Tucson election: Outside money, transparency issues unveiled in campaign finances

Two primary races for Tucson City Council are intensifying as outside groups pour money into campaigns, and other election-related expenses emerge from unknown origins in defiance of state law.

The incumbents in each race have largely outraised their opponents, according to the latest campaign finance reports. However, several candidates have yet to file the reports indicating their campaign contributions and expenses that were due July 17, which can result in nominal penalty fees for each late day but shrouds the legal right of voters to view candidates’ campaign expenses.

Only the races in wards 1 and 2 are contested, with two Democrats vying for the City Council seats in each race. Ward 1 Council Member Lane Santa Cruz is running against challenger Miguel Ortega as Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham faces political newcomer Lisa Nutt.

Ballots for the primary election were mailed out on July 5 and voters have until Tuesday, July 25, to return them by mail. Voters can drop off their ballots at a voting location until 7 p.m. on Election Day, Aug. 1.

Ward 1

The race between two Democratic candidates to get to the November general election has been lined with tension as both sides criticize each other for campaign contributions and a lack of transparency.

Santa Cruz appears to have outraised Ortega nearly four times over. However, Ortega had yet to turn in his latest campaign finance report, missing the deadline by four days as of Friday. His campaign manager Billy Peard said the candidate has raised $16,691, compared to the $58,951 in total contributions listed in Santa Cruz’s campaign finance report documenting contributions up to June 30.

Santa Cruz received an extra $55,421 in public matching funds from the city, boosting her total campaign receipts to $114,372. The incumbent reports spending $51,146, while Peard said Ortega has spent $8,995.

A mailer of a clandestine origin sent to Ward 1 residents has fueled discord in the race. The mailer, which said it was paid for by the “Arizona Prosperity Initiative PAC,” criticized Santa Cruz for voting against “police funding in 2020” and “spending your taxpayer dollars on vacations.”

Neither the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office nor the Tucson City Clerk’s Office have any record of the PAC. Failing to register political action committees that spend money in local elections is a violation of city code and state law that can result in referral to the attorney general if reasonable cause is found, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

A nonprofit by the same name registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission in April. The registry says the group’s statutory agent is Tim La Sota, a Phoenix-based attorney who represented unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor Kari Lake in her election challenge lawsuits. La Sota did not return the Star’s request for comment.

The claim Santa Cruz spent taxpayer money on vacations stems from a December trip the council member and other constituents took to Philadelphia to attend a conference organized by Mijente, a national nonprofit supporting Lantinx and minority rights.

Santa Cruz’s budget, first requested by Ward 1 resident Scott Egan — a prominent figure in local political circles who criticized the council member’s spending in his newsletters — shows more than $15,000 in airfare, hotel stays and fees associated with the conference.

The funds came from a $50,000 grant Mijente awarded the Ward 1 office for “base-building projects for accelerating racial equity,” according to Mijente’s notice of the grant sent in a Sept. 22 letter. The city confirmed the line items on the budget were paid for by the grant and not taxpayer money.

Santa Cruz said they’ve worked with Mijente for several years. The Mijente AZ PAC spent more than $40,000 on mailers and staff time in support of Santa Cruz’s campaign, according to finance reports, while several employees of the nonprofit also made independent contributions.

The Working Families Party PAC spent $21,124 to support the incumbent’s campaign through mailers and phone banking. The Rural Arizona Action organization paid for $2,200 worth of Facebook ads for Santa Cruz.

Both Ortega and Egan say they have nothing to do with the mailer criticizing Santa Cruz and have no idea who funded it.

Ortega condemned Santa Cruz for her receipt of thousands from out-of-state donors and called their acceptance of $750 in independent donations from Tucson Electric Power employees “problematic” after Santa Cruz supported Proposition 412, a TEP-backed ballot initiative that would have increased electric bills.

The challenger said he’s not worried about his opponent out-raising him. However, “it does concern me in that the incumbent can get so much money from sources from outside our local community … who are driving the political destiny of our local elections,” Ortega said.

Santa Cruz points to the lack of transparency Ortega’s late campaign filing poses and is also concerned about the “dark money” behind the furtive mailer opposing the council member’s campaign. Santa Cruz has also said said the majority of their campaign’s receipts do represent local support.

“The reasons why people are able to see where the money’s coming from, it’s because it’s out there on my end. But there is no way of tracking down who’s actually behind who put out that mailer,” Santa Cruz said.

Victoria Lem, the only Republican on the ballot for the general election in Ward 1, reports receiving $70 and spending nothing as of April 29. She has not filed her latest campaign finance report.

Ward 2

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Realty-related companies have spent thousands advertising for Nutt, a political newcomer and realtor.

The Arizona Multihousing Association, a trade association for the apartment industry, paid Summit Consulting Group more than $52,000 to create Nutt’s candidacy website, make digital ads and send out mailers and texts in support of the candidate, according to independent expenditure notifications the group filed with the city clerk’s office.

The public affairs firm Summit Consulting has a GOP-packed client list, featuring names including former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Congresswoman Debbie Lesko and former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

“The choice in Ward 2 comes down to who offers more support when it comes to solving the housing supply crisis. As an experienced Realtor, Lisa Nutt understands the depth of the crisis and its solutions,” Arizona Multihousing Association President and CEO Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus said in an emailed statement.

Regarding the seemingly partisan nature of the firm the group used to campaign for Nutt, the group’s spokesperson David Leibowitz said: “The AMA has worked with Summit for the past 10 years on a number of local races. Unlike the Tucson election, most of those races were nonpartisan.”

A separate notice from the National Association of Realtors Fund showed the group spent more than $35,000 for direct mail, texts and digital ads in support of Nutt’s campaign.

Nutt has raised $15,520 as of June 30, according to the latest campaign finance report, and reports spending $10,800. The candidate’s campaign received $3,000 in direct contributions from political action committees, with the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association PAC Candidates Fund, Realtors of Arizona PAC and Smart TD PAC contributing $1,000 each.

Cunningham, the incumbent seeking a fourth term as a City Council member, criticized Nutt for taking money from “out-of-town, right-wing special interest groups” and changing her voter registration before running for office.

Nutt changed her voter registration from independent to Democrat on Feb. 6, according to the Pima County Recorder’s Office. She filed her notice of intention to run for the City Council seat on Feb. 13, city clerk’s records show.

“Purity tests in politics are a waste of time and hypocritical on anyone’s side. We can take the politics out of policy in order to formulate solutions that benefit our communities,” Nutt said in response to her voter registration change. “If my opponent wants to have a discussion on integrity, that’s a conversation I welcome.”

Cunningham has raised $40,550 in campaign contributions as of the latest campaign finance report listing receipts up to June 30, while spending $32,098. Several employees of real estate developers HSL Properties and Diamond Ventures contributed $500 donations to Cunningham’s campaign.

Ernie Shack, a Republican who will face the winner of the primary election in November, has raised $1,112 and spent $972, according to his latest finance report. Libertarian Pendleton Spicer reports raising $185 and spending $14.

Ward 4

Both candidates in the City Council race for Ward 4 — Democratic incumbent Nikki Lee and Republican challenger Ross Kaplowitch — will advance to the Nov. 7 general election without challengers within their party primaries.

Lee’s campaign reports raising $19,683 as of June 30, severely outraising the $1,242 Kaplowitch reported up to the same date. The Republican challenger said he’s received several relatively low-dollar donations from fundraising events.

Lee reports spending $15,148 while Kaplowitch reports spending $832.

Mayor

Four candidates are vying to become Tucson’s mayor in the general election.

Democratic Mayor Regina Romero is seeking a second term and has raised $96,368 as of June 30, according to her latest campaign finance report. Living United for Change in Arizona spent $53,096 canvassing for the incumbent. The mayor reports spending $51,744 of her campaign contributions.

Ed Ackerley, an independent candidate, reports raising $16,860 as of June 30. His campaign finance report shows $6,705 in outstanding debts and obligations to his own advertising firm, Ackerley Advertising. He’s spent $12,298 on his campaign, according to the report.

Republican Janet Wittenbraker has raised $13,187 and spent $6,242 as of June 30, her campaign’s latest finance report says. Arthur Kerschen, a libertarian, hasn’t raised any funds.