Arpaio campaign fined for illegal mailers targeting Romley

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 2012 re-election campaign committee will be fined for sending out mailers deemed illegal by the county election department's finance committee because they sought the defeat of Interim Maricopa County Rick Romley.

The order, determined by Jeff Messing, legal counsel to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, said the Arpaio committee sent out mailers that effectively advocated against Romley or in favor of Romley's Republican primary foe, Bill Montgomery, in Tuesday's election.

The order also says the committee does not qualify as an independent expenditure group under state law because Arpaio has expressly been authorized to raise and spend money on behalf of Montgomery's campaign. Nor did the committee, the Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012 Committee, receive written certification to be a campaign committee from the Arizona Secretary of State as Arpaio publicly campaigned for office during a non-election year for his job.

In a court document obtained by the Tribune, the Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012 committee was ordered on Aug. 24 to produce copies of the expenditures on the mailers within 20 days. Arpaio's campaign committee must disclose the amount spent on the mailers because the committee faces a fine of up to three times the amount of what they cost, according to Steve Messing, legal counsel for the Maricopa County Elections Department.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_a81436ba-b237-11df-b5b8-001cc4c002e0.html

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