State Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., took the oath of office, joining the Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday night, while pledging to represent the voice of the people.
Sen. Haley, who will represent BPU at-large, position 2, said he hoped to continue the proud legacy of his family in service to Wyandotte County and “to represent people over profits.” He also continues as a state senator in Wyandotte County. Three BPU members who won election in November took the oath of office at the BPU meeting Wednesday, Jan. 5.
During two campaigns for the BPU board, Haley committed to greater accountability and transparency. In his speech Wednesday, he discussed holding the Unified Government accountable for the charges it places on the BPU bills. He also said he supports allowing BPU ratepayers to compare practices and policies with investor-owned utilities in Kansas, having the BPU better reflect policies, and being fair and consistent to the ratepayers.
Haley also said he expected to be quiet during his first few months at the BPU board while he is learning about the utility.
Haley is serving his sixth term in the Kansas Senate, and is currently the longest-serving member of the Senate. He also served in the Kansas House from 1994 through 2000. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. He is a real estate developer and a public affairs counselor.
Re-elected to the BPU board was Mary Gonzales, vice president of the board, and at-large, position 1. She thanked family, friends, BPU employees and voters for their support.
Campaigning this year was different, with virtual forums, and many candidates were not able to shake hands and visit with voters, but had to rely on doorhangers and signs, she said.
Gonzales said the public utility was defined by local control, with decisions taking place closest to the people the utility serves. Decisions such as approving expenditures and hiring a manager are made by the body the community has selected, she said.
She said she knows the importance of every decision and does not take any of them lightly.
She added it is always her concern to serve Main Street and not Wall Street, and during the next four years, she pledged to serve with integrity and honesty.
Gonzales is a retired teacher. She retired after a 33-year career, and for many years, taught language arts at Piper Middle School.
Gonzales, who was first elected to the BPU in 2001, has served on many community boards, including the Rosedale Development Association, and is a former board member of El Centro and City Vision Ministries.
She has a Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of Montevallo, Montevallo, Alabama, and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Emporia State University.
Also re-elected to office was Tom Groneman, 2nd District.
Groneman said the past two years of the pandemic have been a challenge for individuals and the utility, and he didn’t think it would end any time soon.
He pledged to work together as a board to make sure they do everything they can to make the utility competitive and the rates as low as they possibly can be. He was first elected to the BPU in 2013.
Groneman, a native of Wyandotte County, holds a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas. After military service with the U.S. Navy, he worked in the probation office for the Wyandotte County District Court.
He was appointed Wyandotte County register of deeds in 1975, then was elected to seven terms as register of deeds.
He served as director of Alcoholic Beverage Control for the state of Kansas under Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Gov. Mark Parkinson, until 2011.