Despite outcry, Steen returned to CPS board

The City Council unanimously reappointed attorney John Steen to the CPS Energy board of trustees Thursday, despite a handful of residents urging the council to reconsider.

This will be Steen’s second term; he will serve until Jan. 31, 2026.

Organizers launched a petition four months ago calling for a citizen vote on abolishing the board of trustees and replacing it with City Council members.

The petition also called for replacing the city-owned utility’s current CEO, Paula Gold-williams, restructuring its rates and closing the Spruce coal-fired plant by 2030.

“As a member of the board, (Steen) has not worked to get the utility to create a pathway to close the polluting Spruce Coal Plant,” Dee Dee Belmares, the lead organizer behind the petition, said at Thursday’s meeting. “Pollution from the coal plant is contributing to the climate crisis and affecting the health of our most vulnerable community members.”

About 14,000 people signed the petition — 6,000 signatures short of what was needed to put the initiative on the May ballot.

In November, CPS Energy lawyers argued the petition would’ve been invalid anyway, stoking the ire of those who put forth the petition.

“Thousands of people signed this petition,” Belmares said. “John Steen, as part of the board of trustees, essentially said the voices of the people who signed the petition, the ratepayers, simply don’t matter.”

All 10 council members and the mayor approved the reappointment of Steen, a former Texas secretary of state, but not without addressing some of the petitioners’ concerns during the virtual council meeting.

“I support the continuation of John Steen serving on the board,” District 9 Councilman John Courage said. “But I do it with a little bit of trepidation because I do feel that CPS Energy hasn’t been as forthcoming as it should.”

Courage added, “I hope that the members are listening to the comments made by the public and my comments about (being) better forthcoming on how we can reduce our energy reliance on coal and several other issues that were brought forward through the petitioners.”

Steen said the board has been making improvements.

“I do hear the voices of our community that are asking for more transparency and more accountability and more public participation. … We’ve made significant strides in these areas in the years I’ve been on the board and we’re going to continue to do that,” Steen said.

During the pandemic, CPS Engergy board meetings are being conducted via phone, allowing members of the public to speak for about two minutes each, Steen said.