PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona's attorney general is going to court to seek the ouster of a state utility regulator because of an alleged conflict of interest.
Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Corporation Commission member Susan Bitter Smith is ineligible to hold office because she is a registered lobbyist and executive director of a trade group of cable communication companies regulated by the commission.
Brnovich said he filed the special-action lawsuit with the Arizona Supreme Court on Monday to protect the commission's integrity and to restore voters' faith in the electoral system.
Commission spokeswoman Angie Holdsworth declined immediate comment on the lawsuit and said Bitter Smith would issue a statement later.
Bitter Smith is a Republican who currently is chairman of the five-member commission.
