Now itβs mean and ugly.
The Tucson Unified School District board race could aptly have been called βhotly contestedβ before, but itβs gone far beyond that.
Two independent-expenditure groups have entered the race in force, with increasingly vitriolic attacks on the candidates they oppose.
In public view, much of the rhetoric has centered on the idea of closing schools in TUSD.
Supporters of incumbents Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster have been arguing for weeks that the forces behind the TUSD Kids First group that is trying to unseat them are actually committed to a more sinister plan. They want to close schools and sell them off to developers, the argument goes.
Now Juarez and Foster have the backing of Protect Our Schools, an independent-expenditure group supported by U.S. Rep. RaΓΊl Grijalva. That group is focusing its attacks on incumbent Mark Stegeman, accusing him of leading a βspecial interest takeover of TUSD.β
Grijalva, whose daughter Adelita is board president but not up for re-election, told me Thursday that he helped found the Protect Our Schools group to counteract the one trying to unseat Juarez and Foster.
βThe other IE was out there with a lot more money and a lot more connections,β he said.
So he authorized a $5,500 donation from his Livable Communities PAC. Two other entities, Great Schools Now and Arizona List, also are supporting Protect Our Schools. Beyond putting up signs, theyβve sent out mailers that imitate the style and message of the TUSD Kids First campaign.
βChange the board,β the mailer says, using the same slogan TUSD Kids First uses. βStop Stegeman Now.β
Naturally, Stegeman has gotten agitated over this. In an email, he said:
βI have said repeatedly, for several years, that closures are not on my agenda, with the possible exception of one high school, since we never reached the question of closing any of our 10 major high schools. It is also not on TUSDβs current agenda; it is a completely made-up issue.β
But since people are talking about closings, TUSD Kids First decided to get in on the act. After the first round of signs encouraging people to βChange the boardβ and support candidates Stegeman, Brett Rustand and Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, the group put up signs in the form of an addition problem that say βFoster + Juarez = Closed Schools.β
This one I couldnβt figure out at first, because nobody is accusing them of wanting to close schools. TUSD Kids First co-chair Jimmy Lovelace explained to me this isnβt a forward-looking critique β that those two plan to close more schools β but backward-looking: They did close schools.
What makes this a low blow is that Foster and Juarez joined the board in 2013, after the previous board had voted to close schools. Their board simply implemented the changes the previous one had decided on.
But there have been lower blows. Rustand told me 400 of his 600 signs have been stolen. Stegeman wrote me Thursday afternoon to say, βVolunteers are putting out new signs today and they are swept up in broad daylight within hours. (Not all the signs of course.)β
Someone else anonymously had hundreds of signs printed that say βBoot the Boardβ and target Foster and Juarez. Board critic DA Morales told me he got dozens of them from fellow board critic Lori Hunnicutt. Foster pointed out theyβre posted at every exit to her neighborhood. They donβt say whoβs responsible for them.
And Kathy Campbell, another co-chair of the TUSD Kids First group, contacted me Thursday upset over how sheβs being dragged through the mud.
βSomewhere along the line, the personal attacks have got to stop,β she said.
Itβs true β they should, and people should be held responsible for the sign stealing and campaigns of half-truths. However, itβs not surprising that our first school-board campaign involving big-money independent-expenditure groups devolved this way.
Solar irony alert
For two years, the pro-rooftop-solar forces have been slamming Arizona Public Service Co. for its apparent contributions of dark money to political campaigns in the 2014 election.
How things change.
The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission filed a complaint against Save Our AZ Solar for not reporting its spending on political campaigning in a timely fashion. State law requires independent committees to report their spending to both the commission and the Arizona secretary of state, but the commission requires faster reporting.
The group chose to report in a more leisurely fashion with the Secretary of Stateβs Office.
When the commission challenged it, Save Our AZ Solarβs answer instantly was entered in the Hypocrisy Hall of Fame: Your reporting requirements are unconstitutional!
Now thatβs rich, coming from them.
The commission found Tuesday that Save Our AZ Solar, which is financed by the rooftop-solar leasing company Solar City, failed to timely report.
Tom Collins, a former Star reporter who became a lawyer and is director of the commission, told me: βOur reports are time-sensitive. The public would have known the pace of spending had they filed timely. They did not because they only filed the secretary of stateβs report.β
APSβs allies were quick to pounce on the hypocrisy. Matt Benson, who is working as spokesman for the new Arizona Coalition for Reliable Electricity, called it a βthrough the looking glass experience.β
The coalition, by the way, is basically a vehicle for one entity, Pinnacle West, the parent company of APS. It has put about $1.6 million into the race for Corporation Commission this week, hoping to elect the three Republicans.
That comes after tremendous spending by Save Our AZ Solar, as Rachel Leingang of the Arizona Capitol Times reported. So far, just in the general election, the solar group has spent $2.5 million, she reported.
Said Benson: βThe fact of the matter is Pinnacle West intended not to engage in the 2016 races. But in the face of a multimillion-dollar spending blitz, it became clear we couldnβt sit on the sidelines any longer.β
Adelson against 205
You can add to the roster of gazillionaires against marijuana legalization the name of Sheldon Adelson. The casino magnate from Las Vegas put $500,000 into the anti-Prop. 205 campaign this week.
That came on the heels of a $1 million contribution by Discount Tire owner Bruce Halle of Paradise Valley. Ernie Garcia of Drivetime Automotive has donated a comparatively tiny $250,000.
Adelson, the gambling magnate, apparently prefers that people engage in the vice of his choice.
Miller on tape
I mentioned in Wednesdayβs column that Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller prevented me from attending the Republican Club meeting at which she spoke on Tuesday.
Well, I was able to get a recording of her presentation, and youβll be surprised by what the outcome was. I actually found her somewhat persuasive. She argued forcefully that she is doing the hard work of protecting the taxpayer against entrenched political interests.
Despite my many criticisms over the years, if I lived in her district, I might even vote for her, to ensure there is someone playing the role of skeptic on the board. However, I still wouldnβt want her running a board majority β not because Iβm wedded to the idea of Chuck Huckelberry remaining county administrator but because of the threat I think she would pose to the functioning of county government.
