Eric Frederick Skrmetta (born October 1, 1958) is an attorney from Metairie

Metairie, Louisiana

Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, who is a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission

Louisiana Public Service Commission

Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...

 from District 1, which includes suburban New Orleans, the eastern Florida Parishes

Florida Parishes

The Florida Parishes , also known as the North Shore region, are eight parishes in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana, which were part of West Florida in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it had been...

, and the River Parishes

River Parishes

The River Parishes are those parishes in Louisiana between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that span both banks of the Mississippi River, and are officially part of the Acadiana region. Traditionally they are considered to be St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish and St. John the Baptist Parish. St....

. The Public Service Commission is an influential regulatory agency which was the political springboard for former Governors Huey Long

Huey Long

Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...

, Jimmie Davis

Jimmie Davis

James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...

, and John McKeithen

John McKeithen

John Julian McKeithen was the 49th Governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat from the town of Columbia, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to serve two consecutive terms...

.

Education and background

A native of New Orleans, Skrmetta graduated from Brother Martin High School

Brother Martin High School

Brother Martin High School is an all-male, Catholic, university preparatory school located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States operated by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. It was established in 1869 by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, establishing the school as St. Aloysius College...

 there. He then attended Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

 in Baton Rouge, where in 1981 he received his Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree in industrial technology

Industrial technology

Industrial technology is the field concerned with the application of basic engineering principles and technical skills in support of industrial engineers and managers...

. In 1985, he was a cum laude graduate (Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

) of Southern University

Southern University

Southern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...

 School of Law, passed the Louisiana bar exam, and entered the practice of law. In 1986, Skrmetta received his LL.M. in admiralty law

Admiralty law

Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...

 from Tulane University Law School

Tulane University Law School

Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....

. Since 1989, he has focused on legal mediation

Dispute resolution

Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties.-Methods:Methods of dispute resolution include:* lawsuits * arbitration* collaborative law* mediation* conciliation* many types of negotiation* facilitation...

. He holds the District 81 seat on the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee

Republican Party of Louisiana

The Republican Party of Louisiana is the U.S. state of Louisiana's organization of the national Republican Party. The state chairman is Roger F. Villere, Jr., a businessman from Metairie in Jefferson Parish....

. In 2003, he ran unsuccessfully for the District 81 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives

Louisiana House of Representatives

The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...

.The position instead went to the strongly pro-life Republican John LaBruzzo

John LaBruzzo

John Frank LaBruzzo is a businessman from Metairie, Louisiana, who is a departing Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 81 in Jefferson Parish. He occupied the legislative district formerly held by Charles Cusimano, David Duke, and David Vitter...

, also of Metairie.

Election 2008

Skrmetta won the race for Public Service Commissioner in a runoff on November 4, 2008, after two other candidates (Bruce Kincade and Kenneth L. Odinet Sr.) were eliminated in the nonpartisan blanket primary. His runoff opponent was former Public Service Commissioner John F. Schwegmann, a former Democrat who had no party affiliation. Skrmetta had the support of then-incumbent commissioner Jay Blossman

Jay Blossman

Jack Arthur Blossman, Jr., known as Jay Blossman , is a Mandeville, Louisiana, attorney who is a former Republican member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Blossman was named PSC chairman by his colleagues early in 2007....

, who was barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Skrmetta assumed his commissionership office on January 1, 2009, for a term ending on December 31, 2014. Skrmetta's campaign demonstrated the political utility of open web sites such as Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

.

Public Service Commissioner

On PSC Skrmetta has sought clarification of Louisiana’s ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

 regulations, which have tightened since the state’s populistic past. In particular he has sought to displace meal reimbursements to commissioners from regulated utility companies with reimbursements by PSC itself.

Personal life

Eric Skrmetta and his wife, the former Deborah Gibson, have two children. The Skrmettas are involved in various religious and community organizations. They reside in Metairie, where they attend Saint Catherine of Siena

Catherine of Siena

Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...

 Catholic Church.