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Flake raises $607K in fourth quarter
Congressman Jeff Flake continued his fundraising dominance in the U.S. Senate race, reporting $607,000 raised in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Montgomery to detail Fiesta Bowl findings
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery will present the findings of his Fiesta Bowl investigation at press conference Dec. 21.
Loophole enables groups to conceal sources of electioneering money
The elections last month exposed what appears to be a gaping hole in Arizona’s campaign finance laws: The inability of elections officials to force groups to register as political committees or report their spending.
Constitutional provision raises question of recall reimbursement for Pearce
Even after the last ballot has been counted, the Legislature may still be getting one more request from outgoing Sen. Russell Pearce: a check for campaign expenses.
A little-known provision in the state Constitution says that an elected official subject to a recall may be reimbursed for “reasonable special election campaign expenses.”
Pearce’s $230K smashes challengers’ modest fundraising
Senate President Russell Pearce collected an impressive $230,000 in contributions in his fight to keep his legislative seat. His spending alone dwarfed his challenger’s modest fundraising total. Pearce also had... […]
Cortes’ campaign report poses legal questions
Olivia Cortes’ campaign finance report only deepened a mystery about her short-lived campaign in the Mesa recall election as it failed to resolve serious questions about who helped finance her campaign. Cortes raised roughly $900, but her campaign report filed Thursday didn’t say who paid a signature-gathering firm that circulated petitions, which ultimately helped to get her on the ballot.
An electoral reform blueprint
Arizona election law is outdated and needs reform. A few issues in the current system receive perennial attention in the media. For example, liberal groups commonly cite anonymous funding of political speech as a major defect in our system, while conservative activists frequently question the constitutionality of the state’s extraordinarily low contribution limits. Many other gaps in Arizona ele[...]
Judge rejects Clean Elections referendum
A judge has ruled that a referendum to abolish Arizona's public campaign finance system can't go on the state's 2012 ballot.
Arizona AG asked to start campaign-finance probe
Arizona's secretary of state has asked Attorney General Tom Horne to start a campaign-finance probe.
Salmon announces $158,000 Q3 fundraising
Former Congressman Matt Salmon today announced he raised $158,136 in the third quarter of 2011, bringing his total fundraising to $330,424 since announcing his bid to return to Congress.
Will elimination of matching funds leave a mark on state politics?
Local political consultants and operatives disagree on what effect the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the matching funds component of Arizona’s public campaign finance option will have on politics.
Matching funds: Remember the departed as they were
The big news this week is the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Arizona’s matching funds provision from Clean Elections. The ruling could be a game-changer for some who will seek legislative and statewide elected positions. But it also begs the question: What will we really be missing?
