(The Center Square) — The Louisiana Public Service Commission voted Wednesday to remove Commissioner Davante Lewis as vice chairman after he called Gov. Jeff Landry an “asshole” in a social media post last week.
The 3-2 vote stripped Lewis of his leadership role and appointed Commissioner Eric Skrmetta as his replacement.
The commission also approved a request from Entergy Louisiana to bill customers for $182 million in Hurricane Francine storm recovery fees.
The utility estimates it will add between 80 cents and $1.10 per month bills for customers who use 1,000 to 1,500 kilowatt hours of electricity to help pay for repair costs from the 2024 Category 2 storm that made landfall in Terrebone Parish.
The controversy erupted after Landry praised newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a social media post, calling him a “major upgrade” over former Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine.
In response, Lewis criticized Landry’s post, accusing conservatives of promoting “cruelty and chaos” and directly insulting the governor.
Following his removal, Lewis condemned the decision as a “biased, dangerous, & retaliatory clap back on constitutional free speech,” thanking supporters who attended the meeting.
He later doubled down on his criticism, calling the Republican Party “hypocrites” and sharing a text exchange that appeared to show another commissioner using the same insult against him.
Despite his removal as vice chairman, Lewis remains a voting member of the commission. Skrmetta, a Republican, will now serve as vice chairman. The commission did not publicly comment on whether further action against Lewis is being considered.
Several individuals testified before the LPSC in defense of Lewis, arguing that Lewis’ posts were “constitutionally protected.”
“We are here today because Chairman Mike Francis alleges that he was embarrassed that Devonte Lewis…exercised his first amendment right, a constitutional right to free speech, to criticize Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry,” Alfreda Tillman Bester, general counsel in Louisiana for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I’m embarrassed that [Landry] posted a picture on social media of former Health and Human Services Director, Secretary Rachel Levine, a physician, a four star officer in the nation’s uniform services, beside a picture of vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an apparent juvenile insult.”