Russell Pearce foes raise $32,000
by Mary Jo Pitzl - Aug. 22, 2008 12:30 PM
The Arizona Republic

The campaign working to defeat Russell Pearce in his bid for a state Senate seat has raised $32,000, with the money coming from four families.

In contrast, a committee formed to denounce the anti-Pearce tactics has raised $1,000 from a sole donor, committee chairman Stan Barnes.

Reports filed with the Arizona Secretary of State's office show the independent expenditure committee known as Mesa Deserves Better drew its donors from many of the same people who have protested the state's employer-sanctions law and who are promoting an alternative sanctions measure on the November ballot.

Donors include committee chairman and political consultant Nathan Sproul and his wife, for a total of $10,000; McDonald's franchise owner Mac Magruder and his wife, for a total of $10,000; and Tempe architect Joseph Groff and his wife, $8,440. Relatives of Jason LeVecke contributed $4,000. Jason LeVecke, who is a member of the Wake Up Arizona coalition, which did not contribute personally to the Mesa Deserves Better committee.

Mesa Deserves Better has spent $8,093 as of Aug. 13, the most recent report date, on mailers to voters in Pearce's west Mesa legislative district. By pointing to Pearce's associations with a known neo-Nazi and highlighting abuse allegations in a 28-year-old divorce petition, the committee is trying to build a case that Pearce is of poor moral character and not fit to serve as a state senator.

Pearce has rejected the claims as false. Critics are trying to defeat him because he has championed tough measures against illegal immigration, most notably the employer-sanctions law of 2007, he said.

The attacks on Pearce prompted Barnes to form Mesa Voters for Positive Campaigns, with the goal of counterpunching the Mesa Deserves Better efforts. However, as of Aug. 13, it had not spent any money, reports show.
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