...and it sure looks like AZ GOP chairperson Kelli Ward helped the two-term councilmember win the Republican primary election to succeed Justin Olsen for a seat on the Arizona Corporate Commission by a post he made on Twitter..The termed-out Mesa city Councilman Kevin Thompson led the three-way race for two GOP nominations for the Arizona Corporation Commission, leading the pack with 38%.
There is one in lear blemish in his bio that remains a mystery - why was Thompson terminated after working 16 years at Southwest Gas Utilities??
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Posted: Jun 22, 2022
Arizona Corporation Commission candidate Kevin Thompson wants to end subsidies and mandates
Arizona Corporation Commission candidate Kevin Thompson
By Ananya Tiwari | Arizona Republic
Since he was a child, Kevin Thompson has taken things apart to know how they work — even though his father, a sign painter near Dallas, Texas, encouraged Thompson’s artistic skills.
“He would paint big sale signs on the windows and stuff,” said Thompson, 54, adding that he was not even “remotely interested” in it, as the profession was dying out. After learning how be an auto mechanic, he joined the Air Force as a jet mechanic at 19.
A few years later, he attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, while on duty at the nearby Air Force base, majoring in mechanical engineering, and eventually joining Southwest Gas as an engineer, though he was terminated after 16 years there.
His interest in seeing how cities functioned behind the scenes later on prompted him to run for Mesa City Council, where he has served as a member since 2014.
Now, Thompson wants to put his experiences to use on the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Along with Nicholas Myers and Kim Owens, Thompson is running in the Republican primary on Aug. 2 for a seat on the commission. Thompson and Myers are partnering in the election where two seats are up for grabs, meaning only two of the GOP candidates will advance to the November ballot.
The Arizona Corporation Commission sets rates for utilities and maintains railroad and pipeline systems, among other roles, and is an elected body made up of five commissioners.
The three Republicans vying for spots on the Corporation Commission include the team of Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson. Myers is a small business owner and former software engineer, who served as a policy adviser for outgoing Commissioner Juston Olson, who is running for the U.S. Senate in the GOP primary. Thompson and Myers have stated their opposition to mandates and commitment to maintaining low rates.
Nick Myers
“Mandates are what is artificially driving up rates,” Myers said. “You know, if they have to go out and invest in the land and solar panels, or wind turbines or whatever, they’re going to be paying for that. And if the technology isn’t ready, if they’re going to be paying a premium for it, and that all gets rolled back into rates.”
Thompson also is a small business owner, who is serving his last term on Mesa’s City Council. He is a former Air Force combat veteran, who served as chairman of the National League of Cities’ Economic Development Committee and on the American Gas Association’s public policy committee.
Thompson also worked for Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc., in a position which he was fired from in 2014. He later sued the company, claiming he was discriminated against because of his age. The case was dismissed.
Kevin Thompson
Thompson and Myers say they strongly believe the powers of the Corporation Commission should be limited to that of an advisory body.
“You have five commissioners, so you only really need three for a majority,” Thompson said. “And my feeling is that three people shouldn’t be making energy policy for the entire state of Arizona. I think it’s time to put the policymaking into the Legislature so that the rural communities have a voice and so 90 individuals can openly debate.”
Candidates for the ACC differ greatly on what they say should be the role that the commission takes in curating Arizona’s energy policy, including if regulations and mandates are a government overreach or necessary to secure a healthy future for residents. Some of the candidates oppose such rules, saying they drive up utility costs for Arizonans.
Republicans currently hold a 3-2 advantage on the commission with two positions up for election this year. Candidates include three Republicans and two Democrats.
The primary election will be held on August 2. Given that the top two candidates from each party’s primary will advance to the general election in November, it is a virtual certainty that both Democrats will make it, while only two of the three Republicans will move forward to the general election. The top two candidates who then get the highest vote total in the general election will join the commission.
Sandra Kennedy
On the team of Democrats is incumbent Sandra Kennedy, who was first elected to the commission in 2008 and then later in 2018. She is the first African American candidate in Arizona to win a statewide office. Kennedy was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 1986, where she served for six years, and then to the Arizona State Senate in 1992, where she served for another six.
Kennedy is running on a platform she described as “beholden to the people, not utility monopolies or special interests.” She said she wants to fight corruption and increase the transparency of the commission.
Kennedy said she believes that creating Arizona’s energy policy lies strongly within the power of the Corporation Commission, calling it the “4th branch of government.” She also touts a record of opposing what she considered unjust rate increases, which she said she can do by proposing amendments to lower the rate of return so that companies can “profit, but not gouge, the ratepayers.”
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