WASHINGTON: President Obama has nominated Democrat Mignon Clyburn to fill the post of commissioner at the FCC. Clyburn has served as a member of the Public Service Commission of South Carolina since 1998. The PSC regulates South Carolina’s investor-owned public utilities, including providers of telecommunications services. She is also the daughter of Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the majority whip in Congress.

Michael Copps, interim chairman at the FCC congratulated Clyburn on the nomination.
“She is an excellent choice, and the experience she brings from her service on South
Carolina’s Public Service Commission will be an invaluable asset as we address the many challenges and opportunities that are before us. I wish her a successful Senate confirmation and look forward to working with her over the coming months and years in serving consumers and the public interest.”

National Association of Broadcasters chief David Rehr had this to day: “NAB salutes President Obama for his nomination of Mignon Clyburn to the FCC. Ms. Clyburn’s experience as a Public Service Commission member in South Carolina and as a former newspaper publisher will serve her well as she addresses media-related issues at the FCC. NAB looks forward to working with her, and we urge swift Senate confirmation.”

The South Carolina General Assembly elected Clyburn as a commissioner representing the Sixth Congressional District in May of 1998, and she has been re-elected three times. She chaired the commission from 2002 to 2004. Clyburn is a past chair of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and she is presently the chair of the Washington Action Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

Clyburn also serves on NARUC’s Audit Committee and Utilities Market Access Partnership Board. Clyburn graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking, Finance & Economics in 1984. Before her election to the PSC she spent 14 years as the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a weekly newspaper in Charleston, S.C.