COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has picked a former judge to become the next chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
DeWine on Friday selected Jenifer French to succeed Sam Randazzo. Randazzo resigned in November days after FBI agents searched his Columbus townhome and Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. revealed company top executives had paid him $4.3 to end a consulting contract.
The company in regulatory filings indicated the payment to Randazzo was for future favors in his role as a regulator.
French, a Republican, lost her bid for reelection for a Franklin County judgeship in November. She worked previously as a civil litigator and a suburban Columbus council member.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
