in between — to carry the fight for affordable power to the 2025 legislative session.  

Frankly, we can’t afford not to fight. The American Dream can’t survive if elections are rigged to ensure one party’s success before a single vote has been cast. A system like that will always favor corporate profits over consumer savings. A system like that can only produce tarnished victories for career politicians and financial losses for regular people.  

Elena Evans was an independent candidate for the Public Service Commission.