ACC’s Kevin Thompson Denies Ever Stating ‘People Don’t Understand’

Kevin Thompson, Republican Chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, privately messaged the Arizona Globe to dispute the suggestion that he and fellow Commissioner Nick Myers have ever said “people don’t understand,” as stated in the Globe story dated June 12, 2025.

The Globe had reached out with a series of questions seeking clarification on the Commissioners’ policies and positions. Rather than addressing the inquiries directly, Thompson responded with a denial that “to his knowledge” they have never said the public doesn’t understand. However, both Thompson and Myers have, on multiple occasions, made public comments suggesting that aspects of the Commission’s work are “complex.” While it is objectively true that utility regulation involves technical and legal intricacies, critics argue that this framing is sometimes used in response to public scrutiny—potentially dismissing or diminishing concerns raised by voters and stakeholders.

On June 10, reporter Wayne Schutsky wrote that Commissioner Nick Myers defended the Arizona Corporation Commission’s decision to approve rate increases and adopt formula rate plans. Myers argued the approach allows utilities to recover costs more quickly while avoiding “rate shock” from larger, less frequent hikes. In response to criticism from fellow elected officials, Myers replied, “So I think it’s largely a matter of they just don’t understand how it works.”

In a post on X, Commissioner Nick Myers took direct aim at Attorney General Kris Mayes following her interview with Arizona’s Family, writing:

“I can’t wait to have an honest AG again! @AZAGMayes has proven yet again with her latest interview on @azfamily that she STILL doesn’t understand how ratemaking works! She should know we CANNOT LEGALLY order utilities how to spend their shareholder money. Pretty sad given she was a former chair of the commission.”

When challenged by Attorney General Mayes, Myers dismissed her position, not with legal reasoning or counter-evidence—but with a familiar refrain: “she doesn’t understand.”

In an argument on social media with representatives from Turning Point, Myers said, “It’s much to [too] difficult for you to actually understand issues than just drum up drama that you can profit from.  Myers also called Bowyer a Democrat and a grifter.

During a heated exchange, Scott Neely pressed Commissioner Nick Myers to keep the Cholla Power Plant open. Rather than directly addressing Neely’s concerns, Myers responded dismissively:

“I can almost guarantee you have never testified before Congress about any of this stuff—I have. As a matter of fact, Kevin and I have done LOTS of work at the federal level in multiple ways. Until you can understand that, go sit down and let the big boys do their job.”

The comment, layered with condescension, sparked criticism from observers who viewed it as emblematic of an attitude that sidelines public input in favor of insider credentials.  Neely then launched into posts showing that he fully understood the issues.

In response to broad criticism of Arizona Public Service (APS), Myers dismissed the concerns, stating, “people don’t understand.” Rather than addressing the substance of the critiques, Thompson’s remark reflected a pattern of downplaying public scrutiny by attributing it to a lack of understanding of the system.

Journalist Rachel Alexander respectfully asked Myers to clarify the opposing position he had with Arizona Free Enterprise over a policy issue.  Instead of answering her question, he launched into the usual refrain, “Well, you can choose to believe an organization that refuses to understand how the commission works, even after repeated educational meetings.  Or you can choose to believe a current commissioner, who happened to be a policy advisor to then Commissioner Olson when that was done.”

Thompson recently launched a personal attack on former Commissioner Justin Olson—choosing insults over policy debate. According to Thompson, even a former commissioner isn’t sufficiently versed in the business of the ACC. “A high schooler could have done a better job,” he said, adding that Olson “learned nothing during his tenure here.”

These are just a few instances that the commissioners have chosen to disregard the public’s concerns or policy criticisms and dive into refrains that “people don’t understand” which some see as demeaning.

We welcome the opportunity for the Commissioners to respond to our questions.