Democrat John Vincent of Gallatin Gateway paid his filing fee Thursday to become an official candidate for public service commissioner in District 3, which represents southwestern Montana.

Vincent, 65, is running for the seat currently held by Commissioner Bob Raney, D-Livingston, who is not running for re-election. District 3 includes 14 counties and the cities of Butte, Bozeman, Anaconda, Livingston, Dillon and Roundup.

In a news release, Vincent said his "number-one priority" is reliable, affordable energy for Montana ratepayers, and that he'd push hard to bring more green energy to the state, such as wind, solar and geothermal power.

He also commended Gov. Brian Schweitzer for supporting the Western Climate Initiative, a collaboration among several Western states and Canadian provinces to reduce greenhouse gases in the region.

"The time for talk has passed; the time for action is now," Vincent said.

State Rep. Alan Olson, a Republican from Roundup, also has filed to run in District 3 and former state Rep. Pat Wagman, a Republican from Livingston, has said he intends to run as well.

The five-member Public Service Commission regulates utilities in Montana, such as telephone, electric and natural gas companies. Three of its seats are up for election this year.

Vincent, a former high school government teacher, was speaker of the Montana House in the 1985 and 1989 legislative sessions and served as a Democratic state representative from Bozeman from 1975-1990. He was a city commissioner in Bozeman from 1992-1995, mayor of Bozeman from 1994-1995, and a Gallatin County commissioner from 2001-2006.