Brenda Burns
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Brenda Burns (born November 22, 1950) is an American politician, real estate agent and member of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
from the state of
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
who served as a member of the
Arizona Corporation Commission The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commissioners. The Arizona Constitution exp ...
from 2011 to 2015. Elected in 2010, she was eligible to run for re-election to a second term in 2014 but chose not to. Before entering politics, Burns worked as a real estate agent and helped run a family business. She served in the
Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...
from 1987 to 1995, also serving as Majority Leader from 1993 to 1995. She then served in the
Arizona Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...
from 1995 to 2003, also serving as Senate President from 1997 to 2003. She was the first woman to ever serve in either leadership position. Burns ran for the Corporation Commission in 2010, for one of the two seats to which the top two finishers on the ballot are elected. In the Republican primary, she received 300,698 votes (36.89%), behind incumbent Commissioner
Gary Pierce Gary L. Pierce (born c. 1952) is a former Arizona Corporation Commissioner and a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. Political career In the House of Representatives, Mr. Pierce served as the Majority Whip (2005–2006). He ...
's 323,751 (39.72%) and ahead of former Commissioner Barry Wong's 190,576 (23.38%). Burns and Pierce supported each other and campaigned against the controversial Wong. Wong, who served temporarily on the Commission in 2006, campaigned on using the Commission to cut off the electricity, natural gas, water and telephone lines to the homes of illegal immigrants. In the general election, Burns received 862,546 votes (29.09%), just ahead of Pierce, who was re-elected in second place with 833,541 votes (28.11%). She was sworn in on January 3, 2011, succeeding term-limited Republican
Kristin Mayes Kristin Kay Mayes (born September 6, 1971) is an American reporter, lawyer, and politician who is the Arizona Attorney General. A member of the Democratic Party, Mayes was elected in 2022, defeating Republican Abraham Hamadeh by a margin of just ...
. Burns said that she wanted to work with the
Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the s ...
, which had previously proposed legislation that would have stripped many of the powers from the Commission. During her tenure in the legislature, she had fought for limited regulations and remarked that some of her friends found it funny that she had been elected to the regulatory body. She clarified: "I never said we don't need rules and regulations. I said they need to make sense." She also called for a "reasonable balance" between economic growth and conserving the state's natural resources. She served alongside Bob Burns, who is no relation. In April 2013, Burns announced that she would not be running for re-election in 2014. She had been encouraged by supporters to consider running for
Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, but after talking to her husband, decided not to, saying that it "became apparent to us that this was not the right course for me to take." They will instead pursue "several interests, priorities and causes." She and the term-limited Pierce were succeeded by Republicans Doug Little and
Thomas Forese Thomas "Tom" Forese (born in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American politician, a Republican, and former chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission. He was also in the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 17. Forese also prev ...
, respectively. In September 2013, Burns published an op-ed in ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'', bemoaning the decision by three of her fellow Commissioners to shut down an investigation into electric retail competition. She lamented that Arizona had "hit the "stop" button on 21st century modernization and eare stuck with, for now, a 19th-century model of electric service."


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Commissioner Brenda Burns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Brenda 1950 births Republican Party Arizona state senators Living people Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives People from Glendale, Arizona Women state legislators in Arizona 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Presidents of the Arizona Senate