Davante Lewis removed as vice chair of PSC after insulting Louisiana governor

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana Public Service Commission, the normally quiet panel regulating state utility companies, was packed Wednesday morning over political drama. Commissioner Davante Lewis was removed as Vice Chairman over his recent public criticism of Gov. Jeff Landry.

Last week, Landry posted on X about the recent confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy as the Health and Human Service Secretary. He posted a picture of Kennedy and former Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, who is a transgender woman. Landry’s post read: “Major upgrade in the @HHSgov Secretary department. Lots of work to be done, and excited for @RobertKennedyJr to get started. Let’s Make America Healthy Again!”

Lewis quoted the post and replied saying: “This tweet shows that conservatism right now is only about cruelty and chaos. They will find a way to be cruel to someone just [because] they can. What a completely [sic] a****** you are [Jeff Landry].”

Shortly after the post started gathering criticism for being unprofessional, PSC Chairman Mike Francis added to the Feb. 19 agenda a motion to remove Lewis as the Vice Chairman, a position he was voted to hold by the other commissioners and replace him with Commissioner Eric Skrmetta.

“This is a decision that I felt like I had to make as chairman of the Public Service Commission,” Francis said. “So this is solely my decision and suggestion that we elect Commissioner Eric Skrmetta to this position.”

Some advocacy groups and members of the public claimed that Landry was behind the agenda item and that it was a violation of Lewis’ First Amendment rights.

“This retaliatory action against a Black elected official is deeply troubling. Elected leaders should be able to express their views without fear of political retribution. Suppressing dissent in this way is not only undemocratic but also sets a chilling precedent for free speech in Louisiana. The ACLU Louisiana calls on the Public Service Commission to reject this undemocratic vote,” said Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana.

Chairman Francis said he has not spoken to the governor since the election, and that the motion was something he decided to do on his own accord.

“If Francis felt that way, he would have not nominated Skrmetta to be the vice chair, someone who has disrespected every one of us there and showed a lack of professionalism,” Lewis said. “Mike Francis has never sent a message to me to talk about this move, which tells me this was political retribution and retaliation.”

Several supporters of Lewis came to the hearing to speak against the motion. They said Lewis has the right to air his opinion on his social media accounts, and that the motion should be thrown out.

The commission ultimately voted to remove Lewis from his position, though he will remain as a Commissioner. It being an elected position means the voters would have to have a recall to remove him. Lewis is up for re-election in 2028. Lewis said he is unfazed by this move and will continue to do the work he was elected to do.

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