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Reagan, Clean Elections clash over proposed ‘dark money’ rule
A proposal by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to crack down on some “dark money” groups has aroused the opposition of the Secretary of State’s Office and escalated the ongoing dispute over the extent of the commission’s authority.
Reagan, Clean Elections clash over proposed ‘dark money’ rule
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is considering pushing the fight against dark money into new territory, and that isn’t sitting well with Arizona’s top elections official.
Negotiations between Clean Elections, House leadership fell short
Disagreements over the Citizens Clean Elections Commission’s authority over nonparticipating candidates and independent expenditure committees derailed a possible last-minute deal with House Republican leadership over the future of Arizona’s system of public funding for political campaigns.
A Faustian deal or a grand bargain
It’s no secret the Clean Elections Commission has enemies at the Capitol who have been seeking its destruction year after year, but CCEC Executive Director Tom Collins and attorney Joe Kanefield told commissioners today that there is an opportunity to reach a compromise.
Lawmakers again vote to increase amount of money they can take from private donors
For the second time in two years, state lawmakers are voting to increase the amount of money they can take from private donors.
Senate panel approves Clean Elections repeal measure
Republican critics of Clean Elections have renewed their long-term goal of convincing voters to repeal Arizona’s system of public campaign funding and are hoping that some extra money for K-12 education will help sweeten the deal.
Committee votes to move up primary election
The five members of the House Elections Committee agreed that Arizona’s late August primary election date should be earlier. Exactly when the primary election will be may have to be a discussion for another day.
Clean Elections OKs settlement, Horne pays $10K fine
Attorney General Tom Horne paid a $10,000 fine to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, officially ending the agency’s investigation into allegations that he illegally had Attorney General’s Office employees working on his re-election during work hours.
Clean Elections fines group $96K over anti-Smith ads
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission voted to impose a $96,000 fine against the Legacy Foundation Action Fund over ads it ran criticizing then-Mesa Mayor Scott Smith after deciding that they should have been reported as campaign commercials for the governor’s race.
All that, and whatever else we find
Collins’ recommendation for Forese and Little includes a lengthy footnote on page 11 that makes clear the CCEC investigation could go far beyond the scope of the possible violations identified in the previous pages. In the footnote, Collins noted that the definition of “contribution” includes goods or services provided at no charge or at a discounted rate.
Capitol Quotes: Sept 12, 2014
This week's most outstanding quotes from Arizona's political stage.
Clean Elections head says ruling backs up complaint
Clean Elections Executive Director Tom Collins said a recent court ruling on what constitutes electioneering confirms his findings that a group that ran ads against Scott Smith in the governor’s race violated campaign laws.
