The coverage of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to facilitate a wind energy project off the Atlantic coast [“O’Malley to submit new wind proposal,” Metro, Jan. 23] brought to mind Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s quote that “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own set of facts.”
The article described ratepayer protections in the legislation that require any offshore wind farm proposal to win approval from the Public Service Commission before there can be any cost to ratepayers. It also quoted Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin (R-Queen Anne’s) who attacks the commission, which, he says, “the governor has stacked with lobbyists for offshore wind.”
In fact, there are no current or former “lobbyists for offshore wind” on the commission. Presumably, Pipkin is referring to Kevin Hughes and Kelly Speakes-Backman, commissioners whom O’Malley appointed in August. Hughes is a longtime analyst for the General Assembly and two previous governors. Speakes-Backman, a renewable energy industry expert, most recently served as the clean energy director of the Maryland Energy Administration. Both were respected public servants before their appointments, and while they conducted policy analysis on O’Malley’s offshore wind proposal during the previous session, neither was or has ever been a lobbyist for wind energy companies.
It’s not surprising that Pipkin would disregard these facts in his pursuit of a provocative quote for the media. But it’s disappointing that The Post would print such a claim.
Tom Hucker, Silver Spring
The writer, a Democrat, is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. He is the lead House sponsor of the governor’s offshore wind bill.
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