With the qualifying period for Georgia elected offices just 10 days off, state Rep. Ron Forster, R-Ringgold, said he may seek a Public Service Commission post instead of re-election to his District 3 seat.

The four-term lawmaker said it may be the last day of candidate qualifying on May 2 before he decides whether to run for the District 4 PSC seat.

“In the political arena of campaigning, you’ve got to weigh the facts and make a decision,” Rep. Forster said. “I’ve got to see who all’s going to qualify to run.”

Angela Speir, a Republican from Gwinnett County, holds the District 4 post now on the PSC.

Members of the five-person commission are elected statewide, but they must reside in the district which they represent. The PSC regulates Georgia utilities and some other industries.

While Rep. Forster waits and eyes the commission race, other Republicans are watching him and eyeing the seat he would leave vacant. Among them is Brad Scott, chairman of the Catoosa County Republican Party.

“I’ll consider it if he doesn’t,” Mr. Scott said, emphasizing, as of now, he’s “not running for anything.”

Rep. Forster said he talked to Mr. Scott “to see if he’d be available” and is “sort of on standby” if the incumbent decides to leave his District 3 seat. The district include parts of Catoosa and Whitfield counties.

Rep. Forster cited his experience as a politician and as an engineering consultant for the nuclear and other utility industries as qualifications for the PSC, calling it a “perfect fit.”

“It’s in the public’s best interest to have a highly qualified commissioner,” he said. “I believe I could do it and do it well.”

Others encouraged him to consider running for the PSC, he said.

Since his election as state representative in 2000, Rep. Forster has served as vice chairman of the House Public Utilities and Telecommunications Committee and chairman of the Interstate Cooperation Committee.

He made headlines this session, though, when he tried to initiate proceedings to impeach Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle after the Senate president did not bring to a vote 12 overrides of gubernatorial vetoes passed by the House on the first day of session.

Rep. Forster’s impeachment resolution never made it out of House committee.

QUALIFYING

Candidate qualifying begins at 9 a.m. April 28 and ends at noon on May 2.