PSC commissioner Bob Durden dies at 54

ATLANTA - Public Service Commissioner Bob Durden, a former university instructor and trial lawyer known for his detailed questioning of utility attorneys, has died after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He was 54. <br> <br> Durden, the PSC&#39;s current longest-serving commissioner, died Thursday at his Gainesville home. The cancer left him unable to attend several commission meetings in the past year, although he voted by telephone at the PSC&#39;s Monday session. <br> <br> Durden won his first, six-year PSC term in 1990 as a Democrat, later switching to the Republican Party before his 1996 re-election. He served as chairman in 1991-92, 1995 and again last year. <br> <br> Durden worked to expand the toll-free calling area in metro Atlanta and later in many smaller areas. He also became the commission&#39;s fiercest critic of Georgia&#39;s effort to deregulate the natural gas market. <br> <br> He regularly attacked the deregulation law as an unmitigated disaster for consumers, who flooded the PSC with complaints about high bills and poor customer service by gas marketers. <br> <br> ``I kept quiet for a while, just because you want to be fair, and I&#39;ll admit I don&#39;t know everything,&#39;&#39; Durden said of gas deregulation in a July 2000 interview. ``But this whole experience has confirmed my worst fears and then some.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Gov. Roy Barnes said Durden served Georgians well. Barnes will not consider appointing an interim commissioner until after Durden&#39;s funeral, spokeswoman Stephanie Kirijan said. <br> <br> ``Thousands of consumers benefitted from his commitment to expanding metro Atlanta&#39;s toll-free calling area and to lowering utility rates,&#39;&#39; Barnes said. ``He was an asset to our state and he will be missed.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Commissioner Bobby Baker said Durden placed consumers&#39; interests first when it came to utility rates and other issues directly affecting their finances. <br> <br> ``He tended to have a populist streak and tended to lean toward the consumer when voting on rate-case issues,&#39;&#39; Commissioner Bobby Baker said. ``The good thing about Bob was that if he said he was going to do something he was going to do it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Commissioner Lauren ``Bubba&#39;&#39; McDonald called Durden a keen student of utility policy. ``He was involved at the commission at a time when there were significant changes,&#39;&#39; McDonald said. <br> <br> Durden, a Statesboro native, served in the Marine Corps and taught economics and American government at Emory University before beginning his legal career. <br> <br> Durden was a member of the high-IQ society MENSA. He earned his bachelor&#39;s, masters and law degree from Emory University. Georgia Trend magazine also named him among the &#39;&#39;100 Most Influential Georgians.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Durden is survived by two daughters. Funeral arrangements were not complete, although the service is expected to be next week in Statesboro.

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