http://www.azcentral.com/...
Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard on Friday accused Republican challenger Bill Montgomery of using illegal immigrants in the shooting of a campaign video on illegal immigration and of violating state law on permissible spending of public campaign funding.
A lawyer for Goddard filed a complaint asking the state Citizens Clean Elections Commission to investigate and to make Montgomery surrender roughly $73,000 -
The complaint also included a Montgomery campaign finance report that listed expenditures of $30,000 on Sept. 12 - the day of the primary election - for the video shoot and $43,000 on the same date for purchases of air time.
"You would think a candidate for attorney general would know and follow state law."
Montgomery, who has made illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, said he would dispute Goddard's complaint.
"I didn't go around and check everybody's documentation," he said.
GODDARD PRESS RELEASE:
http://terrygoddard.org/...
PHOENIX, ARIZ - Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard today filed a complaint with the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, charging that his opponent has violated state law by illegally spending primary campaign funds on the general election campaign. He may also have violated federal law by paying illegal immigrants for a commercial.
The complaint, filed by elections law expert Marty Harper, says that Bill Montgomery failed to return $73,000 in funds he had not spent by the end of the primary and instead used it to produce a television commercial on primary election day and make a media buy on that day for ads to run in the general election.
In addition, the complaint says, Montgomery used the funds on illegal activity, paying a group of illegal immigrants to be in a commercial about immigration.
Arizona state law says that primary election Clean Elections monies must be spent on the primary campaign or returned to the state.
A candidate cannot use primary funds for an expenditure that will only be used in the general election because it would give the candidate substantially more to spend on the general election than his or her opponent.
"You would think a candidate for attorney general would know and follow state law," said Harper.
He noted in the complaint that Montgomery also violated federal law by employing illegal immigrants, according to a report filed by a town of Gilbert worker who witnessed the filming in a Gilbert park.
"Under federal law, it is unlawful for a person or other entity . . . to hire, or to recruit or refer for a fee, for employment in the United States an alien knowing the alien is an unauthorized alien. . ." wrote Harper to the Commission.
An incident report filed at the town of Gilbert Parks and Recreation Department by Matt LaMotte, a Gilbert Parks and Recreation Department employee, indicates that on Sept. 12, "I discovered a truck full of film equipment, a film crew and a group of Hispanic men in the east parking lot of Freestone Park."
The report states Bill Montgomery then arrived and told the town worker he was the Republican candidate for attorney general and the film crew was there to film a commercial for him.
"Meanwhile, the camera operator informed me that the commercial is about illegal immigration, the groups of Hispanic men are illegal immigrants, and they were being paid for their services."
See: Clean Elections Complaint (Exhibits A to the Complaint: Montgomery for Attorney General Campaign Finance Report; Exhibit B to the Complaint: Incident Report - Parks and Recreation Department, Town of Gilbert)
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For more Information about Arizona's ground breaking Clean Elections system check out http://www.azclean.org
Basically, you get public matching funds if you OPT IN to the system by collecting x number of $5 checks from registered voters. You are barred from taking any other contributions and can only use that money.
If you are running unopposed for your parties nomination, you get money for the primary and general elections but they are treated seperately and thus you MUST spend that money you get for the primary BEFORE the primary and you cannot use it for general election purposes.
SO he bought ad time and shot the ad the day of the primary, thus illegally using primary money for general election purposes.
Then, there is the whole using illegal immigrants thing ...