Regulatory candidates field decided
Kennedy, Sears, Olson, Glassman vie for 2 seats
Arizona Corporation Commission Chairman Tom Forese has four more months in office after losing a primary re-election bid, and his seat could go to a relatively unknown Democrat who beat a former commissioner in her primary.
Democrats Sandra Kennedy and Kiana Maria Sears and Republicans Justin Olson and Rodney Glassman won their primary races for the Corporation Commission, according to unofficial results and concessions from opponents.
Forese conceded to his opponents the day after the election, as he came in fourth and his loss was not in doubt.
“They both ran great campaigns and have earned their spots to represent the Republican Party in the General Election,” Forese said in a prepared statement about Olson and Glassman.
“I fully endorse both of them in the upcoming General Election and let them know that I will provide any assistance I can to ensure their election.”
Two seats on the five-member commission will be on the November ballot.
Corporation Commission members set rates and other policies for electric, water and gas utilities in Arizona. They also oversee other matters such as securities regulation, railroad crossings and power-plant and power-line locations.
They are elected to four-year terms and are paid $80,000 annually.
Kennedy received more votes than any other Democrat or Republican in the primary, though she only had a threeway race and the Republicans had five candidates. Comparisons also are difficult because voters can vote twice for Corporation Commission though many choose to single-shot the race for their preferred candidate.
Kennedy was one of two Democrats — the other Paul Newman — on the commission who lost their seats in the 2012 election. They were the last Democrats in Arizona to be elected to statewide office.
Before that, Kennedy served six years as a state representative starting in 1986, and another six as a state senator. She also owned a restaurant.
Kennedy ran as a team with Bill Mundell, who has conceded to Sears. Sears isa political newcomer who worked in the utilities division of the Corporation Commission for more than six years and has served on the governing board for Mesa Public Schools since 2017.
“I’m appreciative of the support of the voters,” Sears said. “I’m ready to work hard to represent the ratepayers of Arizona. We all deserve better — lower rates and renewable energy.”
While Sears and Kennedy debated during the primary campaign, Sears said she hopes to work with Kennedy in the general election.
“I have always been about working with all Arizonans, and that includes Sandra Kennedy,” she said.
Mundell said Tuesday that he had emailed a concession to Sears. He also served previously on the commission, as a Republican.
He switched parties and has campaigned against what he says is undue influence on the commission by the companies it regulates such as Arizona Public Service Co.
“It wasn’t a good year to be perceived as the establishment candidate,” Mundell said Aug. 29 before the race was called. “Anyone who has followed my career knows that I’ve never been that. It is also the year of the women and it is long overdue.”
Olson received the most votes on the Republican ticket, though his popularity did not carry Forese, whom he initially ran with as a team, including on signs. Later in the campaign, both candidates posted campaign signs with only their respective names.
“I was very pleased and very happy with the results,” Olson said Aug. 29.
Olson was appointed to the commission by Gov. Doug Ducey to fill a seat vacated by Doug Little, who took a job with the U.S. Department of Energy. Olson is a tax analyst who served in the Legislature from 2011 to 2017.
Olson said he plans to continue campaigning for lower utility rates and increased transparency and accountability from the commission.
While he did not campaign with
Glassman, he said he plans to work with him in the general election.
“I’m looking forward to running together with my fellow Republican in this race,” he said. “Certainly there are differences in our histories, but I think that he has a lot of good qualities that can be very beneficial for the commission.”
Glassman is an attorney at Beus Gilbert in Phoenix and a former Tucson City Council member. He ran as a Democrat unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. John McCain in 2010.
“We’ll contrast to two liberal Democrats more interested in telling people how to live their lives than focusing on protecting their pocketbooks,” Glassman said the day after the election.
The other Republican challengers were Jim O’Connor and Eric Sloan.
“We did accomplish getting two reformers in, that’s a win,” O’Connor said Tuesday.
APS has fueled the controversy at the commission by having its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp., contribute to the political campaigns of candidates running for the office.
Pinnacle West and APS previously opted not to get involved in Corporation Commission races because company officials viewed it as improper to contribute to the candidates who would eventually set rates for the electric company.
The company no longer maintains that policy, though its political committee, Arizonans for Sustainable Energy Policy, did not get involved in the primary race. It has about $3 million it could use for the general election.
“Arizonans for Sustainable Energy Policy will support candidates who understand the importance of policies that promote clean, affordable and reliable energy for Arizona families,” spokesman Matthew Benson said. “Our group hasn’t yet announced which candidates it will back in the General Election.”
Bank of America analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith, who tracks Pinnacle West stock, wrote an investor note Aug. 30 indicating Sears was preferred to Mundell on the Democratic ticket.
“(Pinnacle West) identified Sears as a more constructive candidate than Mundell, referring to him as an ‘anti-APS candidate,’ “Dumoulin-Smith wrote.
Meanwhile, Kennedy and Mundell got some help from wealthy California activist Tom Steyer via his organization, NextGen Climate Action and its Arizona committee, Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona.
The committee was set up to push a ballot measure, Proposition 127, to increase the amount of renewable energy used in the state. But in a surprise move, the committee sent mailers supporting Kennedy and Mundell ahead of election day.
The committee did not immediately respond when asked whether it would continue to support candidates in the general election.