Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett is resigning his District 1 seat effective at the end of the year. Governor Nathan Deal has named Representative Jason Shaw, Chairman of the House Appropriations Transportation Committee. Shaw’s House seat will require a special election. The PSC seat will be on the statewide ballot in 2020, when Shaw will presumably stand for election to a full six year term.
The press release from the Governor’s office is below.
Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that he will appoint Rep. Jason Shaw to the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Commissioner Doug Everett on Dec. 31, 2018. Shaw will serve the remainder of Everett’s term and will represent the 1st District of the PSC. The appointment will be effective Jan. 1, 2019.
“I would like to thank Doug Everett for his more than 15 years of dedicated service as a commissioner and I wish him all the best in retirement,” said Deal. “Rep. Shaw has significant experience both as a businessman and in public service, and I am confident that he will be an effective representative for the people of Georgia as a member of the Public Service Commission.”
Shaw has represented the 176th District in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2011. He is the owner of Shaw Insurance Services Inc. and a partner of Georgia Olive Farms Inc. In the Georgia House of Representatives, Shaw most recently served as chairman of the House Appropriations Transportation Committee and was a member of the House Economic Development & Tourism Committee, the House Game, Fish, and Parks Committee, the House Industry and Labor Committee, the House Insurance Committee, the House Small Business Committee and the House Transportation Committee. He also served as chairman of the Georgia Legislative Rural Caucus for four years. Shaw is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Lanier and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. He is a former president of the Lakeland/Lanier County Chamber of Commerce and the Lanier County Lions Club. Shaw is also a former director of the Greater Valdosta United Way and a member of the Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia, the South Regional Joint Development Authority and the American Olive Oil Producers Association. He serves as the finance chairman for Unity Methodist Church in Lakeland and was named to Georgia Trend’s “40 under 40” list in 2011. Shaw earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Katy, have two children and reside on a farm near Lakeland.