By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Tuesday, Alabama Minority GOP Chairman Philip Brown spoke at the Rainy Day Patriots candidate forum in Homewood. Philip Brown is running as a candidate for the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) Place 2.
Chairman Brown acknowledged that up until this year he was not aware of the Alabama Public Service Commission, but in the last year the PSC has come to the forefront in the state.
Brown said that if elected to the PSC he would not be in the pocket of Alabama Power and he would not be in the pocket of the environmental lobby. “The environmental lobby has absolutely no interest in clean air an clean water, it is about control of our natural resources.”
Brown warned that it appeared that Place 2 incumbent, Terry Dunn, was already under the influence of the environmental lobby and that before qualifying ended they would run a candidate against PSC Place 1 Commissioner Terry Dunn (R). That would give the environmental lobby a two to one majoirty against our coal, oil, and natural gas resources.
Chairman Brown said that when the Federal government overreaches we suffer for it. Brown said that Milton Friedman said, “If you place the Federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert in five years you would have a shortage of sand.”
Brown promised to oppose the federal government’s over reach if he is elected to the Public Service Commission and said that he would work to keep Alabama’s utility rates low.
Brown joins a crowded Republican field for PSC Place 2. Incumbent PSC Commissioner Terry Dunn (R) has announced his intent to seek re-election. Chris “Chip” Beeker and Jonathan Barbee are also seeking the Republican nomination for the office.
Place 2 Commissioner Terry Dunn has come under fire from some conservatives and industry groups who claim that Dunn has ties to radical environmentalists who they say want to close Alabama’s coal powered electricity plants down.
Alabama Power has come under unprecedented criticism over the past year from environmental groups and critics of the utility’s rate structure.
President Obama’s EPA has passed draconian new regulations on coal burning electric power plants that threaten to make electricity more expensive for Alabama businesses and consumers.
Chairman Brown was born in Detroit, Michigan and was raised in Elba. He is the tenth of twelve children of the late Hayward and Jean Brown and is married to the former Diane Jones of Birmingham, Alabama. They live in the Birmingham area with their youngest daughter. They also have five older daughters and four grandchildren.
Phillip graduated from Faulkner University in Montgomery with a Bachelor Degree in Ministry and Biblical Studies. He is currently working on his master’s degree in Educational Administration.
Brown is the minister for the Sandusky Church of Christ in Birmingham and also works as a teacher for the Jefferson County Board of Education. Chairman Brown says that he, “Feels that his calling is to help to shape the hearts and minds of young people who face a world for which they are not fully prepared.”
The Rainy Day Patriots are active throughout the state, but they are most active in populous Jefferson and Shelby Counties.
