Candidate's Clean Elections spending scrutinized

State Senate candidate Andre Campos is struggling to accurately account for how he spent about $13,000 in taxpayer-funded Clean Elections funds he received in a campaign to unseat Sen. Rebecca Rios, an Apache Junction Democrat.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission decided last week to investigate a complaint from Democratic precinct commiteewoman Mary Desio. Desio charged that Campos has been concealing payment to a business he used to launch his campaign Web site while funneling the Clean Elections funds to Image Design Communications, a Cave Creek business he and his wife own.

Campos is a Republican candidate for Senate in the historically Democratic District 23, which covers the areas south of Queen Creek and northern Apache Junction, and small parts of western Maricopa and eastern Gila counties.

Desio, from Apache Junction, says that Campos' sloppy reporting is a problem.

"Why would you do it, and why would you try to hide it?" she said. "What's the purpose? The whole idea of Clean Elections is that it's supposed to create a level playing field. It's supposed to be about transparency."

Campos' campaign finance records show that he qualified for Clean Elections funds six days before an uncontested Sept. 2 primary. Two days after receiving the funds, Campos spent virtually all of his primary money, $12,635, in a payment to his own business for "professional services," according to his campaign finance reports.

Campos said he has printed election material for other candidates in past elections. Image Design Communications' Web site features an online catalog of different types of apparel - T-shirts, denim shirts and sports jerseys - ready for embroidery and screen printing.

Michael Becker, spokesman for the Clean Elections Commission, said that nothing prevents candidates from spending Clean Elections money on a business they own, as long as the business can produce election-related material.

"If it's a business that makes signs, then there would be no problem with that," Becker said. "Now if this person's business makes wingnuts or something, that would be a different story."

Campos has twice amended his financial reports to clarify what the primary money was spent on. The first change to the report showed that Campos spent the money on campaign signs, fliers and a Web site - disclosing in more detail most of the $12,635 originally listed as "professional services" that was spent at his business.

He amended it again late this week to show that the Web site was purchased from an outside company called Election Mall. Campos originally listed the expense as $514.35. An invoice from Election Mall shows the Web site cost his campaign $295. He said that his business incurred $219.35 in staff time to input videos, candidate information and graphics to the Web site format.

Campos said that all other expenses for signs and fliers were to pay his business at fair market value. The amount he charged his campaign is what he charges other candidates for the same service, he said.

Campos has received a total of $35,303 in Clean Elections funds for the campaign.

Rios, however, says that Campos should take his reporting of expenses "a lot more seriously." If Campos didn't spend his $12,635 of primary funds prior to the primary election in September, he would have been required to give it back under the state's campaign financing rules.

By first listing that he spent all the money with his business four days before the primary, it's difficult to know when the signs and fliers were printed, Rios said.

"I think it is an issue to be looked at. Is that time to spend it?" Rios said. "It's very tempting to funnel that money and then spend it later on."

Campos, meanwhile, says the attacks on his campaign reporting are not accurate. He produced photos of signs he said he posted outside polling places before the primary election.

"The Clean Elections complaint wasn't that the money wasn't spent properly, but that it wasn't (listed) properly," he said. "It's true that you have to spend it, and we did spend it before the primary."