AZ attorney general

Terry Goddard responds to the ‘Kochtopus’ 60 Plus Association ‘dark money’ ads

by

Democratic candidate for Secretary of State Terry Goddard, who has made reining in “dark money” by requiring transparency and disclosure in campaign finance the centerpiece of his campaign, responds to the late surge of “dark Money” from the “Kochtopus” 60 Plus Association, in an op-ed in the Tucson Weekly. Terry Goddard: “Dark Money Tries To Deceive Voters”:

goddardThe 60 Plus Association describes itself as a “non-partisan seniors advocacy group,” but like anything involving Dark Money, what they say is far from true.

The 60 Plus Association, in fact, is a Koch Brothers-backed front group that floods our airwaves with political ads paid for with anonymous corporate cash designed to distort our elections and deceive voters.

But it also has another purpose: to advocate for the privatization of Social Security.

60 Plus is a major player in the fight for Social Security Privatization. That proposal was the brainchild of hedge fund managers who would profit from privatization and who write big checks to political organizations, not seniors who rely on Social Security.

The focus of my campaign for Secretary of State has been stopping Dark Money. I have made it clear from the first day of my campaign that I am running to stop the anonymous corporate cash flooding into Arizona, one of the biggest threats to our democracy.

Read more

APS and the Carbon Monopoly try to buy an Attorney General

by

Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic has a reasonable explanation for why APS and its parent company Pinnacle West, together with the “Kochtopus” Carbon Monopoly dark money network operated by Sean Noble, are investing heavily in the Attorney General race: because the Attorney General decides whether the policies adopted by the Corporation Commission meet legal muster. APS betting big on Mark Brnovich (and here’s why):

dark_moneyEverybody’s favorite electric utility is at it again.

Arizona Public Service, not content with trying to select [capture] who will regulate it, also is hoping to have a say in who will oversee the regulators.

APS’s parent company, Pinnacle West, has chipped in $175,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association for a new ad attacking Felecia Rotellini, the Democratic nominee for attorney general.

APS is supporting her opponent, Republican Mark Brnovich.

* * *

During the primary, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and Save Our Future Now – a pair of dark-money independent campaigns widely believed to be funded in part by APS – spent an astonishing $1.7 million aimed at getting Republicans Tom Forese and Doug Little elected to the commission that regulates APS and other utilities.

Read more

Kochtopia: The GOP culture of corruption in Arizona

by

Drac-bats

h/t “Dracula Untold”

The Dark Lord of “dark money” in Arizona, Republican consultant Sean Noble of DC-London, the money laundering bag man at the center of the “Kochtopus” dark money network, has released his minions in the final 10 days of the campaign against Democratic candidates.

The Arizona Republic reports today that “Kochtopus” front group 60 Plus Association, which receives its funding from from organizations with links to the Koch brothers, is dropping another $900,000 into attack ads against Democrat Fred Duval on behalf of the candidate from Koch, Doug Ducey. Newly aggressive DuVal attacks Ducey.

60 Plus has also dropped another $304,000 on attack ads against Clean Elections candidate for Secretary of State, Democrat Terry Goddard, who has promised to clean up dark money in Arizona if elected. $304,000 ‘dark money’ ad attacks Goddard.

Read more

Pinnacle West (APS) ‘dark money’ in Corporation Commission and Attorney General races

by

For much of this year the Carbon Monopoly, led by APS and its parent company Pinnacle West, have been the source of enormous amounts of “dark money” in support of Tea-Publicans Doug Little and Tom Forese in the Arizona Corporation Commission race, in an effort to “capture” the commission so it can write its own policies.

Now APS and its parent company Pinnacle West are big players in the Attorney General race as well. Arizona’s Politics Blog reports, BREAKING: APS Semi-Openly Places $425k Bet On Arizona Attorney General Race:

dark_moneyThe parent company of APS – Pinnacle West Capital – is spending (at least) $425,000 telling Arizonans about the “dangerous views” of Democratic AG nominee Felecia Rotellini.

While APS is widely-believed to be secretly spending large amounts of money on the Corporation Commission election, its $425,000 contribution to the Republican Attorneys General Association is the first (material*) political expenditure to be brought to light, after RAGA filed its quarterly report with the Internal Revenue Service last week.

Interestingly, the third quarter (July – Sept) report (below the jump) only lists one Pinnacle West $175,000 contribution, on September 15 – the day before Arizona’s Politics reported on the $1.6M ad buy by RAGA.  However, it indicates that the aggregate year to date contribution is $425,000.

Read more

Sierra Vista Herald endorses Felecia Rotellini and David Garcia

by

Arizona’s small town newspapers are getting around to their candidate endorsements. Here in Southern Arizona, the Sierra Vista Herald has recently published a pair of endorsements.

The Herald endorses Felecia Rotellini for Attorney General. OUR VIEW: Rotellini for Attorney General:

After almost four years of scandals and politics, it’s time Arizona restored integrity to the Attorney General’s office.

Politics aside, the troubles brought by officeholder Tom Horne were the main reason he failed to capture the support of voters in his own party and lost in the Aug. 26 primary election.

FeleciaRotelliniFelecia Rotellini is the best choice to bring the focus of the Attorney General’s office back to its intended purpose. Her 13 years of experience as a criminal and civil prosecutor serving under three different Attorneys General — both Republican and Democrat — and her current focus on what needs to be done, distinguish her credibility.

Rotellini has focused her campaign on making necessary changes to prosecute white-collar crime, protect the elderly from abuse and aggressively pursue criminals who are perpetrating sex-trafficking and racketeering. Her plan calls for recruiting better attorneys, employing forensic accountants and hiring special agents who will put “more boots on the ground” to carry out the responsibilities of the office.

Read more