On Thursday, Ted Vogt, executive director of the Arizona Corporation Commission, was finally forced to resign due to his wife’s employment as a lobbyist for one of the state’s largest regulated utility, Arizona Public Service Co.
According to the Arizona Republic Vogt failed to disclose the fact that his wife, Annie Vogt, who works with lobbying firm Veridus LLC has done work for APS.
Veridus is headed by Matt Benson. Benson is also the spokesperson for Arizonans for Affordable Electricity, a campaign funded by APS and its parent company, Pinnacle West, to oppose a clean-energy ballot initiative funded by California billionaire Tom Steyer.
Steyer’s scheme would require regulated utilities like APS to get half their power from renewable sources by 2030.
The sudden concern about Vogt’s conflict on the part of commissioners Tom Forese and Justin Olson came as a surprise. The fact that they had planned to hold an emergency to discuss the matter, was seen by many as a campaign year stunt.