Subpoenaed bank account records from a campaign finance investigation of Rep. Doug Quelland reveal he paid a Phoenix businessman thousands of dollars in 2007 and 2008, and now election officials face the task of determining whether the payments were for unreported campaign services or routine private business ventures.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has received copies of seven $1,000 checks written by Quelland to consultant Larry Davis and his company Intermedia Public Relations, said CCEC Executive Director Todd Lang.

The copies of the checks were obtained as the result of a series of subpoenas issued by an assistant attorney general after the campaign regulatory commission voted in December to investigate Quelland, who was accused of exceeding his 2008 campaign spending limits.

Lang cautioned that neither the commission nor staff has concluded Quelland broke any campaign finance laws during his 2008 campaign for office.

Quelland, a publicly funded candidate, was accused in November by Democrat rivals of failing to report a $15,000 campaign consulting contract with Davis.

Through an attorney, the District 10 Republican has maintained that he ended the contract with Intermedia after Davis advised him to conduct a negative campaign against Democrat Jackie Thrasher, who was running against Quelland to keep her seat in the House.

However, the representative did continue to use Davis to help promote his rental business and coffee shop, said attorney Lee Miller.

"None of those checks were written for any services to the campaign," he said, adding Quelland relied on consultant Constantin Querard to do the "heavy lifting" during the 2008 campaign.

Davis, though, told commissioners on Dec. 18 that he had been paid $11,000 for campaign services from Quelland's business bank account and had paid below-market office rent for his business, which is located in a strip mall owned by Quelland.

Davis claimed the contract was never terminated and that he performed a variety of campaign services during Quelland's 2008 campaign for office, including securing endorsements, advertising for functions, collecting nominating signatures and collecting voter information from the Arizona Republican Party.

"I was clearly working for him," Davis told commission members, adding he would have to be "obsessed or insane" to continue to help the campaign after he had been fired.

Miller characterized Davis as a campaign volunteer eager to expand his advertising business into the political realm and said Davis' accusations against Quelland were motivated by anger stemming from the termination of the contract.

"Davis was and is looking for an opportunity to break into state politics," Miller said.

Lang said he is attempting to determine exactly what advertising or promotional activities Davis had carried out on behalf of Quelland's businesses. The $1,000 checks were written monthly from June 2007 to January 2008, with the exception of November, he said.

"It's a lot of money for ads, for commercial work," he said.

Lang said subpoenas seeking Davis' bank account records have so far reaped incomplete results as several banks have not yet complied with the order.

On Dec. 31, Assistant Attorney General Tanja Shipman issued subpoenas to seven banks used by Davis' firm- JP Morgan Chase, Compass Bank, Copper Star Bank, National Bank of Arizona, Community Bank of Arizona, West Valley National Bank and Western National Bank demanding bank statements and cancelled checks relating to Doug Quelland and his Q-Land Enterprises, Inc.

As a publicly funded candidate in 2008, Quelland's campaign finances restrictions were governed by the Clean Elections Act of 1998. To qualify for public funds, candidates pledge to turn down substantial amounts of private contributions and to avoid spending personal money on their political campaigns.

The act demands that candidates who exceed their primary or general election expenditure limits by greater than 10 percent be removed from office. Quelland, as a participating candidate, received $71,000 to run his primary and general elections campaigns.

If Davis' claims that the contract was never terminated are substantiated by the commission, the $15,000 value of the agreement would place Quelland well above the 10 percent overspending threshold and leave him subject to removal from office.

In November, Quelland beat Thrasher by fewer than 700 votes. District 10 Republican Carol Vandercook filed the complaint with election officials soon afterward, with the help of attorney Jim Barton.

Quelland received the second highest number of votes in the district, trailing only Rep. Jim Weiers. Quelland was elected to the House in 2002 and again in 2004, but was defeated by Thrasher in 2006.