Commissioner returns campaign money from company hoping to takeover water company
By Ryan Randazzo | The Republic
Utility regulators on Tuesday approved a deal that allows Arizona Water Co. to keep a lucrative portion of its service territory in Pinal County and prevents a rival company from taking over the disputed territory.
The commissioners had considered granting the territory to a competitor owned by Ed Robson, a developer and political donor to one of the commissioners. But an administrative-law judge and commission staff had warned that would be unconstitutional, and the settlement avoided such a transfer of territory.
The years-long dispute between Arizona Water Co. and a development company called Cornman-Tweedy involved about 11 square miles of undeveloped land near Casa Grande.