Three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission are up for grabs in the coming primary and general elections, and the results of these votes will help set the state’s water and power agenda at a critical juncture.
Brisk population growth in Arizona means more strain on existing infrastructure, and so do massive new commercial and industrial projects including semiconductor factories and data centers — metro Phoenix is becoming a national leader in both areas.
The five-member Corporation Commission regulates most water and power utilities, and board members often vote along party lines. There are four Republicans and one Democrat, with two Republican commissioners, Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers, not up for re-election this year. Each commissioner serves a four-year term, with elections for open seats held on a rotating schedule.
The commission also oversees other areas, including railroad issues, pipelines and securities/investment registrations and problems, but water and especially power are at the top of its agenda. To ensure Arizona has sufficient electricity in coming years, commissioners often must weigh the need for new power plants and expansions.
Key issues ahead focus on the role of emerging green sources of energy including solar, wind and hydropower, compared to those that emit pollution, especially airborne. While utilities around the state are gradually winding down power generation from coal, a lively debate focuses on natural gas. While gas-fired power plants do release emissions, they also can be turned on quickly, at any time of day and regardless of cloud cover, to meet peak demand periods.
Three Democrats are vying for the open seats — Ylenia Aguilar, Jonathon Hill and Joshua Polacheck. So are three Republicans — Rene Lopez, Lea Marquez Peterson and Rachel Walden. There are also two write-in candidates from the Green Party, Mike Cease and Nina Luxenberg. Voters in the primary can choose three candidates.
Peterson is the only incumbent currently seeking re-election this year.
For more, read our full election coverage of the Corporation Commission race, including candidates' answers to our questionnaire.
Democrat candidates vow clean-energy focus
In statements to The Arizona Republic and to the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, Democrat Polacheck argued in favor of reducing the nation’s reliance on oil, noting the continuing political upheaval in the Middle East and elsewhere.
“As a former national security official, I saw firsthand how fragile the fossil-fuel supply chain is and how our dependency on it is a threat to America,” he said.
Polacheck said his focus would be on affordable, clean energy. He served nearly two years in the U.S. Foreign Service, posted in various places overseas, before earning a master's degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Fellow Democrat Aguilar, if elected, vowed not to “take money from special interests and the corporate entities they are elected to regulate.”
She cited transparency, accountability, affordable utility rates and renewable energy as among her priorities. Born in Mexico and raised in Illinois and Arizona, Aguilar currently serves as business development manager for Gybe, a water-analytics company.
Hill, who has worked as both an aerospace engineer and in geological sciences, has advanced his candidacy as someone with a strong technical background who understands the “engineering and science behind power generation, water distribution and ground water management.”
He also said the commission needs to place more emphasis on protecting the state's water and power infrastructure from cybersecurity attacks. Hill works as an engineer at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight Facility.
The Democrats, all about the same age, are running as a team, hoping that voters will elect all three and switch the commission's majority to blue. Aguilar and Hill are 42 years old, while Polacheck is 44.
Republicans favor letting market conditions dictate policies
The three Republican candidates in the Corporation Commission election favor a more diverse energy portfolio.
“All forms of energy production should be on the table,” in the interests of both stability and ratepayer-borne costs, said Lopez, 52, who served eight years on the Chandler City Council, twice as vice mayor.
He cited hydropower, nuclear, coal and natural gas sources, along with industrial-scale batteries and small modular reactors. Batteries are designed to store power when it's abundant early in the day to meet peak demand at other hours.
As a sitting commissioner, Peterson said she has focused on holding utilities accountable while fighting for affordable, reliable energy. She described herself as a champion for advanced nuclear technologies and has worked to improve reliability and affordability regarding small water utilities. She also emphasized the need for transparency on the commission.
Peterson, 54, is a longtime small-business owner who previously served as president and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber.
Walden decried “forced energy investments and climate goals” that put ratepayers at risk and thwarted free-market principles.
“We need to eliminate subsidies and mandates that increase the cost of your utilities,” she said in her candidate statement. Walden, who has worked in the securities industry, also vowed to “fight to ensure the integrity of the financial marketplace and protect consumers from fraud.”
Walden, 46, serves as a member of the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board.
The Republicans also are running as an informal group.
Reach the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.
