Mount Rainier
Pepco lobbying of former Mt. Rainier mayor draws ethics complaint from Montgomery County lawmaker
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Editor’s note: The headline has been edited to more clearly state the nature of the dispute
A Maryland legislator has asked the Mount Rainier Ethics Commission to look into Pepco’s lobbying relationship with former Mayor Malinda Miles during her closing months in office. In a June 10, 2021, letter to the city’s Ethics Commission, Del. Al Carr, a Democrat representing Kensington, Wheaton and Chevy Chase as part of the District 18 delegation, raised concerns about how Pepco solicited Miles’ support for the energy company’s pending application before the Maryland Public Service Commission to raise electric rates over the next several years.
Miles’ support was most-visibly rendered in an April 25, 2021, virtual public hearing before the Public Service Commission. During that meeting she praised the energy utility company for providing electrical services to re-open the Mount Rainier Library, its work to install electric vehicle charging stations in the city, and enthusiastically urged the Public Service Commission to approve the rate change. The case is under consideration.