Robert Burns (Arizona)
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 8 min
Robert Burns (Republican Party) was a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission. He assumed office in 2013. He left office on January 4, 2021.
Burns (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Arizona Corporation Commission. He won in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Burns previously served as a Republican member of the Arizona State Senate from 2002 to 2011. He was re-elected in 2004, 2006, and 2008.
Biography[edit]
Burns attended several different schools. He began by attending the U.S Navy Aviation Preparatory School and later went on to attend the U.S. Navy Avionics Technician School. Following his Navy schooling, he attended the General Electric Computer Programming School as well as Glendale Community College.
Burns is a former volunteer lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Child Care Management. He worked in the Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician from 1958 to 1962. After his service in the Navy he became a programming analyst for General Electric and Honeywell, where he worked until 1978. He was also employed by Rainbow Elementary Prep Schools from 1971 to 1997. Burns then worked for Dairy Queen of Sun City West until 1999. He has been the president of BMG Investments Incorporated since 1971 and has worked for Christmas Cottage-Gifts and Collectibles since 1995.
In 1978, Burns began his political career as a precinct committee-person for the Deputy Registrar. He served as Legislative District Chair in 1986. He was later elected to the Arizona State House of Representatives in 1989 and served until 2000. In 2002, Burns was elected to the Arizona State Senate to represent the 9th District, which included a stint as President of the Senate.[1]
Committee assignments[edit]
Burns served on the following committee:
- Rules Committee, Arizona Senate Chairperson
Issues[edit]
Legislation[edit]
See Robert Burns official website for information about sponsored legislation.
Political career[edit]
Arizona Corporation Commission (2012-2021)[edit]
Burns was first elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2012 and won re-election in 2016.
Elections[edit]
2020[edit]
Robert Burns was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2016[edit]
Burns filed to run for re-election to the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2016. Since three seats were up for election, three candidates from each party advanced to the general election. Burns competed with incumbent Andy Tobin, state Rep. Rick Gray, former state Sen. Al Melvin, and former judge Boyd Dunn in the August 30 Republican primary election.
Incumbent Robert Burns, incumbent Andy Tobin, and Boyd Dunn defeated William Mundell and Tom Chabin in the Arizona corporation commission election.
| Arizona Corporation Commission, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Robert Burns Incumbent |
22.28% | 806,047 | |
| Republican | Andy Tobin Incumbent |
20.61% | 745,843 | |
| Republican | Boyd Dunn |
19.43% | 703,160 | |
| Democratic | William Mundell | 19.12% | 691,831 | |
| Democratic | Tom Chabin | 18.56% | 671,374 | |
| Total Votes | 3,618,255 | |||
| Source: KNXV | ||||
Incumbent Robert Burns, incumbent Andy Tobin and Boyd Dunn defeated Rick Gray and Al Melvin in the Republican primary for corporation commissioner.
| Republican primary for corporation commissioner, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Robert Burns Incumbent |
23.85% | 279,348 | |
| Republican | Andy Tobin Incumbent |
23.11% | 270,738 | |
| Republican | Boyd Dunn |
18.94% | 221,855 | |
| Republican | Rick Gray | 18.07% | 211,718 | |
| Republican | Al Melvin | 16.03% | 187,772 | |
| Total Votes | 1,171,431 | |||
| Source: Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign finance[edit]
| Robert Burns Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 11/25/2014-12/31/2015 | April 24, 2016 | $0 | $3,145.03 | $(0) | $3,145.03 | ||||
| 01/01/2016-05/31/2016 | July 10, 2016 | $3,145.03 | $32,109.27 | $(18,257.78) | $16,996.52 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $35,254.3 | $(18,257.78) | ||||||||
Campaign themes[edit]
Burns provided the following statement on his campaign website:[2]
| “ | One of the key responsibilities of the Arizona Corporation Commission is to provide oversight and regulation of power and utility providers for Arizona residents. In the 2014 elections, it is believed that APS spent over $3 million dollars to support Corporation Commission candidates to gain loyalty to the power company instead of the ratepayers. This campaign activity was hidden behind political non-profits (commonly known as "dark money") so ratepayers like you would have no idea that a certain utility was actively trying to choose its own regulators! In the utility industry this is referred to as "Regulatory Capture" and could ultimately result in a loss of representation for Arizona ratepayers.
If regulated public service companies are going to financially support or oppose candidates campaigning for the Corporation Commission (as they have the legal right to do), it must be with full disclosure and transparency. As a member of the Commission, I have fought to require utilities to disclose their political campaign spending, particularly with regards to the elections for Corporation Commission. Ratepayers like you deserve to know if the company you write checks to each month is using that money to buy elections to diminish your influence over the rates you have to pay! I've endeavored to provide this transparency and I will continue this fight until we restore integrity and public confidence to the Arizona Corporation Commission.[3] |
” |
2012[edit]
Burns ran for Arizona Corporation Commission in 2012.[4] A total of three seats were up for election on the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2012. Incumbent Bob Stump and Susan Bitter Smith ran in the August 28 Republican primary. Burns won in the general election on general election on November 6, 2012.[5]
| Arizona Corporation Commission General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Paul Newman Incumbent | 15.5% | 868,726 | |
| Democratic | Sandra Kennedy Incumbent | 15.4% | 862,876 | |
| Democratic | Marcia Busching | 13.8% | 776,472 | |
| Republican | Bob Stump Incumbent |
17.5% | 979,034 | |
| Republican | Robert Burns |
16.8% | 943,157 | |
| Republican | Susan Bitter Smith |
16.7% | 935,575 | |
| Libertarian | Christopher Gohl | 2% | 112,490 | |
| Green | Daniel Pout | 1% | 58,607 | |
| Green | Thomas Meadows | 1.2% | 67,950 | |
| Write-in | Various | 0.1% | 3,784 | |
| Total Votes | 5,608,671 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
| Arizona Corporation Commission-Republican Primary, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Bob Stump Incumbent |
34.9% | 280,838 | ||
| Robert "Bob" Burns |
31.7% | 255,367 | ||
| Susan Bitter Smith |
32.9% | 264,545 | ||
| Write-in | 0.5% | 3,887 | ||
| Total Votes | 804,637 | |||
| Election results via The Arizona Secretary of State. | ||||
Incumbents Paul Newman and Sandra Kennedy, as well as Marcia Busching, ran in the Democratic primary.[6] Burns won election in the general election on November 6, 2012.
2010[edit]
- See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2010
Burns was ineligible to run for re-election to the state Senate in 2010 due to Arizona's term limits.
2008[edit]
In 2008, Burns was re-elected to the Arizona State Senate, District 9. He finished with 40,214 while his opponent Karen Price finished with 32,236 votes.[7] Burns raised $40,370 for his campaign funds.
| Arizona State Senate, District 9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Robert Burns (R)
|
40,214 | |||
| Karen Price (D) | 32,236 | |||
Campaign donors[edit]
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
| Robert Burns (Arizona) campaign contribution history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2012 | Arizona Corporation Commission |  |
$245,850 | |
| 2008 | Arizona State Senate District 9 | |
$40,370 | |
| 2006 | Arizona State Senate District 9 | |
$22,869 | |
| 2004 | Arizona State Senate District 9 | |
$24,066 | |
| 2002 | Arizona State Senate District 9 | |
$37,676 | |
| 1998 | Arizona State House District 17 | |
$24,324 | |
| 1996 | Arizona State House District 17 | |
$11,942 | |
| Grand total raised | $407,097 | |||
| Source: [[8] Follow the Money] | ||||
2012[edit]
Burns won election to the position of Arizona Corporation Commissioner in 2012. During that election cycle, Burns raised a total of $245,850.
| Arizona Corporation Commissioner 2012 election - Campaign Contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top contributors to Robert Burns (Arizona)'s campaign in 2012 | ||||
| Public Fund | $219,909 | |||
| Robert (Bob) Burns | $7,591 | |||
| Stan Barnes | $150 | |||
| Gary A. Drummond | $150 | |||
| Jack F. Husted | $150 | |||
| Total Raised in 2012 | $245,850 | |||
| Total Votes received in 2012 | 943,157 | |||
| Cost of each vote received | $0.26 | |||
| Source:Follow the Money | ||||
2008[edit]
In 2008 Burns raised $40,370 in campaign donations.[9] Listed below are his top four contributors.
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Arizona Association of Realtors | $1,000 |
| Salt River Valley Water Users Association | $1,000 |
| Home Builders Associatino of Central Arizona | $700 |
| Arizona Multihousing Association | $500 |
Personal[edit]
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Robert has two children with his wife Gayle.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Search Google News for this topic
- Arizona Corporation Commission
- Official Arizona State Senate website of Senator Robert Burns
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008 2006 2002 1998
- 2012 Campaign website (dead link)
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Arizona Legislature, "Robert Burns bio," accessed July 5, 2012
- ↑ Bob Burns, "Fighting for you against special interest groups," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Phoenix Business Journal, "Campaign season starts early for Arizona Corporation Commission," January 10, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2012 primary election candidates," accessed May 30, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed April 7, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Career fundraising for Robert Burns," accessed July 5, 2013
- ↑ Campaign donations
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Arizona Corporation Commission 2013-2021 |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by - |
Arizona State Senate District 9 2003–2011 |
Succeeded by Rick Murphy |
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