Businesses, farmers fund Pearce opponent
By Paul Davenport
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.11.2008

PHOENIX — State Rep. Russell Pearce's hard-line assault on illegal immigration has put him on the political map, giving him national recognition and making him a force at the Arizona Legislature.
It's now also galvanized opposition to the outspoken champion of immigration crackdowns, as Phoenix-area business owners and farmers from as far as Yuma — 170 miles from his legislative district in Mesa — contribute to the campaign of his opponent in the Sept. 2 primary.
"I think Pearce is harmful to our state," said Paul Muthart, a produce-company manager.

Muthart is among dozens of Yuma County residents who have contributed a total of nearly $20,000 to attorney Kevin Gibbons in his race against Pearce for the Republican nomination for an open Senate seat from Legislative District 18.

Pearce, House Appropriations Committee chairman since 2003, sponsored a 2007 law that lets government yank business licenses from employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. He also helped lead a successful campaign in 2004 to get voters to deny certain government benefits to people in the country illegally.

Muthart, who in April donated $100, said he and fellow farmers believe in border security to keep out terrorists and drug smugglers but also want access to legal immigrants to do work that doesn't attract Americans.
He believes Pearce's hard-line approach is too narrow.

"We want people to take a little bigger-picture look at this thing and not just be one-dimensional in looking at this situation down here," Muthart said.

Pearce, 61, shows no sign of retreat.

"I've always supported legal immigration. What I won't tolerate is people who think they have a right . . . to break the law while they're making money," he said. "Do I have compassion for the agriculture business? Absolutely, they're the backbone of America. But you've got to do things right."

Gibbons, an immigration lawyer, said Pearce has contributed to ideological polarization at the Legislature, leading to division that means fiscal conservatives weren't at the table when the new state budget was hammered out.

The employer-sanctions law "was a mistake the way it was rolled out," Gibbons said. "I'm a firm believer in enforcing, but I'm a firm believer in free enterprise. I'm a business owner, and hurting businesses is not what we should be doing."

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