District 3 Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere, left, will face Davonte Lewis in a Dec. 10 runoff. (Photos by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

Challengers to District 3 Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere III attacked him in unison for accepting campaign contributions from the utility companies he regulates. Their strategy was effective, forcing the three-term incumbent into a Dec. 10 runoff.

Boissiere received 43% of the vote with a few precincts in his home base of New Orleans still being counted. Devante Lewis, a former school teacher and fiscal activist from Baton Rouge, was second with 18% support. New Orleans pastor Gregory Manning was in third place.

“After tonight, I would hope that our Public Service Commissioner regrets skating by for nearly two decades, accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Entergy and Cleco, and letting our utility system crumble in the face of worsening hurricanes,” Lewis said in a statement. “But, to be honest, I think that he’s once again going to choose taking Entergy’s donations over giving power to the people.”

Members of the Public Service Commission service six-year terms. District 2, which spans from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, is the only one with a majority-minority voter composition that all but ensures a Black office holder.

In the only other PSC race on Tuesday’s ballot, incumbent Mike Francis sailed to an easy win in District 4. He represents portions of Acadiana and Central Louisiana.

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Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected]. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.

This article first appeared on the Louisiana Illuminator and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Greg LaRose has covered news for more than 30 years in Louisiana. Before coming to the Louisiana Illuminator, he was the chief investigative reporter for WDSU-TV in New Orleans. He previously led the government...