Kevin Hamm

Kevin Hamm resides in his hometown of Helena, Montana, the place that raised and educated him from kindergarten until college. Today, he is the CEO of Auxilyum and the CEO of Treasure State Internet & Telegraph, making his family's telecommunications legacy a five generation story that has gifted him with a thorough understanding of utilities, regulations, and the pitfalls of both.

An active member of his community, he has served on the boards of Queen City Ballet and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, as well as founded the Happiness & Joy Foundation (a 501(c)3 that puts on Big Sky Pride, the statewide Pride celebration for Montana). A dedicated patron of the arts, he has been in several productions at Grandstreet Theatre, Cow Tipping Comedy, and many stand-up comedy shows.

These experiences have given him a range of perspectives on a host of issues that impact Montanan's lives, and he has maintained a strong interest in politics and policy throughout. Kev has been fighting for equity and equality for everyone for years, and looks forward to the opportunity to continue that work while serving on the Public Service Commission.

• The PSC should be working, and working for the people of Montana. I will be making that my first priority when joining the commission.
• Regulations require smart, caring people to be engaged and to craft them, and they require constant maintenance so they don't do harm. This is key, and it's why I'm running.
• The PSC cannot continue to be riddled with unjust thinking and foolish wastes of time and money. Montana needs people who are willing to put in the effort to get things done, and get them done right.

When it comes to the policies that the PSC is directly responsible for, every Montanan is impacted, however most Montanans don't know what the PSC does. Many haven't even heard of it. From protecting citizens from price gouging by monopolies in garbage, trains, electricity, water, sewer, gas, taxi and other areas of services that have functional, legal monopolies, the PSC is the body that is tasked with making sure that fairness reigns. That doesn't mean we strip-mine the utilities and it doesn't mean they treat the citizens of Montana like a bank they never have to repay. I've been working in equality and equity for decades, fighting to make sure that education is for everyone, that all services are open to all, and that when it comes to how the public is treated, it's fair for everyone. Yes, we all know that life isn't fair, but that doesn't mean we can't strive for fairness, and require that overall, things be fairer than they are. From equal pay to equal rights to equal marriage, it's all about making sure that everyone gets a chance, and sometimes that means being uncomfortable and fighting the good fight without much support. That's what I do, tho, and I'm focused on continuing that fight at the PSC.

Montana from being taken advantage of by the monopolies that exists in certain service sectors due to factors beyond the control of the market. Because the free-market does not exist inside a monopoly, the PSC uses its powers to keep the costs in-line for the public, while still allowing the business to thrive. Remember, though, that while the utility businesses are allowed to make a profit, they are not guaranteed a profit. Our PSC has been passing on unconscionable fees and pricing which has negatively impacted the people of Montana. This has been especially egregious with Northwestern Energy, but it's also happening with other utility services. Given the current issues with the Montana Rail Link sale to BNSF, for example, the PSC's continued lack of interest in assuring that a vital service is run well for the people of Montana, means that we are facing a massive economic failure coming at us fast, while our current PSC looks the other way instead of doing its job. That has to change. The powers the PSC has to instruct utilities to work need to be exercised wisely, and soon, or we're in for a world of hurt that is fully avoidable.

When it comes to public policy and service, my personal heroes are people like Linda Gryczan, who was part of the 1996 fight to overturn the laws criminalizing LGBTQIA+ people for being their authentic selves. It takes an amazing amount of courage to be the face of a fight, and doing the right thing sometimes means you stand alone on the hill to begin the fight. Linda did that, and her unwavering support of our community and of people at large has been a cornerstone of my own outlook on fighting to make the world a bit more fair to everyone.
In the grand scheme of things, I find inspiration in many people, in both their thoughts on what needs to change, and their actions on how to change it. From Harvey Milk to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to Malcolm X to Larry Kramer to Betty Friedan to Ruth Bader Ginsburg to many others, there are often people who have taken the time to find their cause and express the best of what humanity can be—and I want to be like them. I work hard to make sure that the choices and actions I make are in service to improving life for those in need without ruining life for others. It's not an impossible task, it just takes vision and care, both of which I focus on having.

I'm willing to get into the details and hash out the answer that is most equitable to all even if that leaves no one happy. The goal of the PSC is not happiness for anyone, it's fairness, and that requires someone who has seen and understands what inequality can do to people's lives. I've got the ability to communicate clearly and quickly my thinking on any subject, and when presented with new facts can and do change my mind as needed. Ultimately it's not about what I want as an individual, it's the ability to understand all the facets of who is impacted by the actions of the PSC that will make me one of the best commissioners to ever serve.

The PSC exists to keep the utilities from running roughshod over the public that has no choice but to use their services. Understanding that the companies providing utility services are allowed to make a profit but are not guaranteed a profit is key to that balance; for too long we've had commissioners whose only focus has been on extending their own power and their own political longevity. PSC Commissioner is not a role for someone who wants to play political games, nor is it a role for someone who thinks that business interests are more important than the people who rely on them. The PSC has a tough job to do, especially in times where industry and climate are at odds with each other - though they don't have to be. You have to be fair minded, clear thinking, smart, thoughtful, and have the backbone to stand up for the right thing even if the opposition seems insurmountable. That's the job.

That the PSC while I am on it righted some of the wrongs from the past, and fixed things for future Montanans. Fairness is hard, but it's worth fighting for every day.

1989 the Berlin Wall. I was 16. The world changed overnight. Freedom won, and on some level I still know this. I went to the remains of the Berlin Wall the following summer and got just a hint of what was to come. Germany had to fight to reintegrate the east and the west, and still to this day there are issues. Sometimes you just have to buckle up and go for it, even if you think it's going to be a mess. It's never easy, but it's always worth doing. When the wall fell, it was a party. I remember seeing the news, all the kids of Berlin just dancing in the streets, yelling, and celebrating. I remember the somber statements from other governments in Europe as they praised the change, or cautioned against what it meant. I remember wondering if Russia would retaliate.

We have spent nearly 33 years since then, and while many things are solved, others are backsliding. We see totalitarian regimes rise in Belarus and Bulgaria and Hungary and Turkey, and yet we see even more freedom happening with a free Republic of Ireland, a growing and welcoming France, and a unified Germany that is leading the EU in ways we couldn't've predicted. And we see Russian retaliating and invading Ukraine. We have done a lot, but we have so much more to do. And it's going to take thoughtful, smart, engaged people to do it.

The first was at McDonalds, but shortly after that, I worked for a small architecture firm in downtown Helena teaching the architects how to use AutoCAD, which was so new that my high school, Capital High, had the second largest CAD lab outside of Boeing in the Northwest. I worked there for nearly two years, teaching them how to draw inside a machine while they attempted to get me to letter with something other than a scribble that would confound a doctor. While I don't use AutoCAD anymore, and that office is long since closed, learning about how tech changes in a specific field showed me how stalled thinking can impact advancements. At the time, many architects considered CAD to be a fad that would go away in a few years. They were digging in their heels and fighting against progress, and when some felt more threatened they tried to get rules passed that wouldn't allow CAD for exams and final products. Thankfully they were unsuccessful, and there are very few who today don't use CAD. The world of modern architecture has advanced incredibly because of CAD and the easy integration with engineering, creating stunning new technologies allowing for buildings only dreamt of in the past. That's all because of progress unimpeded by ridiculous regulations.

It's the entire Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and it's because you have the classic hero trope subverted by having multiple heroes working together to fight the end of the world. My favorite character is not the lead, but instead one of the friends who follows her own path, leaves what she thought she wanted behind to become the one thing she never even dreamed of because the opportunity was there, and even though she is part of the winning side, ultimately makes the sacrifice that even the hero isn't required to make.

Lizzo's About Damn Time

Most people think the PSC is just quasi-judicial, but it's a full regulatory body and can make rules on how things should be. This is key, as the PSC could be putting in place rules that speed up the change to greener technology for energy generation; infrastructure maintenance and repair and replacement schedules; service times and access times for cargo trains, which could cut down on their interference with traffic at crossings in cities during rush hours; recycling requirements and initiatives; and a whole host of other active choices to bring services into the 21st century in a way that improves life for all Montanans without driving the utilities out of business. It does require that the people elect commissioners to the PSC who are not be cronies beholden to the companies that are regulated, while that is a tough ask, it's not impossible.

Many people don't know what the PSC is or what it can do for them, and that needs to change. Communication is key to getting that out to people. Taking the nitty-gritty details of hard-to-parse legal documents discussing the intricacies of public policy on utility services and their impacts on Montanans at large takes someone who can understand all of those details and explain them in interesting and engaging ways. Yes, there are lots of Montanans who have detailed knowledge about the cornerstone issues facing one utility, but far more common are those who maybe haven't heard of the PSC, or don't understand how the PSC impacts their every day lives, or simply don't have the energy or time to add another 9,000 things to review to their days to really understand every issue. And why should they? They have other jobs to do; it's the job of the commissioners to be able to articulate details and facts and structure their thinking in such a way that the impenetrable and inscrutable becomes knowable and understandable. I'm also happens to be one of my best skills—translating from wonk to human.

I have far too many favorite jokes to tell just one, but I have a least favorite joke: the current members of the Public Service Commission.