my personal belief is that is WRONG for libertarians to take ANY government money to spend in their elections.

but if unprincipled libertarians for any do take the government money they should be held to the same standards as the other people running for office, ie: the republicans and democrats - the webmaster

from: http://arizonatribune.com/index.php?sty=3697

News Update
Libertarian candidates accused of improper spending
By Le Templar, Tribune
Three Libertarian candidates who ran last fall to represent Tempe and south Scottsdale in the Legislature improperly spent $104,237 in taxpayer money that should have funded their campaigns, the executive director of the Arizona Clean Elections Commission said Thursday.

Commission executive director Colleen Connor said the three used combined public funds to host parties at Scottsdale nightclubs, and also spent thousands of dollars on vehicle rentals and equipment that had little or nothing to do with running for office.

The commission is scheduled to decide Tuesday if Yuri Downing, Trevor Clevenger and Paul DeDonati should be ordered to repay the money to the state.

"I looked and I looked and I looked. I just couldn't find any evidence that there really was a political campaign," Connor said. "There have been cases of questionable expenditures that were explained. But the three candidates in this case didn't even provide a response to attempt to explain."

Downing, who managed all three campaigns, said Connor is ignoring clear proof that the Libertarians made a serious but unorthodox bid for the Legislature.

"Her reaction apparently is This hasn't been done before, so we had better stop it, " Downing said. "I'm absolutely petrified. This is crazy."

Connor said the possible violations are the most serious of their kind that she has encountered in the five-year history of Arizona's system for volunteer candidate financing. Connor also has referred the issue to the Arizona Attorney General's Office for a possible criminal investigation.

Clevenger and DeDonati could not be reached for comment.

As the Tribune reported last year, Downing, Clevenger and DeDonati are recent college graduates who decided to join the Libertarian Party and campaign together for the Legislature in one of most competitive districts in the state. Downing picked up only a few votes in his bid to unseat a two-term incumbent, Sen. Harry Mitchell, D-Tempe, while Clevenger and DeDonati ran unsuccessfully for the House.

The three filed enough $5 donations to qualify for public campaign funding just before the state deadline in late August. That made them eligible for funds in both the primary and general election, and the three reported spending nearly all of their money. Blue campaign signs with simple lettering appeared around Tempe and Scottsdale, and the three attended a candidate debate as required by commission rules.

After the November election, the commission ordered a full audit because of questioned spending trends. In an April 18 letter, Connor said the three candidates should return all of the money because they kept such poor records that commission auditors were unable to verify how most of the funds were used.

Even when it was clear where the money went, Connor said the uses had little connection to campaign activity. Examples include:

- Provided almost $20,000 to a Las Vegas-based voter registration company without any evidence the business performed the work.

- Rented passenger vehicles from a Tucson location, as well as trucks and a van in Phoenix, with no proof that those vehicles were used in the candidates' campaigns.

- Spent thousands of dollars for postage without proof that it was for campaign mailings.

- Spent thousands more for computers and other office equipment without a required inventory list detailing their campaign use.

- Rented an office for two months in north Scottsdale, several miles outside of the district.

- Sponsored "voter registration" parties at Scottsdale nightclubs, also outside of the district.

"How do you register people in a nightclub outside your district and have them to vote for you?" Connor said. "There are nightclubs along Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe."

Connor said she is asking for the maximum penalty, in part, because the three didn't provide a response to the audit's allegations as required by April 18.

Downing said he was preparing to deliver a joint report on that day, but he was served with the formal accusations before he could finish it. Commission records show Downing was served at 4:59 p.m. that day.

Downing said he will tell the commission Tuesday that the three wanted to appeal to voters of their own age, and that meant going where they hang out. That explanation was supported by his father, Rep. Ted Downing, D-Tucson, who also campaigned with public money and won his first term last year. The elder Downing isn't accused of any wrongdoing.

"He worked hard on a campaign," Ted Downing said of his son. "We had disagreements whether it would work. He ran a youth-style campaign trying to bring out that hidden vote that we all feel if we could tap, (it) would mean something."

Yuri Downing admitted to bookkeeping errors, but said he met for two days in January with the auditors and provided all requested documents.

Yuri Downing said Connor wants to punish the three for nontraditional campaigns when other candidates hire political consultants who arrange for expensive dinners and parties at fancy Phoenix hotels.

"We're talking about political speech," he said. "If it is my choice to hire strippers to dance on rooftops . . . I would never do that. But just to take it to the absurd, you have to say that's how someone chose to run a campaign."

Phoenix tax attorney Robert Kamman, who originally challenged the spending reports, said he hopes the commission orders a lenient penalty for the three Libertarians. Kamman filed several complaints against other candidates and has accused the commission of applying its rules unevenly.

"I think voters can accept a certain amount of gaming the system, in return for the benefits provided by public financing of political campaigns," Kamman said in an e-mail message. "Considering all of the violations committed by major party candidates, which the commission either overlooked or slapped on the wrist, it would be unfair to deal harshly with the Libertarians."

Contact Le Templar by email, or phone (602) 542-5813

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