Democrat Sandra Kennedy said Thursday there would be no need for voters to impose a renewable energy mandate if state utility regulators would do their job.

The government’s decision to drop a bribery case involving a former regulator and utility owner leaves the question of what will come of its parent investigation.

On Tuesday, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss all charges against former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce, his wife, Sherry Pierce, lobbyist Jim Norton and utility owner George Johnson.

Gary Pierce and his fellow co-defendants aren’t off the hook yet, despite the government’s failed attempt to convince a jury they were part of a scheme to bribe the former utility regulator.

A majority of the jurors in the “Ghost Lobby” trial voted for acquittal for all four defendants, foreperson Taryn Jeffries said in an exclusive interview with the Arizona Capitol Times.

After just about three and a half days of deliberation, 12 jurors could not reach a unanimous decision in the “Ghost Lobby” trial, and U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi declared a mistrial.

The admission by a juror in the Corporation Commission bribery trial that she made some notes at home and brought them to deliberations could lead to a new trial even after all the testimony has been heard.

Arizona’s most significant public corruption case since the 1988 impeachment of Gov. Evan Mecham has come down to this: Four defendants. Fourteen days of testimony. Nearly four dozen witnesses.

The so-called “Ghost Lobby” trial was the summer blockbuster no juror bought a ticket to see.

Gayle Burns will be allowed to testify in the so-called “Ghost Lobby” trial after U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi determined the defense had opened the door to her testimony.