Historic swearing-in marks Alicia Johnson’s election to Georgia PSC

At a ceremonial swearing-in Monday, Alicia Johnson called her election a “historic milestone.”

Johnson, a Chatham County resident, will become the first Black woman elected to a statewide partisan office in Georgia as she takes her place at the Public Service Commission.

“I think that anybody who does something for the first time has a — you know it could be an overwhelming sense of responsibility,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s a shame that a commission that has over a 100-year history, that I’m the first anything on it. But the reality is, that’s who we are.”

Johnson, along with newly elected Commissioner Peter Hubbard, will take her seat Jan. 1, shortly after a monumental decision made by the commission to expand Georgia Power’s capacity.

“I accept this responsibility fully aware that the decisions made in this room and in this role affects families’ monthly bills, their community health, their economic opportunity, and our shared future,” Johnson told reporters at the event.

Johnson will also be the first Democratic woman ever elected to the Georgia Public Service Commission. The commission has been made up of five Republicans for roughly 25 years, and the Republicans will still have the majority after Johnson and Hubbard take their seats at midnight.

“You stand with me at the intersection of history and responsibility,” Johnson said at the event. “This oath connects me to a long arc of progress in Georgia — one shaped by citizens who dared and expanded the promise of democracy through courage, sacrifice, and persistence.”