State Commission Candidates Seek More-Transparent Agencies

The ACC is “the branch of Arizona government that has drawn the most ire from Arizonans as it relates to transparency and accountability by its elected officials,” said Rodney Glassman, a Republican who finished higher than incumbent Chairman Tom Forese (R) in the primary. Average Arizonans have heard reports about indictments, drug usage, conflicts of interest and campaign finance violations, he said.

The commission should adopt Arizona’s Code of Judicial Conduct, Glassman said. That code would be stronger than what the commission adopted earlier this year, which was “nothing more than a piece of paper titled ‘Code of Ethics,’” he said. Unlike the ACC code, the judicial code doesn’t let judges hear cases involving parties that are financial contributors or employ the judge’s family members, and prohibits free food, trips and entertainment, he said. Glassman said he would have the votes to adopt the judicial code because Commissioner Justin Olson (R) -- seeking re-election -- and returning Commissioner Bob Burns (R) support the plan. Burns said so in an endorsement of Olson and Glassman (see 1809100036), while the latter two backed adoption of the judicial code.

The judicial code lacks teeth and copying it over to the commission won’t fix campaign finance, revolving-door and other problems, said Sandra Kennedy, a Democrat asking voters to return her to the commission where she served 2009-13. The “so-called” ethics code adopted this year “is really delusional,” Kennedy said. It won’t stop dark money or the bribery or conflicts of interest for which former commissioners went down, she said. “They can continue to do the same thing.” Kennedy wants to be part of creating a new code, in which she wants to include a one- to two-year moratorium on ACC employees taking jobs at regulated entities.

Kennedy “saw the corruption just building up” in 2011 while she was a commissioner but said she believes change is possible in 2019. She hopes to find a Republican ally in Burns, with whom she previously served in the state legislature. Burns “has been the lone soldier there fighting the good fight,” said Kennedy, adding she plans to join his request, blocked by other commissioners, to subpoena utility Arizona Public Service (APS) for campaign funding information.

Olson voted for the ethics code but agrees it “needed to go much further." He offered, but most other ACC members voted against, an amendment prohibiting commissioners and candidates from accepting campaign contributions, food, travel and gifts from regulated entities. "It was unfortunate those fell short, but I will continue to advocate for those policies and look forward to having the votes necessary to get those important reforms,” he said.

Raising Awareness

Public awareness of the utility commission is a “huge issue” in Alabama, said Democratic candidate Kari Powell, saying one of the biggest challenges has been explaining to people the position for which she’s running. “There’s an intent to minimize how important” the Public Service Commission (PSC) is, and commissioners are “acting as puppets for the utility companies,” said Powell, running against incumbent Commissioner Chip Beeker (R). The commission should livestream its meetings, the Democrat said. She “would definitely tackle that horrible website,” added Powell, a graphic and web designer.

Powell decided to run after years fighting to end systemic racism in Alabama, she said. Her pastor encouraged her to run for the seat because no Democrat had signed up to and he said she could make an impact, she said. Powell is running as a team with the other Democratic candidate, Cara McClure, she said, because “we really can’t do much with one-third of the vote” on the three-member commission that’s currently all Republican. PSC issues shouldn’t be partisan, and the Democratic candidates are trying to connect with voters of both parties, she said. Powell said she doesn’t believe Alabama is truly a red state.

Most people don’t know the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission exists, said former state Sen. Steve Fischmann (D), who defeated incumbent Commissioner Sandy Jones (D) in the primary and faces ex-PRC Commissioner Ben Hall (R) for a seat at the currently 4-1 Democratic commission. “If the commission models transparency and if in our rulemakings we require more transparency in utility filings,” said Fischmann, “we can shift the culture so that people are more aware of [how] opaque the whole system looks.”

“So much information” considered proprietary by the commission should be public, Fischmann said. The PRC should make its documents more accessible; they're hard to access online and aren’t written in a way ordinary people can understand, he said. The agency recently went backward by delaying posting hearing transcripts by 15 days and charging for immediate copies, the Democrat said. Fischmann discussed the issues with two returning commissioners and they seem supportive, he said.

Half of Montana doesn’t know what its commission does, said Andy Shirtliff, a Democratic candidate challenging incumbent Chairman Brad Johnson. The PSC should be more transparent and accessible, he said. “I think they revel in the anonymity.” Commissioners should make their calendars public to show with whom they are meeting, he said. Its video streams should work on all devices and software, he said. Shirtliff said it’s an uphill battle as a Democratic first-time candidate against an incumbent on an all-Republican commission, but “we’re fighting right now the best we can.”

Agencies Respond

Fischmann “makes a valid point” that commissioners consider as proprietary too much information that should be public, said New Mexico PRC Chief of Staff Ernest Archuleta. “Staff believes that this occurs in those cases where the regulated utilities are overly liberal in the exercise of their statutory right to claim that certain information is confidential or proprietary and not subject to public disclosure.”

PRC staff recently challenged such a claim and removed confidentiality designation, noted Archuleta, citing docket 18-00158-UT. On charging for transcripts, Archuleta said the court reporting agency had complained about not being adequately compensated and wanted to double costs if the PRC continued to immediately post transcripts. Delaying posting is temporary until the PRC can rework contracts with court reporters, he said.

The Montana PSC cares about transparency, its spokesman said. It recently redesigned its website and enhanced its public calendar, he said.

Every meeting and public hearing is broadcast live and the livestream works on iOS, Android, Windows and MacOS, the representative said. The PSC is “super sensitive to and respectful of open meeting law requirements and the prohibition on ex parte communication,” he said. "You will simply never find three commissioners meeting without that meeting having been publicly noticed in advance." All case documents are public unless specifically approved for a protective order, he said.

The Alabama PSC didn’t comment.