Alexander was an Ohio Edison executive before it merged with two utility companies into FirstEnergy. Alexander also heads Ohio’s electric utility trade group. In these roles, he initially fought to protect his company’s electricity monopoly and then lobbied heavily to influence the terms under which the legislature deregulated Ohio’s electric markets in ’99. Ohio Edison spent $9.3 million on dozens of lobbyists and consultants in ’97 alone. It paid $453,700 to Gov. George Voinovich’s ex-Chief of Staff Paul Mifsud, who pleaded guilty in ’97 to concealing a $100,000 home remodeling discount that he received from a state contractor. It paid $76,000 to ex-Mahoning Valley Sanitary District Director Ed Flask, whom a state audit revealed had taken $1.9 million in consulting fees from vendors whom Flask hired at the sanitary district. Ohio Edison paid $124,000 to Sen. Roy Ray, who then sponsored a bill to bail out Ohio Edison and other utilities of the costs of their uncompetitive nuclear power plants. Alexander’s lobby phalanx also defends his company’s right to burn filthy coal that pollutes the air with sulfur dioxide, causing acid rain and respiratory ailments. In the early ‘90s, Ohio Edison operated the ninth-worst source of sulfur dioxide in the EPA’s Midwest-based Region 5.