Less than one week before the primary elections, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission voted to additionally fund Republican candidate for governor Len Munsil, and also to ask that unspent money given to Rep. Ted Downing in an earlier decision be returned.
The decisions on Sept. 7 come in the wake of claims of reputation damage by Mr. Munsil and Rep. Downing, who both say their campaigns were harmed by illegally conducted push-polls.
Mr. Munsil’s campaign had asked the commission for about $239,000 to help offset the effects of Sept. 1 push poll of unknown origin that had associated Mr. Munsil, a staunch social conservative, with an illegitimate child.
“We have to reach these voters to undo what was done,” said Mr. Munsil’s attorney, Douglas Drury, who told the commission the campaign would use the money for radio and television advertising and to call high propensity voters in hopes of negating the immediate effects from media coverage of the “despicable and sleazy” polling.
Mr. Munsil’s campaign released a statement acknowledging that he had conceived a child with his wife one month before they were married after learning of the poll from two reporters, said Sean Noble, a campaign worker for Mr. Munsil.
The poll also misrepresented an earlier comment made by the Republican candidate to allege that he said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack was an “act of God.” Mr. Munsil has acknowledged to have said that God, whom he has said he regards as all powerful, had “allowed the attacks to happen.”
The commission voted to grant $80,000 to Mr. Munsil’s campaign, based upon a recommendation by CCEC Executive Director Todd Lang, who said that negative push polls designed to misguide voters represent a “threat to democracy.”
Mr. Downing , a Tucson Democrat, who is engaged in a heated Senate race with fellow Democrat Paula Aboud, was recently awarded $8,000 in response to polling calls that asked voters if they would change their vote from Mr. Downing to Ms. Aboud if they knew that he had voted against strengthening penalties against men who rape their wives.
The CCEC had awarded the sum to Mr. Downing after estimating that 11,000 Democrat voters had received what was determined to be push poll calls, which cost those responsible about 72 cents per call.
That formula was used by the campaign of Mr. Munsil to help determine the $239,000 figure it had requested from the commission to help negate the effects of the polling.
However, based upon information the commission learned this week from Mr. Downing and a consulting group responsible for the poll called the Media Guys, the CCEC wished to reduce the amount it had given to the Senate candidate.
Mr. Lang told the commission the polling did not constitute a push poll because it did not reach the thousands of voters necessary to help sway an election. In all, the poll had reached 209 voters and was designed to help an independent expenditure group form effective campaign messages on behalf of Ms. Aboud, he said.
“I think it’s legitimate,” he said. “They were testing negative messages against Mr. Downing.”
Attorney: ‘Dangerous precedent’
Attorney Andy Gordon, who recently defended Governor Napolitano from allegations of campaign finance violations, urged the commission not to award matching funds for independent expenditures like small polls to avoid setting a “dangerous precedent” and running afoul of First Amendment issues in the future.
Campaign committees typically use such polls to measure the effectiveness of attacks against contenders, and at times, their own weaknesses to such actions, he said.
“You want to know if the other guy punches you in the face with his best punch what the damage is,” he said.
Based upon that recommendation and figures provided by the Media Guys, the commission ordered Mr. Downing to return any unspent or uncommitted funds from the $8,000 he had received.
Mr. Downing told the commission he had about $600 left after creating and mailing information to voters to counter the spousal rape polling.
A letter written to the commission by Mr. Lang and testimony from Mr. Downing related that the polling was financed by a group calling itself Protect Tucson Women. The group is listed on the Secretary of State’s Web site as a candidate support or opposition committee.
Mr. Downing also told the commission he had visited an address listed on the campaign finance report of Protect Tucson Women and found an unoccupied house that had a campaign sign for Ms. Aboud in the front yard.
He told the commission he had linked the home to Pamela Sutherland, the executive director of Arizona List. Arizona List is a group dedicated to supporting the candidacies of pro-choice Democrat female candidates.
Ms. Sutherland told Arizona Capitol Times that Bridget Riceci, chairwoman of Protect Tucson Women, lives in the home as a tenant and acknowledges that Arizona List has donated money to her group but she does not know what each group that Arizona List donates to does with their funds.
She characterizes Mr. Downing’s charges that the home has been used to move money into campaign against the representative as “bizarre.”
“He’s a very angry man,” she said.
Ms. Aboud, who has signed an affidavit disavowing any knowledge of the polling, asked the commission for matching funds to be provided to her campaign for the negative attention she has received — and the fact that Mr. Downing no longer has sufficient funds to refund to the CCEC.
“My numbers have gone down as a result of this,” she said, via teleconference.
Ms. Riceci did not return calls to Arizona Capitol Times in time for publication.
Mr. Munsil’s primary opponent Don Goldwater also attended the commission meeting. Mr. Goldwater’s campaign had also asked for funding to cover the independent expenditure on the poll because it “simplified” his position on immigration and left people with the impression that Mr. Goldwater was behind the calls.