Arizona’s Family
I cannot embed the video on this story; click through to see me responding to Myers’ cruelty and deceits. — Jonathan
Arizona official gets in ugly spat with sons of heat-related death victim
By Steven Sarabia Published: May. 1, 2025 at 8:32 PM PDT
PHOENIX (AZFamily) —An ugly exchange between an elected state official and the sons of a woman who died last year played out on social media. The clash centers on a story about an elderly woman who died in her home after the electricity had been shut off.
Kate Korman was 82 years old when she died last year after her power was cut in May for months of missed utility payments.
This week, someone posted an article on X, formerly known as Twitter, where they tagged Nick Myers, the vice chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, who regulates certain power companies. That’s when Myers commented back, using his personal account, and things took a heated turn. “He responded to her (the original poster) and then both my brother and I responded to him. That released something in him where he felt a need to fault my mother for her own death, to say a bunch of things that were not true,” said Jonathan Korman, one of Kate’s Sons. “He was actually cruel and blamed me and my brother for her death.”
Jonathan’s brother, Adam Korman, first replied to the commissioner, where he posted that his mother wouldn’t have died if the power hadn’t been turned off. Myers responded by posting in part, “You failed to protect your own mother.”
This led to a series of heated exchanges between the brothers and Myers on the social media platform. “It’s not just mortifying seeing it come from him. It is mortifying that this entire system includes the person responsible for protecting us,” said Jonathan.
In another post, Jonathan replies to Myers that he should require utility companies to do more, referencing that his mother’s death could have been prevented. Myers responded by posting, “Alcoholism killed her, not the utility.”
Maricopa County ruled the cause of Kate’s death as complications of alcoholism, with a contributory cause as environmental heat stress. Her death was listed among the more than 100 people who died last year as a result of the heat while being indoors.
Myers later apologized in a written statement.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to Ms. Korman’s family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. My comments on social media were intended to address my views on the current termination of service rules. I apologize for any harm my comments may have caused the family. That was not my intent. The views and opinions I expressed on my personal social media account were my own and not those of the Arizona Corporation Commission.”
Arizona Corporation Commission Vice Chair Nick Meyers
“That’s not an apology at all. A real apology would describe how he plans to prevent people like my mother from dying in the future. He can’t bring my mother back. He can’t undo the terrible things he said to me and my brother. But he can save people in the future,” said Jonathan as he responded to the statement.
Jonathan wanted to express how he wants the electricity cut-off policy to change in Arizona. Right now, power companies don’t shut off power from June 1 to Oct. 15 as a way to protect people from the extreme heat. He wants the policy to depend on the outside temperature, as his mother died in May, when it regularly hits 100 degrees or more.
