Eric Skrmetta

Eric Skrmetta
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2009
Preceded by	Jay Blossman
Personal details
Born	Eric Frederick Skrmetta October 1, 1958 New Orleans, Orleans Parish Louisiana, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Deborah Gibson Skrmetta
Children	Raphael Quentin Skrmetta III Marcia Elizabeth Skrmetta
Residence	Metairie, Jefferson Parish Louisiana
Alma mater	Louisiana State University Southern University Law Center Tulane University Law School
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Eric Frederick Skrmetta (born October 1, 1958) is an attorney from Metairie, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission for District 1, which includes suburban New Orleans, the eastern Florida Parishes, and the River Parishes.^[1]

The Public Service Commission is an influential regulatory agency which was the political springboard for former Governors Huey Long, Jimmie Davis, and John McKeithen.^[2]

Education and background

Skrmetta's parents were the late Alfreda Gertrude Duffel Skrmetta and Raphael Quentin "Ray" Skrmetta, Sr. (c. 1921–2012) of Metairie in Jefferson Parish. Ray Skrmetta was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and made his living as a processor and packer in the seafood industry. After service as a cadet in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, Ray Skrmetta founded Skrmetta Machinery Corporation and developed several inventions used in the seafood processing business. He subsequently acquired Southern Shell Fish Company in Harvey and was a member of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. Eric Skrmetta's paternal grandparents were Paul Cecil Skrmetta, a native of the island of Brač in the Adriatic Sea, within Croatia, and the former Elizabeth Nora Grantham, originally from Bay Springs in Jasper County, Mississippi. Skrmetta has a brother, Dennis M. Skrmetta and a sister, Barbara D. Skrmetta and her husband, Whitner Church. A second brother, Raphael, Jr., is deceased.^[3]

Eric Skrmetta graduated from Brother Martin High School in his native New Orleans. He then attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where in 1981 he received his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial technology. In 1985, he was a cum laude graduate (Juris Doctor) of Southern University Law Center, passed the Louisiana bar exam, and entered the practice of law. In 1986, Skrmetta received his LL.M. in admiralty law from Tulane University Law School. Since 1989, he has focused on legal mediation. He holds the District 81 seat on the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee. In 2003, he ran unsuccessfully for the District 81 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[4] The position instead went to the strongly pro-life Republican John LaBruzzo, also of Metairie, who was unseated in his bid for a third term in 2011.

Election 2008

Skrmetta won the race for Public Service Commissioner in a runoff on November 4, 2008, after two other candidates (Bruce Kincade and Kenneth L. Odinet, Sr.) were eliminated in the nonpartisan blanket primary. His runoff opponent was former Public Service Commissioner John F. Schwegmann, a former Democrat who had no party affiliation.^[5] Skrmetta assumed his commissionership office on January 1, 2009, for a term ending on December 31, 2014. Skrmetta's campaign demonstrated the political utility of open web sites such as Facebook.^[6]

Public Service Commissioner

Skrmetta is one of five public service commissioners; colleagues include Foster Campbell and Clyde C. Holloway. On the PSC, Skrmetta has sought clarification of Louisiana’s ethics regulations, which have tightened since the state’s Populist past. In particular he has sought to displace meal reimbursements to commissioners from regulated utility companies with the PSC itself paying such expenses.^[7]

Election of 2014

On November 4, 2014, Skrmetta was forced into a December 6 runoff election with the Democrat-turned-Republican Forest Gabriel Bradley-Wright (born 1977), a consumer advocate. Bradley-Wright led a three-candidate field with 99,271 votes (38.5 percent). Skrmetta followed with 95,372 votes (37 percent), and another Republican, Allen "Al" Leone, trailed with 63,442 votes (24.6 percent).^[8]

By a margin of 4,037 votes, Skrmetta won reelection in 2014 to the PSC. He polled 119,684 votes (50.85 percent) to Bradley-Wright's 115,647 (49.15 percent).

Personal life

Skrmetta and his wife, the former Deborah Gibson, have two children. They are involved in various religious and community organizations, reside in Metairie, and attend Saint Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church there.^[9]

Notes

1. In alphabetical order the parishes partly or wholly represented by Skrmetta are Ascension, Jefferson, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington. District 1 thus has a reversed-"C" shape; if it contained East Baton Rouge Parish on its western side, District 1 would form a complete loop with radius in the Greater New Orleans area.
2. Skrmetta on Votesmart.org, Skrmetta on Peoplefinders.com.
3. "Raphael Quentin "Ray" Skrmetta, Sr.". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
4. Skrmetta profile on the PSC site.
5. Louisiana 2008 PSC 1 second round results. See also Robert Travis Scott, “John Schwegmann, Eric Skrmetta face off for PSC post” in Times-Picayune (New Orleans), 2008 October 06 (accessed 2009 June 17).
6. Skrmetta’s Facebook campaign site.
7. Greg LaRose, "Commentary: Skrmetta’s debut dubious" in New Orleans CityBusiness, 2009 January 28.
8. "Election Results for 11/4/2014". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
9. "The Candidates - Public Service Commission, 1st District" (PDF). The Times-Picayune. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2015-11-10.