Bush Names Regulator of Utilities to FCC

President Bush on Wednesday nominated Tennessee utility regulator Deborah Taylor Tate to fill a long vacant Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission, while at the same time naming Michael J. Copps to retain his Democratic seat at the agency.

If confirmed by the Senate, Tate and Copps would restore a 3-2 Republican majority at the FCC, clearing the way for agency Chairman Kevin J. Martin to move ahead on issues that include revising media ownership rules and wrapping up the agency’s examination of the $17.6-billion sale of ailing cable giant Adelphia Communications Corp. to Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp.

The five-member FCC, which regulates the radio, television, telephone, satellite and cable TV industries, has been evenly split with two Republicans and two Democrats since March, when former Chairman Michael K. Powell left and Martin was elevated to succeed him. Federal law requires that no more than three commissioners come from one party.

Tate, a lawyer, served as an assistant to two former Republican Tennessee governors, Don Sundquist and Lamar Alexander. Since February 2002, Tate has been serving a six-year term as a director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

She is no stranger to Washington, having work closely with the FCC when she was appointed in 2003 to the agency’s Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services. Tate has also served as director of the State and Local Policy Center at Vanderbilt University.

Even with Wednesday’s nominations, Bush will soon have another FCC vacancy to deal with. Republican Kathleen Q. Abernathy’s term has already expired, and she must leave office when Congress adjourns next month.

In a statement, Martin said Tate “has a distinguished career in state government.”

Although Tate has long been rumored to be among the top candidates for the FCC job, public interest groups and industry analysts reached late Wednesday said they did not know much about her.

“I’m from Tennessee but I don’t know her,” said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the Washington office of Consumers Union, which follows media issues at the FCC. “We are hopeful the new commissioner will have a strong interest in consumer issues.”