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Diversionary candidates something of a tradition in Arizona
Arizona has a long history of colorful characters who have been accused of conspiring to defeat their foes by running diversionary candidates.
‘Puppet’ Cortes, shadowy campaign helpers unlikely to face punishment
Recall candidate Olivia Cortes’ campaign may have been contrived, phony, aided by illegal means and designed to fool the public, but that doesn’t mean that she or the perpetrators of the backfired plot to help former Senate President Russell Pearce will face any punishment.
Greener, non-partisan pastures
Olivia Cortes’ attorney, Anthony Tsontakis, took to Twitter today to announce he has left private practice to take a position with Legislative Council.
Cortes case, somehow, grows cold
The investigation into the Olivia Cortes candidacy quietly evaporated last week when Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores informed Bennett that she was unable to determine who pulled the strings to collect Cortes’ nominating petition signatures so she could qualify for the recall ballot.
Russell Pearce should go away — for a while
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a staunch conservative, and I appreciate much of the work that Russell Pearce did while serving in the Arizona House and Senate.
Year in Review: Top photos of 2011
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Year in Review: High court puts spotlight on AZ in 2011
Robes and gavels were a large part of Arizona’s political scene in 2011. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a landmark election law case that came out of the state and agreed to hear SB1070. The state Supreme Court resolved conflicts involving the Independent Redistricting Commission and trial courts were busy with lawsuits contesting cuts to Medicaid and the candidacy of a Mesa woman in the [...]
Poll: Lewis, Pearce neck-and-neck in recall contest
With only a few days left until voters head to the ballot box to decide the fate of Senate President Russell Pearce, a poll commissioned by the Arizona Capitol Times and ABC15 News shows the race is a dead heat.
Mesa Republican Jerry Lewis, who is seeking to unseat Pearce in the Nov. 8 recall election, is holding his own among fellow GOP voters, despite being heavily outspent b[...]
Lawyer says Cortes OK in campaign filings; SOS says law broken
Republican Olivia Cortes, who could face a civil fine for failing to report contributions to her campaign, insists that the paid effort to gather signatures on her behalf was uncoordinated with her campaign.
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.
Secretary of State: Pearce recall mailer is deceptive
State elections officials have asked the Attorney General’s Office to investigate an unknown group after it sent out a campaign mailer they believe is deceptive.
Mesa’s Watergate: Cortes’ campaign conspirators should come clean
The Arizona Constitution, Article 7 section 12, charges the Legislature with the duty to “maintain the purity of elections.” Arizona case law has held that attempting to place a “diversionary candidate” on the ballot is illegal. A “diversionary candidate” is one who is in the race solely to divert votes from a particular candidate so as to give an advantage to another candidate. The re[...]
