Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson was instrumental in launching a “dark money” political group that charges $50,000 a piece to energy company executives to attend “exclusive” events with public utility commissioners who regulate them, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post and the Energy and Policy Institute (here and here).

Thompson — who has repeatedly flaunted his cozy ties with utilities — not only attends these “Regulators Roundtable” events, where energy executives dine, sip cocktails and meet personally and privately with commissioners like him, he also has been a linchpin in soliciting donations from energy companies and recruiting commissioners. 

Meanwhile, Thompson has seemingly failed to disclose any benefits he has received from the group, as state law requires. His 2025 financial disclosure shows no gifts or travel received from the group.

“Arizonans are sick and tired of politicians who look out for powerful interests while our bills go up,” Arizona Corporation Commission candidate Clara Pratte said. “Kevin Thompson’s ties to data centers and utility companies raise serious corruption concerns.”

“Kevin Thompson takes secret meetings with utility executives and data centers to help them reap record-breaking profits instead of advocating for Arizona families,” Arizona Corporation Commission candidate Jonathon Hill said. “It’s disgusting, and it’s time for voters to kick Thompson out.”

A Full-Throated Cheerleader for Regulator-Utility Hobnobbing

Instead of scrutinizing Arizona energy companies’ record-breaking rate requests, Thompson has spent generous amounts of time on his pet project, the Regulators Roundtable.

• Thompson volunteered to “host” the group’s first event at a ritzy resort in Scottsdale, just weeks after the Roundtable launched in 2025.
   

• He served as the posterboy for a fundraising brochure used to solicit donations from energy companies. The brochure promised a $50,000 buy-in would provide “an ideal opportunity to engage directly with these key decision-makers” to “help steer policy" and drive “financial growth.”
   

• Thompson’s support was touted in invitations to Arizona Corporation Commissioners Nick Myers and Rachel Walden, who joined events alongside Arizona Corporation Commissioners Lea Marquez Peterson and Rene Lopez. Thompson then personally recruited utility commissioners in other states.
   

• Thompson has been one of the Roundtable’s most frequent attendees, including junkets to Nashville (Four Seasons, rooms up to $2,900) and Washington D.C. (Hotel Washington, rooms up to $1,900). In Nashville, attendees were treated at a high-end steakhouse that serves $240 porterhouse steaks and $150 seafood towers.
   

• As recently as July, Thompson posted on social media and talked to voters (VIDEO) about rubbing elbows with utility leaders on an all-expenses paid trip to Palm Beach.

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