Senate President Karen Fann and Senate GOP spokeswoman violated Arizona laws prohibiting the use of government resources for political activity when they sent out a press release urging voters to “unite behind Lake (Kari)” in the gubernatorial race.
Hours later, in the face of strong criticism that the statement violated state law, the Senate retracted the statement and insisted it had been “accidentally” circulated through the Senate instead of Fann’s campaign. How that happened is unclear, and neither Fann nor Senate Republican spokeswoman Kim Quintero responded to questions from Arizona Mirror.
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The lengthy statement, which was released on Senate letterhead under the official state seal, criticized Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the Democratic candidate who will run against Lake in November, calling her “an extension of the Biden administration” and “a dangerous choice”. for Governor of Arizona.”
Any gubernatorial election other than Lake, Fann said in the statement, “will put our state at a disadvantage.”
Fann’s statement was sent to the media by Quintero shortly after 6 a.m. Friday and then posted on the official Twitter page of the Senate GOP caucus.
It immediately sparked outrage, with Democrats and others condemning it for clearly violating Arizona’s law that prohibits publicly funded politics.
Joe Wolf, a Hobbs campaign spokesman, said OVERVIEW that Fann is the latest in a long line of Republicans who have decided they don’t need to follow the law.
“President Fann deliberately used taxpayer resources to support a candidate for office, Kari Lake, perpetuating a culture of disregard for our laws,” he said. “Whether it’s Fann or Kari Lake, these MAGA candidates operate with an appalling disregard for the law. This is yet another reason why we need leaders like Katie Hobbs who hold themselves accountable and respect the laws of the state.”
Valley attorney Tom Ryan said the statement was “a clear violation.” a state law commonly referred to as Arizona’s Hatch Act, a nod to the federal law that prohibits federal government employees from making policy on the taxpayers’ dime.
Ryan emailed Fann and Quintero hours after the statement was released, asking them to retract it. In the email, which he shared with OVERVIEWit noted that “Failure to do so may result in penalties being assessed against each of you up to $5,000 for this violation, including the cost of the value of public resources used to commit this violation.”
About 35 minutes later, Quintero issued a retraction and deleted the statement from the Senate GOP’s Twitter page. “The statement was accidentally sent from our official Senate email,” she wrote in a media note.
Ryan said he was glad the press release was withdrawn, but scoffed at the explanation.
“Accident? My sweet Irish a**,” he said.
State Sen. Rebecca Rios, a Phoenix Democrat and Senate Democratic leader, said Fann’s decision to release that statement through the Senate, rather than herself or her campaign, was “shocking.”
“It’s a disgrace to our institution,” she said. “This is not Karen Fann’s personal fund, but this is how she handled it.”
Rios also questioned the explanation that it was inadvertently sent through official Senate channels and said it raises troubling questions about Quintero doing political work in her capacity as Senate spokeswoman.
“How did she accidentally write that? She shouldn’t have been involved in any of this,” Rios said.
of OVERVIEW asked Quintero to explain her role in drafting the statement — spokespeople are often directly involved in the writing of statements by elected officials — but she did not respond to questions.
Other questions that Quintero and Fann did not answer include whether Senate lawyers had approved the statement before sending it, whether any legal advice was sought before issuing the press release, and why Fann did not use her personal or campaign platforms to made the statement.
In 2019, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office fined 28 public officials for violating the same law because they used government resources to campaign against a clean energy ballot measure in 2018.
