NEWS RELEASE
(Editor’s note: News releases are published as submitted, with no editing unless they contain factual errors.)
Conservative Reformer Promises to Protect Ratepayers, Secure Arizonans Energy and Water Future, and Act with Independence and Integrity
(January 18, 2016, Scottsdale, AZ) Businessman Frank Riggs, a former U.S. Congressman and Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate, has announced his exploratory candidacy for the Arizona Corporation Commission, promising to help forge Arizonas energy and water future, protect jobs and the economy, and restore public confidence in the Commission. Three of the five Commission seats are up for election this year.
Riggs said, “As a longtime resident of Arizona and as a candidate for governor in 2014, I’ve learned firsthand the vital importance of energy and water policy to the economy and future vitality of our state. I have a deep background in these issues, which impact every part of our state, and the sustainable management of our natural resources, and I want to put that expertise, as well as my reputation for independence and integrity, to work on behalf of all Arizonans.
Riggs was a leader on energy, water and natural resource issues during his three terms in Congress. He was Vice- Chairman of the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee and a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and its Water Resources Subcommittee. Riggs was also an original member of the House Renewable Energy Caucus and a member of the Congressional Western Caucus.
Noting the Capitol Times recently described the Corporation Commission as a regulatory panel that is not used to the bright lights or the big stage, Riggs said, I’m very familiar with the scrutiny that comes with holding important elective office and being accountable to constituents and taxpayers. He continued, My background in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, as well as my congressional service, have given me the proven ability to oversee a governmental agency the size of the Corporation Commission, with its $27 million budget and 270 employees.
Frank Riggs has been an excellent public servant throughout his career and adult life. He has distinguished himself as a U.S. Army veteran, decorated police officer and deputy sheriff, school board president and education reformer, entrepreneur and owner of his own real estate investment and development company, nonprofit executive and three- term U.S. Congressman.
He graduated from Golden Gate University in San Francisco with a B.A. degree and received the University’s ‘Associates Award’ as the outstanding graduate in the College of Business and Public Administration. He and his wife Cathy, a native daughter of Arizona born in Tucson, have been Scottsdale residents and homeowners for 14 years. They have three married children and three grandchildren (with a fourth on the way in March!).
