by admin | Jun 27, 2018 | Elections, News and Updates
Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat or Independent, it is safe to say most people would be aghast at the idea of their tax dollars being used to fund political parties.
Yet that is exactly what the Clean Elections Commission has been permitting for years.
In 1998 Arizona created a new program called Clean Elections, which allows politicians to receive taxpayer money in order to run for office. Candidates who decide to participate in the Clean Elections system must collect a certain number of $5 individual contributions to qualify for taxpayer funding.
Therefore, it was shocking to see several taxpayer-funded candidates writing large checks from their campaign accounts to political parties. Many of these candidates were running in uncompetitive districts, and some ran “ghost” campaigns where there was little evidence that they were even trying to win. When it was all said and done, over $100,000 in taxpayer money was paid to political parties in 2016.
It is pretty obvious that the taxpayer money being funneled to political parties was payback for helping candidates qualify for clean election dollars. It is wrong and must be stopped.
There was an effort in 2017 to end the practice, but after defeating legislation at the capitol, the Clean Elections Commission promised to address the issue through rulemaking.
Instead, Clean Elections passed a rule CODIFYING the practice, sending a direct signal to candidates that it’s OK to send their funding to political machines. Even more astonishing was that their expanded commission rule now allows for taxpayer money to go to special interest non-profit organizations as well, such as the NRA, Sierra Club and labor unions.
Luckily, voters will get the opportunity to put a stop to this nonsense. A measure is now on the ballot this November that will ask voters if they want to continue to fork over their hard-earned money to political parties and special interest non-profits.
We are hopeful the answer will be a resounding YES to Stop Taxpayer Money going to Political Parties.
by admin | Jun 12, 2018 | Elections, News and Updates
Today the Arizona Free Enterprise Club filed an elections complaint with the Attorney General’s office against the ‘Outlaw Dirty Money’ political committee for potential criminal misconduct. Evidence from multiple independent sources indicate that the committee is paying circulators on a per-signature bases, in direct violation of Arizona law.
The Outlaw Dirty Money committee is sponsoring C-03-2018, a proposed ballot measure that would eliminate donor privacy by requiring the full disclosure of contributors to non-profit organizations that engage in ballot measure or candidate campaigns.
The prohibition against paying circulators per-signature is to protect the integrity of the ballot initiative process and reduce petition fraud. “It is ironic that the same group claiming to want to reduce corruption in politics has decided to employ circulator firms and paid circulators that break the law,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “They can’t be that concerned about electoral integrity if they are unwilling to follow the laws governing ballot measures.”
The formal complaint identifies two instances of the Outlaw Dirty Money committee ignoring the prohibition on per-signature payments. Both violations involve registered paid circulators employed by the circulator firm Advanced Micro Targeting, Inc. The penalty for violating the per-signature ban is a class 1 misdemeanor and a disqualification of all affected petition signatures.
The full complaint can be viewed at https://www.azfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Complaint-dmi.pdf
The exhibits can be viewed at https://www.azfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Exhibit-A1-1.pdf
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club is dedicated to promoting economic freedom and a strong and vibrant Arizona economy. For more information visit www.azfree.org
by admin | Jun 4, 2018 | Elections, News and Updates
Today the Arizona Free Enterprise Club announced its first slate of candidate endorsements for the 2018 election cycle.
The endorsed candidates represent individuals who align with the organization’s principles and key policy goals. Club President Scot Mussi stated, “It is critical Arizona has leaders and policy makers who are able to articulate and stand up for free market principles and pro-growth policies. This slate of candidates has proven they can and will.”
Arizona Governor
Doug Ducey
Arizona Secretary of State
Michele Reagan
Arizona State Treasurer
Kimberly Yee
Arizona Corporation Commission
Justin Olson
State Legislative Races
Paul Mosley, LD 5 House
Regina Cobb, LD 5 House
Sylvia Allen, LD 6 Senate
Stuart McDaniel, LD 6 House
Bob Thorpe, LD 6 House
Vince Leach, LD 11 Senate
Mark Finchem, LD 11 House
Bret Roberts, LD 11 House
Eddie Farnsworth, LD 12 Senate
Travis Grantham, LD 12 House
Warren Petersen, LD 12 House
Darin Mitchell, LD 13 House
David Farnsworth, LD 16 Senate
Lisa Godzich, LD 16 House
Javan Mesnard, LD 17 Senate
Jeff Weninger, LD 17 House
Frank Schmuck, LD 18 Senate
Jill Norgaard, LD 18 House
Paul Boyer, LD 20 Senate
Anthony Kern, LD 20 House
Shawnna Bolick, LD 20 House
Kevin Payne, LD 21 House
Ben Toma, LD 22 House
Rusty Bowers, LD 25 House
Maria Syms, LD 28 House
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