Secretary of State says Arizona Free Enterprise Club is violating Arizona law

On Friday, the Arizona Secretary of State’s office found reasonable cause that the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, filed as an Independent Expenditure Committee with the Secretary of State, is violating Arizona election laws. See Reasonable Cause Notice (.pdf).

(There is also a political action committee,  AZ Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC (Formerly Freedom Club PAC) filed with the Secretary of State.)

The Arizona Republic reports, Election officials: Reasonable cause that Arizona Free Enterprise Club broke law:

Elections officials concluded Friday there is reasonable cause to believe the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, which has spent more than $1 million primarily to influence voters in statewide races, has violated elections laws.

The club was one of five outside groups the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office has been probing to determine if they were operating illegally.

Under state regulations, political entities can attempt to influence elections, and as long as their primary purpose is social welfare, they do not have to disclose donors. However, if their primary purpose is influencing elections, they must register as a political action committee and disclose donors.

An Aug. 15 reasonable-cause notice by Deputy Secretary of State Jim Drake said state officials found the Arizona Free Enterprise Club failed to properly file as a political committee and failed to report campaign contributions and expenses. The case is being referred to the state Attorney General’s Office for further review.

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club has not disclosed any expenditures in the Attorney General race to date. They are largely concentrating on the “APS Slate” of candidates, Justin Pierce for Secretary of State and Tome Forese and Doug Little for Arizona Corporation Commission. They have also expended money in support of far-right legislative candidates, the ones that Laurie Roberts of  The Republic refers to as “Kooks.” See the reports here Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

Officials’ reasonable-cause review pointed out a key question was whether the group “is organized primarily for the purpose of influencing an election.”

From Jan. 1, 2013, through Aug. 8, the group spent about $3.4 million. The group said in a response to elections officials that it did not engage in any election activity for this cycle until June 26, and as of Aug. 8, its expenditures totaled about $1.3 million — 37 percent of total expenditures.

The group did not provide a breakdown of the remaining 63 percent of its spending, elections officials wrote, but listed other activities such as legislative relations and community engagement.

Michael Liburdi, the group’s attorney, was reviewing the notice and couldn’t talk in-depth the about the finding.

“We look forward to having a dialogue with the attorney general,” he said late Friday, adding he believes the group and state officials “will be able to work these issues through.”

“It’s a stretch to conclude their primary purpose is electioneering when you consider (the group’s) 10-year history,” Liburdi said.

Ah yes, Michael Liburdi, the consigliere to evil GOP bastards. Remember, he was a lobbyist/lawyer for the secretive GOP redistricting organization FAIR Trust, and now he is representing the GOP leadership of the Arizona legislature in their three lawsuits to overturn the will of the people with the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Whenever a Tea-Publican gets into trouble with election laws, this is the fixer they call to get them out of trouble.

The group is registered for tax purposes as a non-profit, and it is not required to list its donors, something the club has declined to do when asked previously by The Arizona Republic.

We may not be able to discover who is funding the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (cough! APS and its parent company Pinnacle West), but reporters can disclose to the public who the far-right evil GOP bastards are who operate the Arizona Free Enterprise Club by perusing its web site. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club Founding Members (summarized with additional facts):

Steve Voeller
Steve Voeller was the original President of the Free Enterprise Club. Voeller started in politics in 1993 as Field Director for Jon Kyl’s U.S. Senate campaign. In January 1995, Voeller went to Washington, DC to work for Congressman Matt Salmon. Voeller later returned to Arizona to manage Salmon’s two re-election campaigns and became Salmon’s Arizona District Director. In 2001, Voeller became Congressman Flake’s first Chief of Staff and oversaw Flake’s re-election victories in 2002 and 2004. After establishing the Club as one of the leading organizations in Arizona, Voeller left the Club in 2012 to become Chief of Staff for Senator Jeff Flake.

Dean Riesen, Chairman
Dean Riesen is Managing Partner of Rimrock Capital Partners, a real estate investment company based in Phoenix. Before he founded Rimrock, Riesen was Chief Financial Officer of Carlson Holdings, Inc. (parent of Carlson Companies, TGI Fridays, Radisson Hotels, Seven Seas Cruises, Carlson Wagonlit Travel) and General Partner and CEO of Carlson Real Estate Company, LP. Riesen serves on the boards of Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. and Meridian Bank, N.A. Riesen was a founding director of the Center of the American Experiment [SourceWatch: a member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a web of state pressure groups that denote themselves as “think tanks” and drive a right-wing agenda in statehouses nationwide. SPN is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).]. He also served on the board the Taxpayer’s League of Minnesota and was Finance Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota. In 2002, Riesen was Director of Policy for Minnesota Governor-elect Tim Pawlenty’s transition team. Since moving to Arizona he has joined the board of the Goldwater Institute [SourceWatch: Goldwater is involved with a number of organizations and networks with close Koch ties, including ALEC, the State Policy Network, and the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Goldwater has received significant amounts of funding from sources with ties to the Koch brothers, including the Charles G. Koch Foundation and the Koch-linked DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund.]

Eric Crown
Eric Crown is the founder of Insight Enterprises, a $3 billion computer sales company based in Tempe, Arizona. Currently a venture capitalist, Crown is still an active board member of Insight. Crown is also active in Arizona politics.

Sam Garvin
After serving in the Reagan administration as a staff assistant on the Presidential Commission for the German-American Tri-Centennial, he began working for Heinz U.S.A. as a sales merchandise. [He founded Scottsdale-based Continental Promotion Group in 1989, and sold CPG in June 2005.] In June 2004, Mr. Garvin purchased his interest in the Phoenix Suns and currently serves on the Executive Management Board of the Phoenix Suns. Other boards he serves on include Phoenix Suns Charities, and AliLaur LLC. Sam has a keen interest in venture capital and is a limited partner in several Sequoia Capital funds. He also is active in real estate and private equity investing through Garvin Holdings, LLC.

Bob Hobbs, Sr
Bob Hobbs is Chairman of Naumann/Hobbs Holding Company, and President & CEO of B.T. Leasing Corporation. He is the former President & CEO of Naumann/Hobbs Material Handling, Inc. He is a founding member of the Arizona State University President’s Club.

David Thompson
Dave Thompson is the owner of Thompson Industries, a Gilbert, Arizona Company involved in a diversified group of businesses, including aerospace and defense consulting, Arizona venture capital, and investment management. Prior to starting Thompson Industries, Thompson was the Founder and President/CEO of Spectrum Astro, Inc., a fast-growing aerospace company that specialized in designing, manufacturing, and testing of high performance satellites for space missions. In 2004, Thompson was the chairman of the No on 400 committee, which was formed to revamp Maricopa County’s transportation funding priorities.