PEOPLE : Audrie Krause to Step Down as Head of Consumer Group TURN

The outspoken executive director of consumer group Toward Utility Rate Normalization plans to resign effective July 31.

Audrie Krause, 47, a former reporter for the Fresno Bee, said she will look for a new job while serving as a consultant to TURN through year’s end.

“Careerwise, this is a good time to be thinking about moving on,” she said.

Known for taking a relentlessly confrontational stance with utilities and regulators, Krause expressed pride at having led TURN through a transition from a tiny advocacy group led by its founder, Sylvia Siegel, to a nationally recognized organization that has sought to influence regulators’ positions on everything from caller ID to electric cars.

Under her leadership, the San Francisco-based group’s staff has doubled to 12.

Krause, who grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, said she has no idea what job she might find. But characteristically, she had a strong suggestion: that she fill the vacancy on the five-member Public Utilities Commission. Commissioners are appointed by the governor.

“I fully believe I am far more qualified than any of Gov. (Pete) Wilson’s past appointees,” said Krause, a Democrat. “I would, I believe, be the ideal candidate, (especially) since he’s getting pressure to appoint someone with a consumer background.” She acknowledged that the likelihood of Wilson’s naming her is faint, but noted that “stranger things have happened.”