NRCC: Joe Garcia Called ‘Pathetic’ For Defending Public Service Commission Rate Hike

Joe Garcia needs to own up to his record on the Public Service Commission and stop trying to deceive voters in Florida’s 25th Congressional District. In 1997, Garcia supported a rate hike while serving as Commissioner of the PSC. Yet today, he’s trying to hide from his record. Garcia says that he was not on the panel that approved of the rate hike, but he did serve as a commissioner with the PSC and gave a full-throated defense of the measure. Later, when the Florida Power Corporation Florida Power Corporation offered Floridians a refund, Garcia had the audacity to take the credit for the refund despite his support for the rate hike.

However, in a blistering editorial in the Orlando Sentinel at the time, Garcia was taken to task for trying to take credit for the refund:

“Mr. Garcia’s statement – that the PSC’s supposed impartiality helped the parties reach an accord – would be laughable if it weren’t so pathetic.

“… his impassioned defense of the PSC was totally inappropriate.

“…PSC commissioners and staff had absolutely nothing to do with brokering a deal.

“…the PSC should come clean and give consumers the apology they also are owed.” (Orlando Sentinel, 06/27/1997)

“Joe Garcia can backtrack all he wants, but the fact remains that he supported the $88 million rate hike in utilities,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain. “This is political doublespeak at its worst, and Joe Garcia owes Florida voters an apology.”

Joe Garcia should come clean with Floridians and admit that the commission he was a part of imposed a significant utility rate hike that he fully supported without question.