Meet the Commissioners

Kevin Thompson has over 25 years of utility, regulatory, and public service experience, including serving as a twice-elected Mesa City Councilman. Kevin is a United States Air Force combat veteran, serving in Operation Desert Storm. As a small business owner, he has helped clients grow and expand their own businesses while bringing economic development to Arizona. Kevin was a co-founder of the Mesa Veterans Resource Center, an East Valley resource for veterans that helps with employment access, resume building, VA healthcare and benefits training, and mental health counseling.

Kevin’s commitment to economic development brought in over $8B in capital investment and the creation of over 5,000 jobs to Mesa’s District 6 and the region, making it the fastest growing area in the Southeast Valley. He passionately fought to end human trafficking working with the City Attorney and police department to establish ordinances to actively combat those trafficking our most vulnerable. As a Veteran, he chaired the Mayor’s challenge to end veteran homelessness and formed public-private partnerships to provide wraparound services for those that served our country.

In his capacity as a Councilmember, Kevin was directly responsible for setting the utility rates for the City’s utilities (natural gas, electric, water, and sewer) and fighting on behalf of the citizens for just and reasonable rates. He also served as President of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA), a multi-city organization formed to facilitate water resource planning and water policy development at a regional level. During his tenure, he successfully advocated for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to designate a portion of taxes to be used for federal repayment of the construction cost that built the CAP infrastructure, ensured citizens had a voice on the Governor’s Water Augmentation Innovation & Conservation Council, and supported the Groundwater Withdrawal Fee extension to conserve, augment, and monitor groundwater withdrawal.

Kevin was previously the Manager of New Business Development for Southwest Gas for over 12 years, responsible for all new business engineering including the sale, design, and installation of billions of dollars of natural gas pipelines for residential, multi-family, retail, and commercial development. During the economic downturn of 2008 when economic development all but ceased nationwide, he transitioned to focus on local government relations for five years. In this role, he worked with the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs on Emergency Management, Utility Emergency Response, and natural disaster response planning.

In January 2023, Kevin was sworn in to a four-year term as a Commissioner with the Arizona Corporation Commission. He currently serves on the Western Energy Imbalance (WEIM) Body of State Regulators (BOSR), an independent, self-governing states committee. BOSR advises the WEIM Governing Body and ISO Board of Governors on matters of interest to western state regulators. The WEIM is a real-time energy market that identifies low-cost energy to serve real-time consumer demand in Arizona and helps maintain the integrity of the western grid.

Kevin also serves on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Electricity Committee, which helps develop and advance policies that promote reliable, adequate, and affordable supply of electricity.

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions, including the United Food Bank Service Award, recognition as a Champion for the Southeast Business Group, and was awarded the Mesa Veteran Appreciation Award, to name a few. Kevin and his wife, Donna, have been married for over 33 years and have two children.