Arizona Utility Regulator Susan Bitter Smith Faces Another Complaint
Yet another complaint has been leveled at one of the state’s top utility regulators — Arizona Corporation Commissioner Susan Bitter Smith.
This latest one, filed by the nonprofit Public Integrity Alliance, tracks closely with the one filed earlier this month by local attorney Tom Ryan: namely, that Commissioner Bitter Smith’s lobbying for Cox Communications and a cable industry trade group, Southwest Cable Communications Association, represents a conflict of interest. The difference is that this complaint goes to the secretary of state's office and the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, not just the attorney general.
According to an Arizona Supreme Court decision, commissioners “must be free of conflicts both at the point of election and during tenure in office.”
As a result, Bitter Smith’s affiliation with the telecom industry — regulated by the commission — makes her election possibly illegal, said Tyler Montague, who’s head of Public Integrity Alliance, which filed the complaint.
“We want as many bodies that hold responsibility for regulation looking at this. The attorney general’s office may see one legal argument whereas the Clean Elections Commission may identify another. The more, the merrier,” said Montague.
Since questions were first raised, Bitter Smith has said her work on behalf of cable companies has no crossover with the telecom industry. In a statement, she called this most recent action “just a rehash of the specious complaint from Tom Ryan."
Controversy continues to surround many of the commissioners. Just last week, two motions were filed against Commissioners Tom Forese, Doug Little and Bob Stump over alleged bias in a Arizona Public Service net-metering case.
