TATE SEEN AS CONSENSUS BUILDER, COMPLEMENT TO MARTIN

摘要

Could we soon see a less rancourous FCC? Colleagues of former Tenn. regulator Deborah Tate described the agency's newest commissioner as a mediator, problem solver and consensus builder who prefers to settle matters through voluntary agreements among conflicting parties. Tate, 49, a former dir. on the Tenn. Regulatory Authority (TRA), was sworn in Jan. 3 for an FCC term ending in 2007 and is expected to participate in her first FCC meeting Jan. 20. During her TRA service, she also was chmn. of the National Assn. of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Washington Action Committee and member of NARUC's Consumer Affairs and Gas Committees, but not the Telecom Committee, and was on the Federal-State Advanced Services Joint Conference. TRA Dir. Sara Kyle described Tate as “a mediator. She tries to get people to sit down and talk before their positions harden. She listens to all sides to gain insight and find common ground. She respects people's positions, even when she doesn't agree with them.” nnAs the FCC's 3rd Republican, Tate is well-suited to work with a evenly split Commission, following Chmn. Kevin Martin's lead, said observers. “I'd call her similar to Martin in her style,” said NARUC's Brian Adkins, who lobbies lawmakers on telecom matters: “If there's one thing Kevin Martin has been noted for, it's that without a majority he has been able to get a tremendous amount done. I'd suspect that she'd have smooth relations with the Democrats on the Commission.”