Arizona Corporation Commission building in downtown Phoenix.
After more than two hours of deliberation during executive session on Tuesday, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted to censure outgoing Democratic Commissioner Anna Tovar for violating state open meeting laws and the Commission’s code of ethics.
The decision followed a nearly month-long internal investigation conducted by the ACC’s Office of General Counsel, which examined a complaint alleging ethical and statutory violations.
During an open staff meeting, Republican Chairman Jim O’Connor explained that on November 6, the Commission went into executive session to discuss confidential personnel matters pertaining to a key employee.
“The matters discussed in executive session pertain to personnel matters that were confidential under state law,” O’Connor said.
On November 18 and November 22, Tovar published letters that referred to, mentioned and discussed matters in the November 6 executive session O’Connor said.
According to the ACC, “Tovar knowingly disclosed confidential personnel information in a November 15, 2024 letter and a November 22, 2024 letter published on Commissioner Tovar’s website and publicly posted on the Commission docket.”
Tovar defended her actions early in the investigation, explaining that she wrote a letter that explained why she voted no in regards to a pay raise for an executive director.
“Those were all comments that I made explaining my vote…and those were all factual and public information so I didn’t violate any type of open meeting law,” Tovar said.
The Commission voted 3-0 to censure Tovar, with Republican Commissioner Lea Marquez-Peterson excused from the meeting due to an unexpected personal emergency and Tovar herself not in attendance.
O’Connor, who made the motion to censure said, “It’s with a personally, very heavy heart that I make this motion.”
As part of the censure, the Commission ordered Tovar’s letters to be removed from the public record and for the censure to be posted on the Commission website.
Following the meeting, Tovar responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, criticizing the decision.
Today’s vote to censure me by other members of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) proves that they are scared of criticism and unwilling to engage in any kind of conversation with which they disagree. Setting aside the fact that the charges are baseless, accountability and
— Anna Tovar (@AnnaTovarAZ) December 18, 2024
“Today’s vote to censure me by other members of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) proves that they are scared of criticism and unwilling to engage in any kind of conservation which they disagree,” Tovar said, also calling the charges baseless.
Both Tovar and O’Connor’s terms on the Commission end next month.
In addition to the censure, the commission referred the alleged open meeting law violations to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for further review.
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