Three new lawmakers have violated a number of provisions of the state’s public campaign funding law, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission has found.

The commission, which administers public campaign funding, decided in a special meeting Feb. 10 that Rep. Pam Gorman, R-6; Sen. Ron Gould, R-3; and Rep. Rick Murphy, R-9, to accept the findings of special enforcement consultant Gene Lemon. All three candidates were elected in 2004 using public campaign money.

Mr. Lemon, who served a five-year term on the commission that concluded in January 2004, was hired by the commission last month to look into the complaints against the three that stem from the 2004 election.

All the findings were approved by unanimous votes of the four commissioners who participated in the meeting in person or by teleconference. The fifth commissioner, Gary Scaramazzo, was named to the commission on Feb. 1 and did not attend or participate in the meeting.

In a memo to the commission, Mr. Lemon, a former corporate lawyer, stated that Mrs. Gorman’s campaign failed to make direct payments to providers of goods and services in violation of ARS 16-948(C) and failed to provide detailed descriptions of the transactions as required by commission rule R2-20-109(A).

Mrs. Gorman bought a voter list for $200, and then reimbursed herself, in violation of ARS 16-948(C), which provides that no petty cash disbursement for a single expenditure may exceed $110, Mr. Lemon’s memo states.

Finally, Mr. Lemon states in a memo that Mrs. Gorman appears to have accepted illegal contributions in the form of campaign brochures and material “costing in excess of [the] amounts charged to the candidate’s campaign account.” Mr. Lemon didn’t specify the amount of those contributions that allegedly weren’t reported.

Mr. Lemon in another memo to the commission found that Mr. Gould failed to pay money directly to the providers of goods and services for his campaign and made automated calls to voters over three days but didn’t report those expenditures as they occurred.

Mr. Murphy also failed to provide direct payment for goods and services and failed to timely report the expenditures for mailing at least four campaign pieces between Aug. 10 and Sept. 3, but didn’t report them until Oct. 18.

Mrs. Gorman said she was unhappy that enforcement matters concerning her have twice been on the agenda of the commission and she hasn’t been notified of that fact except by reporters.

Mr. Murphy said he wanted commissioners to ask themselves how “far down the road” they want to go in pursuing details of campaign expenditures and “how to justify where to stop.”

Mr. Gould did not address the commission.

Lawmakers Have 14 Days To Respond

The three lawmakers have 14 days to formally respond to the findings of the commission. They may, alternatively, enter into negotiations to settle with the commission, or seek to overturn any enforcement action either through the Office of Administrative Hearings or by filing suit in Superior Court.—