Napolitano Campaign Linked to PAF Group

On September 22, 2006, the Len Munsil for Governor campaign filed a formal complaint with the Maricopa County Attorney's office and with the Secretary of State concerning the involvement of Project For Arizona's Future with the organizations that are launching negative and untruthful attacks against Len Munsil. Governor Napolitano is directly linked to Project For Arizona's Future (PAF) because she raised substantial money for the organization last spring. Most troubling, PAF has never disclosed any of their donors. It was discovered on September 21, 2006 that the two individuals who started Arizona Values Coalition, Beau Memory and Seamus Perry, list Western Strategies as their employer. According to the Arizona Corporation Commission website, Thomas Ziemba, Executive Director for PAF is the individual who reserved the name Western Strategies, establishing a clear link between PAF and the "independent" attacks on Mr. Munsil. According to Vernon Parker, spokesman for the Munsil campaign, "Every time we discover a new piece of evidence, it points back to Ms. Napolitano and Project For Arizona's Future. Ms. Napolitano must answer some important questions. Is she or are any of the agents of her campaign directly tied to PAF? Did she or any of the agents of her campaign know about the plans to attack Len Munsil with these "independent" groups? Why doesn't she call on PAF to release their donor list? Since the initial complaint, it has been discovered that the Arizona Values Coalition was funded by the Arizona Democratic Party. In a letter addressed to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Douglas V. Drury, Counsel to the Len Munsil for Governor campaign, noted that, "While we do not dispute the right of a political party to fund independent expenditures, they must be made in compliance with the law, and be made in an open an honest fashion. This expenditure fails on all counts. AVC filed a false report, failing to disclose the source of its funding, and showing that there was no funding. This all apparently occurred after it received $100,000.00 from the Arizona Democratic Party. It appears from the evidence that those involved may have intentionally filed false reports. This whole enterprise is built on a foundation of an intent to mislead the public; from a Republican/conservative sounding name, to the Democratic Party interfering in the Republican primary, to failing to disclose the source of funds, to the Democrats lying about their involvement in funding the group. Numerous laws have been violated, including but not limited to the reporting requirements of A.R.S. §16-904 and 913, and the prohibition against corporate contributions of A.R.S. §16-919. It is likely that the Napolitano for Governor campaign had knowledge of this expenditure, especially given the candidate's carefully worded denial. It is therefore imperative to investigate to determine the level of coordination among the groups and the campaign. Any coordination with the campaign would render the expenditures illegal campaign contributions, justifying sanctions under A.R.S. §16-942. We therefore request that you conduct a full investigation, and that you use your subpoena power to review all cash and in-kind contributions, the level of involvement and support of PAF and the level of involvement of the Napolitano campaign in these expenditures."