Republicans Strike Back: Outgoing Democrat Censured Over Alleged Ethics Breaches and Statutory Violations

In a decisive move, Republicans on the Arizona Corporation Commission voted to censure outgoing Democratic Commissioner Anna Tovar, forwarding a complaint to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. This action stems from allegations that Tovar violated open meeting laws and the commission’s code of ethics.

During an open staff meeting, three Republican commissioners disclosed findings from an investigation, which indicated that a letter Tovar sent on November 6 breached confidentiality by revealing discussions from an executive session. They also cited harassment against a commission staff member as part of their decision. Consequently, they urged the Maricopa County Attorney to examine the matter further.

In an executive session that lasted over two hours, the commission deliberated the allegations. Republican Commissioner Lea Marquez Peterson was absent due to a family emergency and did not cast a vote.

Jim O’Connor

Tovar was not present at the session when the vote occurred. Commissioners Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson opted not to comment afterward, leaving Chairman Jim O’Connor as the lone commissioner to address the resolution. “It’s with a, personally, a very heavy heart, that I make this motion,” O’Connor remarked.

The controversy originated on November 15, when Tovar explained her opposition to a pay bonus for Executive Director Doug Clark in a letter to her colleagues. This correspondence followed an executive session held on November 6, which focused on discussions surrounding Clark’s performance and compensation prior to a public vote on the bonus.

Republican commissioners claimed that Tovar’s letter violated the confidentiality of the executive session and breached various ethical guidelines by addressing Clark’s pay. In response, Tovar refuted these allegations, stating that her letter echoed her publicly made comments from the meeting.

On November 22, the commission directed its general counsel and ethics officer, Tom Van Flein, to investigate the situation. However, during the recent vote, no specific details of the investigation were disclosed. The resolution adopted by the commission asserted that allegations of “unethical misconduct and harassment” involving Clark were substantiated, resulting in the censure and the decision to expunge Tovar’s related letters from the public record.

Tovar’s attorney, Jim Barton, characterized the proceedings as a “disgusting display of partisanship,” arguing that Tovar had not revealed any confidential information. Barton commented on the censure, calling it trivial and questioned the decision to refer the alleged violations to the Republican-held Maricopa County Attorney’s office instead of the Attorney General’s. “This is kangaroo court at its top,” he asserted.

As Tovar prepares to exit the commission in January, her attorney has not yet determined if she will pursue legal action against the censure. “She has to weigh risk versus gain,” Barton acknowledged. “Sometimes when you get down in the mud with a pig, everybody ends up dirty.”