KJZZ

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has approved a proposed settlement with three candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission. From Phoenix, KJZZ’s Mark Brodie reports they had been the subject of a complaint.

MARK BRODIE: The Arizona Democratic Party filed the complaint against Republicans Susan Bitter Smith, Bob Burns and Bob Stump. It arose from a mailer they sent out before the primary, targeting the three Democrats in the race. The Clean Elections Commission’s Executive Director concluded that was a general election expenditure, but was paid for with money meant for the primary election. All six candidates ran unopposed in their party primaries -- the corporation commission has three seats up for election this year.  The settlement calls for Bitter Smith, Burns and Stump to repay about $9,000 each. The candidates deny their mailer violated campaign finance laws … but say they wanted to settle the case so they could focus on election issues.