Rodney Glassman: AZ Corporation Commission needs a code of conduct

Recent scandals have included: indictment of a member for giving rate increases to a utility paying the commissioner’s spouse; illegal drugs found in ACC offices; and most recently, a commissioner being questioned for championing a proposal that benefited a donor, who funded more than 50 percent of the commissioner’s election campaign. Arizona ratepayers deserve better!

None of the problems at the ACC have occurred because of how commissioners are elected. Rather, they all have resulted from how commissioners behave once in office.

Ratepayers have the right to not have utilities funneling money into the joint bank accounts of the regulators, not have commissioners hearing cases that will benefit lobbyists and utilities that have contributed to their campaigns, and not have commissioners accepting free food or trips funded by the utilities they regulate. All of these ethical dilemmas would be eliminated if the ACC adopts the Arizona Judicial Code of Conduct. The same code of conduct written and adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court.

As a major in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps Reserves, I subscribe to the Air Force Core value of “integrity first.” Without integrity, even my MBA and Ph.D. in arid land resource sciences (80 percent of ACC rate cases are water companies) would be irrelevant to my ability to contribute as a member of the ACC. By adopting the Judicial Code of Conduct the ACC can protect ratepayers, and restore credibility to our state’s most powerful elected regulatory body.

What is the Arizona Corporation Commission?

The core of the Corporation Commission’s job is to hear rate cases, where utilities come before the commission, to ask for permission to adjust rates. Commissioners are not supposed to be activists or advocates; rather, they are supposed to act as impartial, unbiased judges. Sadly, the simple constitutionally mandated duties of the Corporation Commission have been overshadowed by accusations of illegal, unethical and sometimes simply incredible behavior by corporation commissioners.

Arizonans are sick of reading about scandals and pay-for-play schemes. When the corporation commissioners hear rate cases they are acting as judges: hearing evidence, applying the law and making a decision. Restoring the public’s trust can be easily accomplished by adopting the same code of conduct followed by every other judge in Arizona. Arizonans deserve nothing less.

The Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct stands tall as a time-tested, ethical guide for Arizona — it simply works.

Why the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct?

The Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct establishes standards for all judges in Arizona, including elected Justices of the Peace. The Code’s preamble reads:

Judges should maintain the dignity of judicial office at all times and avoid both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives.

It is comprised of four canons that require judges to uphold and promote independence, integrity, and impartiality through their actions, not only while performing their duty but also while campaigning, and throughout their professional and civic activities.

The judicial code embodies the highest standard of conduct of any code of ethics in our state, guards against behavior that creates the appearance of impropriety, and incorporates a clear system of redress when there are allegations of misconduct — the voter-created independent Commission on Judicial Conduct — which serves as a neutral arbiter.

Adopting the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct would provide the commission with a thoughtful, time-tested and universally accepted guidepost while protecting ratepayers and restoring integrity to the Arizona Corporation Commission.