Don’t get mad, sue
Reps. Gary Pierce (left) and Kirk Adams, both District 19 Republicans, are among five privately funded GOP candidates suing the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled Oct. 4 that the constitutional rights of five Republicans who ran private unopposed primary campaigns have not been violated as a result of a provision of the Clean Elections Act.
The candidates, Sens. Dean Martin; R-6, Chuck Gray, R-19, Reps. Kirk Adams, R-19, Gary Pierce, R-19; and Cheryl Chase, R-23, testified earlier that a state election law ensures that their publicly funded general election opponents receive up to 40 percent more funding and furthermore their rights of free speech and equal protection have been violated as a result.
The private candidates, two who are running for statewide office, ran unopposed in the primary elections, but currently face publicly funded challengers.
Under the state law, campaign expenditures made during their primaries trigger matching funds to their publicly funded opponents for use in the general election period.
The plaintiffs, led by Mr. Martin, requested that the Citizens Clean Elections Commission be ordered to stop issuing matching funds to their opponents while they try to raise an amount equal to what has been already given to their publicly funded challengers.
Four of the five plaintiffs testified that they have stopped raising private contributions because the practice would simply add to the war chests of their opponents at a matching dollar-to-dollar rate.
“Once we reach the matching point, what’s the point of raising money≠” asked Mr. Martin, responding to questioning from his attorney Tim Casey.
According to state elections law, participating candidates can receive matching funds to balance contributions or independent expenditures given to privately funded competitors. The amount of available matching funds is capped at three times the amount the publicly funded candidate receives to run primary or general election campaigns
But that in itself is no small task, said Mr. Martin, who is running for state treasurer. He estimated that he would have to raise at least $250,000 to equal funds distributed to Democratic challenger Rano Singh.
“I couldn’t raise that much money if I had all year,” he said.
Lang: Unfair does not mean unconstitutional
The commission’s executive director Todd Lang testified that he believed the provision was written to thwart attempts by private candidates to “game the system” by spending all their money in the primary elections, which would leave their opponents without vital public funds for the general election.
He testified further that he told several of the candidates during phone calls that he would be “unhappy” if he were “in their shoes,” but that the law’s unfairness does not mean it’s unconstitutional.
“There are plenty of bad laws out there,” he said.
Judge Kenneth Fields, in a written opinion, ruled that the candidates’ constitutional rights were not violated because they had chosen to run private campaigns and “could not or would not raise monies in excess of the maximum spending limits for participating candidates.”
While the plaintiffs said the court needed to act quickly because of the looming general election and the Oct. 5 mailing of early ballots, Judge Fields disagreed.
“Public policy in Arizona favors public funding of elections and the Arizona Legislature is in a better position than the court to “fix” the imbalance in funding created by this unique situation,” he wrote.
The Republicans’ attorney, Mr. Casey, said he was disappointed by the ruling but not entirely surprised because courts are generally reluctant to overturn statutes.
He said that he expected victory after the judge asked Diana Varela, an assistant attorney general who represents the commission, if the commission would be willing to compromise with the plaintiffs.
At the hearing, Ms. Varela responded that Mr. Lang did not have the legal authority to reach a compromise on behalf of the commission.
Mr. Pierce is running for one of two seats on the Corporation Commissioner against Democrats Richard Boyer and Mark Manoil, Libertarian Rick Fowlkes, and Republican Kris Mayes.
Mr. Gray resigned from the House after being appointed to the Senate to fill a position left vacant by the death of Sen. Marilyn Jarrett on March 10. He is running against District 19 Democratic candidate Steven William Zachary.
Mr. Adams, who was appointed to replace Mr. Gray, is running for one of two District 19 House seats left vacant by Mr. Pierce and Mr. Gray. His challengers include Democrat Lara Wibeto and fellow Republican Rich Crandall.
Ms. Chase, who switched to the Republican Party last session, is running against Senate Democrat incumbent Rebecca Rios for the District 23 seat.