The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Rocque Perez
The Democrat I am challenging is Rep. Alma Hernandez, my opponent in the race to represent Tucson in the Arizona State Senate.
The issue itself is straightforward. Arizona law says a filing officer shall not accept a nomination paper for state or local office if the candidate is liable for an aggregate of $1,000 or more in unpaid campaign finance fines, penalties, late fees, or administrative or civil judgments arising from campaign finance enforcement, unless that liability is being appealed.
According to public records, Hernandez owes at least $20,355 in assessed fines from listed late reports, not including additional reports that still appear unfiled and late.
Arizona law also allows an elector to challenge a candidate’s qualifications on that basis. On Arizona’s See the Money portal, the public can review campaign finance filings and reporting histories for candidates and committees. That record reflects a long pattern of late filings and substantial unpaid penalties associated with committees tied to Alma Hernandez as candidate, chairperson, and treasurer.
This case is not based solely on listed fines. It also involves formal enforcement steps taken by then–Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, now our Governor, including a Reasonable Cause Notice and referral tied to failures to file required campaign finance reports. That matters, because Arizona law does not just recognize penalties in theory. It recognizes enforcement.
The filing officer in this case is Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Like any filing officer, the Secretary of State plays a central role in how election law is administered and applied. That is exactly why judicial clarity is necessary here.
But this is about more than a filing dispute. It is also about the role of money and influence in our politics.
In Tucson, people care deeply about whether their leaders are taking money from interests working against our efforts to strengthen public schools, keep learners safe, mitigate climate change, protect the Sonoran Desert, and defend our civil liberties.
Over time, my opponent’s fundraising has increasingly come from beyond Tucson and beyond Arizona, with substantial support from PACs, lobbying networks, utilities, developers, insurance and pharmaceutical interests, political insiders, and even billionaires from across the country.
These disclosures are one of the only tools the public has to understand who shapes elected officials’ priorities, who they are accountable to, and whose interests are closest to power.
I have watched Alma represent me for four terms and came away from my time on City Council believing our city deserves truer representation at the state level. I entered this race to do better for Tucson, and I filed this challenge for the same reason.
A Secretary of State has significant discretion in how campaign finance enforcement is applied, including when penalties are pursued, enforced, or allowed to sit unresolved. The issue is not who holds the office today. It is that the system allows for inconsistency, and that inconsistency can be exploited.
That is why it matters that this challenge comes from within our own party, while a Democrat holds the office responsible for administering the law. If Democrats are willing to bring this kind of case against another Democrat under a Democratic Secretary of State, then the principle becomes bigger than party. It reinforces that the rules apply regardless of who benefits politically in the moment.
Many would rather look away and let voters sort it out. But ballot access itself is governed by law. We already accept that candidates must meet residency requirements, age requirements, signature thresholds, and filing deadlines. Campaign finance compliance is no different when the law makes it relevant to whether someone can get on the ballot.
If the court finds that the law does not support this challenge, then so be it. That is what courts are for. But if the law does support it, then looking away would be its own kind of failure.
And sometimes, that means taking a member of your own party to court.
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