The Republican dominance of statewide contests appeared to include two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission. Republicans Brenda Burns and Gary Pierce held comfortable leads over two Democrats, two Green Party candidates and a Libertarian.

Maria Garcia, wife of the late Democratic leader Jorge Garcia, was among three Tucson residents who were nominated Oct. 26 to replace the senator.

Senate Minority Leader Jorge Garcia had an aura of almost monkish austerity. You saw it in what he wore – earth-colored trousers and a drab polo shirt. And you saw it in how he spoke – plain and direct.

Although utility deregulation was a colossal failure in California, Libertarian Rick Fowlkes says turning the energy industry over to the free market in Arizona will be his top priority if he is elected to the Corporation Commission this November.

Even though Arizona’s population has remained stagnant since the onset of the economic recession, Gary Pierce says members of the Arizona Corporation Commission should be planning as far as half a century into the future to be ready for the growth that will happen.

Beyond merely serving as an elected member of a regulatory agency, David Bradley says he regards having a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission as having the opportunity to be an agent for big change.

In seeking a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission over Democratic rivals, Scottsdale Republican Brenda Burns is touting her private-sector experience, going back 30 years when she and her former husband ran an optometry business.

Jorge Luis Garcia says he’s bit worried that he is a Tucson state senator who has little name recognition in the Phoenix area, where most of the state’s votes are found.

A jailed Green Party nominee who withdrew from the Corporation Commission race and then revoked his withdrawal moments later was disqualified to run for office, a judge ruled Sept. 14.

Arizona Republican voters appear to be rejecting a state Corporation Commission candidate who gained national media attention when he spoke in favor of turning off electric power to homes where illegal immigrants live.