Obama nominates an advocate for change at Tennessee Valley Authority to utility's board

President Obama surprised observers of the Tennessee Valley Authority Thursday by nominating Neil McBride, a public-interest lawyer from East Tennessee, to be a director of the federal utility. Obama also nominated Middle Tennessee State University economics professor Barbara Haskew, a former manager of TVA's rate staff, to the part-time, nine-member board.

Anne Paine and Bill Theobald report for The Tennessean, "Haskew's name had been mentioned as a possible candidate in an earlier Tennessean article. McBride's selection came as more of a surprise to some following the process." His brief, official biography says "McBride has been involved in TVA issues for 35 years. He is general counsel with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, a nonprofit law firm that gives free legal help in civil cases to people who have nowhere else to turn. He was one of the region’s earliest advocates for more transparency in TVA decision-making and advocated for TVA to provide more effective energy efficiency programs to its customers and for environmental policies that would better serve the long-term interest of the Tennessee Valley."

The nominations are subject to confirmation by the Senate, but Tennessee's two Republican senators appeared to be among those who were surprised. "The White House made us aware of the nominations this morning," Sen. Bob Corker of Chattanooga said Thursday. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Maryville would say only that he looked forward to "learning more about their views on TVA." But Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville said the nominees would "bring some much-needed accountability to TVA." Paine and Theobald note that the agency "drew scathing criticism from the public and the TVA inspector general for a lack of accountability after one of its coal ash landfills broke, unleashing sludge across hundreds of acres and into the Emory River in East Tennessee." (Read more)