Searching for new ways to spark the public dialectic, the Phoenix Center held its inaugural State Regulator Retreat at the Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.

The purpose of this Retreat was to bring together a select group of selected regulators, a “blue ribbon” faculty from academia and government, and several keynote speakers for a series of briefings and informal exchanges about the interaction of regulation, economics and technological change.  Unlike other conferences, the Phoenix Center Retreat was intended solely to provide regulators the opportunity to expand their knowledge through open and honest discussions with colleagues from across the nation.  As such, this Retreat was true a “roll-up your sleeves” event: no press, no lobbyists, working meals, etc. – just policymakers and our faculty candidly talking policy in an intimate, academic setting.

As always, our “blue ribbon” faculty and guest speakers were of the highest caliber. For example, the keynote discussion was led by Grover Norquist, President Americans for Tax Reform; our political roundtable was be led by long-time Republican Strategist Charlie Black; and FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin gave his first public address since USTA II and the FCC’s Interim Rules were released and spoke candidly to the Retreat’s participants about the current state of affairs.  And, in addition to the Phoenix Center’s expert staff, our “blue ribbon” faculty included Princeton Professor Bobby Willig (the author of the 1992 DOJ Horizontal Merger Guidelines), Bruce Fein (former FCC General Counsel), Bruce Mehlman (former Assistant Secretary of Commerce of Technology Policy), and Brad Ramsay (NARUC General Counsel).

Give the success of our inaugural event, the Phoenix Center plans to hold another Retreat sometime in the first quarter of 2005. Please stay tuned for further details. In the mean time, for those interested, we have posted copies of the various presentations below, along with some pictures of the event.