As he spoke to members of the Kiwanis Club of Columbia about a variety of things, Southern District Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton confirmed that he is running for state treasurer.
“Have you heard a rumor about me?” the Republican from Laurel asked the group. “I’ll help you out. There’s a rumor that I may be running for state treasurer next time. I just wanted to let you know that it is OK to spread that rumor because I assure you I’ve been spreading that rumor as hard as I can. It does look like I will run for treasurer next year.”
State Treasurer Lynn Fitch is expected to run for lieutenant governor, which will be open as current Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves runs for governor. Current Gov. Phil Bryant is term limited.
Britton also spoke about his role as a public service commissioner and about projects the board has been pursuing. Broadband internet provided in conjunction with rural power cooperatives.
“I believe that the electric power associations should be allowed to provide internet,” he said. “I believe more options are better. I will also say that out of 26 EPAs in the state, there is probably only a handful where it makes sense to provide the service. I think we’d be better off not limiting people to providing that service.”
Britton stressed the importance of the internet to Mississippi’s economy.
“Can you imagine a business locating somewhere where they don’t have internet?” he asked. “Can you imagine how you would do your business today with the internet? It’s just a fact and it’s part of our lives. With that, we need to work towards getting there. We no longer talk about just having internet; it’s about the speed; as we move forward that will be far more important. You could say it is as important as having electricity was 100 years ago, but the truth is that I think it will be far more important than that.”
