Guinn demotes PUC chairwoman

Wednesday, July 14, 1999 | 12:33 p.m.

CARSON CITY -- Judy Sheldrew, the blunt and often controversial chairwoman of the state Public Utilities Commission, is being demoted.

Gov. Kenny Guinn today elevated Commissioner Don Soderberg to head the three-member commission that regulates electric, natural gas, water and other utility companies.

"The governor felt Don Soderberg was the best person to oversee the commission and the direction he wants to see it go," Jack Finn, press secretary for Guinn, said. "With all the challenges, Don Soderberg's experience will serve the commission well."

Sheldrew, 47, could not be reached for comment and whether she intends to continue to serve out her commission term, which doesn't expire until Sept. 30, 2001. Her salary as chairwoman has been $86,084 and that will drop to $80,000 as a commissioner.

Sheldrew has been leading the PUC as it gets ready to enter the era of electric deregulation, presiding at most of the hearings as the rules are being prepared for March 1, 2000, when open competition begins. But she may have run afoul of the Guinn Administration during the 1999 Legislature when she was told to keep out of the Legislature, which was drafting a new deregulation scheme.

At that time, Guinn officials said they wanted to express their own views, rather than allowing Sheldrew to represent them. She had been critical of the direction the Senate Commerce and Labor Commissioner had taken in forging the new deregulation bill.

Soderberg, a former Reno attorney, was first appointed to the state Public Service Commission. Later when the commission was divided, Soderberg moved over to the state Transportation Authority. But then Gov. Bob Miller appointed him back to the utilities commission in December when Commissioner Tim Hay resigned.

When he was with the Public Service Commission, Soderberg dealt with numerous rate cases as well as some major proposed merger cases. He also worked to streamline the procedure for water approvals, eliminating many duplicative processes.

Sheldrew, regarded as a strong voice for consumers, has worked in state government almost continuously since her graduation from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1973. At one time while serving as budget director, she was recognized as one of the most powerful persons in state government. She was not afraid to publicly criticize another executive in state government who didn't toe the line.

And that set her at odds with many government executives.

She once said in an interview, "My single biggest weakness is that I am impatient. I want people to work as rapidly as I do."

She served as budget director from 1989 to 1993 when she was named to the former Public Service Commission.

At the commission, she often clashed with other members. She had a running feud with then Chairman John Mendoza, who was switched to the chairmanship of the Transportation Authority in 1997. It was then she was elevated to head the reorganized and renamed utilities commission.

She and Commissioner Galen Denio didn't see eye to eye and he resigned his post. Then last December Hay quit the commission, citing differences with Sheldrew.

Sheldrew, after her graduation, went to work for the state budget office, then moved as a budget analyst to the Legislative Counsel Bureau. She returned as deputy state budget administrator. She left in 1988 to become a senior staff associate for the National Association of State Budget Officers in Washington D.C., and then returned to the Nevada the following year when she was appointed by Miller as budget director.