Filed at last
Republican Don Goldwater speaks to reporters just after filing 4,670 contribution signatures to qualify as a Clean Elections candidate for governor. He needs 4,200 valid $5 contributions.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater filed an estimated 4,670 signatures and $5 dollar donations with the Secretary of State’s Office on Aug. 7 to help qualify for public campaign funding.
Gubernatorial candidates must submit 4,200 contributions and signatures from registered voters in order to receive public campaign financing. The Citizens Clean Elections Commission, which oversees the state’s public campaign funding system, recommends that candidates for governor submit 5,040 contributions and signatures in case some are invalidated.
Mr. Goldwater is one of three candidates for governor relying on public funding. His main GOP rival, Len Munsil, and Democratic incumbent Janet Napolitano, have already each received the full funding amount of $ 452,849 to use for the Sept. 12 primary.
The filing occurred just days before the Aug. 10 beginning of early voting for the primary elections, but the Laveen resident is not concerned that the funding will arrive too late to make an impact with voters.
“My message is out and that’s one of the reasons why we’re doing so well in the polls,” said Mr. Goldwater, who led all Republican candidates in a poll released in late July. “We will continue to push that message harder.”
The delay in filing necessary signatures and contributions was attributed by Mr. Goldwater to onerous regulations that could require that each signature be examined, and also the fact that his campaign committee had not received current voter registration lists from the Arizona Republican Party.
Campaign finance regulations and state law require the Secretary of State’s Office to pull random samples from the signatures and send them to appropriate county recorders to check for validity.
From there the Secretary of State’s Office multiplies the number of valid entries returned by county recorders by 20. If the equation equals greater than 110 percent of the number required, public campaign funding is granted.
If it falls in between 90 percent and 110 percent of the minimum signatures and contributions required the county recorder must examine all qualifying contribution forms.
Border stance garners attention
Despite not yet qualifying, Mr. Goldwater has gathered much attention from his positions on illegal immigration. His stated goals are to use detained border crossers to build a wall between Mexico and Arizona, summoning the National Guard for active patrols, and prosecuting companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrant labor.
He was joined at the Secretary of State’s Office by Sen. Thayer Verschoor, R-22, a supporter who said attacks on Mr. Goldwater’s approaches to border security were “out of step” with the citizens of Arizona.
“They want a secure border,” he said. “They want to stop the illegal immigration from coming across the border and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Mr. Goldwater is one of four Republican candidates looking to unseat Ms. Napolitano, a Democrat. Mr. Goldwater has relied on small contributions from individual donors to orchestrate his campaign.
The most recent campaign finance report filed with the Secretary of State’s Office indicates that Mr. Goldwater collected about $21,000 in contributions and has spent approximately $18,000.
Two privately funded Republican candidates, Mike Harris and Gary Tupper, have raised $133,650 and $11,060, respectively, with a majority of their funding coming from their own pockets.
Mr. Harris is currently being sued in a federal court by American Strategies, an Ohio-based political consulting group that alleges the candidate, an investment banker, has broken a payment contract.
Libertarian candidate Barry Hess, who has been highly critical of Arizona’s use of public campaign financing, has received approximately $2,000 in services and cash.
Mr. Goldwater said he expects to receive public funding 10 days after he filed his petitions. He also said his campaign committee has been contacted by several in-state and out-of-state consultants.
However, the conversations have been “generic” in order to avoid breaking CCEC regulations that forbid candidates from acquiring debt or contracting before funding is received, he said.
“Until we get funding we can’t go any further,” he said. “We’re bound by Clean Elections laws just like the other candidates.”