WASHINGTON—Former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani has decided to run for the U.S. Senate from New Mexico—one of several elective posts she was considering when she left the Federal Communications Commission on Sept. 7.
Tristani will be running against GOP Sen. Pete V. Domenici.
Domenici will be a tough target. He is the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is in his fifth term and was last elected in 1996 with 64 percent of the vote. On the wireless front, Domenici was a strong advocate of the FCC’s efforts in reclaiming the spectrum of bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc.
Tristani, who began her tenure on Nov. 3, 1997, had previously told RCR Wireless News that she would leave by the end of the year to seek elected office in New Mexico. Her term did not expire until June 30, 2003.
Prior to serving on the FCC, Tristani was a member of the New Mexico State Corporation Commission, serving as chairman in 1996.
Tristani is the granddaughter of Dennis Chavez, a former senator from New Mexico who served from 1931 until his death in 1962.
The White House has yet to name a successor for Tristani to the FCC, although Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of North Dakota has recommended his telecommunications aide, Jonathan Adelstein, for the post.
