Jim O’Connor says he is not a politician. Even though he holds elected office as chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, O’Connor views his job as more akin to a judge in a courtroom. As he prepares to leave the commission after just one term, O’Connor spoke with the Arizona Capitol Times about what he has learned and what legacy he hopes to leave. 

What originally drew you to this position?

I moved to Arizona in the year 2000 after 30 years in L.A. and I had an investment advisory practice that I sold and moved over here with my wife and my very young son … and I became engaged for the first time in my life in the Republican Party, in political activities. I had always voted Republican, but I was never involved in the party. A number of people, throughout Maricopa County particularly, were impressed that I was different than political people. I was always trying to recruit younger men and women, because I thought at 60, I was too old, and that was a long time ago. There was this one fellow who was active in the political legislative districts out [in Sun City West] at the time, and this was like 2015ish, he said, “Jim, we need somebody with integrity to run for the Corporation Commission.” Now, I never thought about running for anything. I viewed myself as far too old. It’s really a young man, a young woman’s game. But we couldn’t find anybody that was truly trustworthy. So in 2017 … I put my hat in the ring and I ran. In that race, there were five men in the Republican primary with only two open seats, and the two that won it in the Republican side were Justin Olson … and Rodney Glassman. So Justin came in first, Glassman came in second, I came in third, with about 207,000 votes, which was pretty respectable for a guy who came out of nowhere. Fast forward, I’m in my fiance’s living room in the summer of 2020, and I get a call from Justin Olson asking me if I would consider running as a write-in candidate for the Corporation Commission. I’m standing in my fiance’s [living room], and we’re scheduled to be married in July, and this is Memorial Day weekend. My wife is a very spirit-filled woman. She said, “Tell Justin you’ll call him back. Give me your hand. We’ll take it to the Lord in prayer.” Three minutes later, she says to me, “God told me to tell you to run and watch him open the doors,” and that is the best story in my lifetime, because that’s exactly what happened. Nick Myers, who’s now serving with us on the commission, when I was off on my three-week honeymoon out of state, Nick took all my appearances and speeches, and he did a masterful job at that. So people may have thought that was me, young, exuberant, feisty, “Let’s get that guy in.” Then we went on the campaign trail … and [my wife] looked at me one exhausted evening in September [2020] and said, “Jim O’Connor, if I had any idea you were a politician, we wouldn’t have had a second date.” I wasn’t a politician then, I’m not one now. I have to do political things, but I think I’m very much the typical citizen that had an opportunity to serve in public office and took it seriously. 

What have you learned from your time at the Corporation Commission?

My experience has taught me that we don’t need somebody who’s been in the Legislature for a bunch of years because there is a game that both teams play in those bodies. And I mean this with no disrespect. It’s gamesmanship and it’s all politics. I win, you lose. We all should have followed George Washington’s admonition after he left office and never created a political party, then you could go across the street and talk to your neighbor and not say, “Oh, you’re blue, I’m red. We gotta hate each other.” Come here, please, with business experience, not political experience. The political experience is all about winning the race, getting elected to the job. It kind of stops then, you don’t need any of that anymore. You gotta go forward and bring common sense, unbiased, open ears. 

What have you learned from your time as chairman?

I think God picked the right guy for the right place at the right time. This commission, before your time and certainly up through my early two years, those meetings – you’d rather go visit somebody in prison for two or three or six hours. They were dull, they were boring, they were stiff, they were stilted. One of the things we brought in was Robert’s Rules of Order. [Arizona Public Interest Research Group] literally praised us, praised us for bringing order to the courtroom. We would have certain members, stakeholders, running up behind our general counsel’s table and having sidebars in the middle of an open meeting, I mean, unruly as can be. So we needed to make some changes to bring civility back and order back. I try to bring a little [humor] in the courtroom as well. And the feedback I’ve received has been very, very positive there. From the utility companies, both the water, the power, the gas, as well as all of the stakeholders. It’s a gift. It’s nothing Jim does. It’s heaven sent, and I apply it as liberally as I possibly can. 

What do you wish people knew about the commission?

This may sound like an odd answer, but I’m going to use the word humility. Whether it’s the general public or lawmakers down the block or stakeholders that have an ax to grind. I would love for people to be more educated. 

You talk a lot about your faith, how do you apply that to your role as a public servant?

I start every day with a little devotional. When I was inaugurated myself four years ago, I had my pastor come down and put a blessing on the Commission. Lea Marquez Peterson was elected chairwoman that day at that meeting, and she called me on the phone and said, “I was so moved by your pastor’s remarks at the inauguration, I’d like to reinstitute prayer before open meetings.” And for the last four years, we’ve had prayer rotated month-to-month through all five commissioners. I go back to the Scripture. I’m not one for chapter and verse. I wish I could, I tried, but it’s a big book. So the word tells us if we recognize God before our fellow people, Jesus will recognize us before the Father. So that’s what keeps me going every day.

Why did you decide not to run for reelection to the commission?

When Justin Olson called and asked me to run as a write-in candidate that faithful Memorial Day weekend in 2020, I wasn’t going to do it. I had tried in [2018]. I view that as sometimes God calls you to run but not win. He’s preparing you for something else. My wife runs an intercessory prayer group, actually, she runs three of them each week, and she had them all praying about whether I should run. And I had a lot of encouragement to run again. And [I had] the sense of, “Wow, I got so much done in my two years as chairman. If I had another four, I could get so much more done.” But there’s a part of me that always wanted to model passing the baton. I want to be a model of how to do it better, how to do it differently. But the word [my wife] got from the Lord is, I am not to run again, He’s got another plan for me. So whatever that may be, I’m packed and ready for sure. 

Do you know what your next move is or are you still thinking and praying on it?

Both. The prayers have been going for quite some time now, as you might imagine, so I’m just waiting for a response. I just think at this particular point in my life and in the more-than-imagined success that we’ve had here at the commission … I’m very, very hopeful I’m leaving this in great hands. As a matter of fact, we’re moving from a four-to-one Republican [majority] to a five-to-zero. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect by any stretch, but I’m very optimistic that we’re going to keep what we’ve had for the last two years running at least for the next two and, God willing, beyond that. So I made a lasting contribution, and I’m probably better equipped now with this experience behind me than at any time in my life to be able to serve more. So that’s my goal.

Would you be interested in serving in public office again?

Let’s leave it at serving another kind of way. 

What legacy do you hope you have left on the Corporation Commission and the state of Arizona?

If we honor God and are not ashamed to bring Him into our activities, whether public or private, He hears from us, and He gives us great favor. And the job that’s been accomplished at this commission with everybody involved, to me, is an answer to prayer. So the legacy would be His, not mine.