Arizona: GOP group asks Clean Elections Commission to oust a GOP legislator
The Arizona Republic reports: Political pressure is starting to swirl around a newly elected lawmaker who overspent his public campaign funds by $7,500, setting up a possible constitutional battle over the state's Clean Elections Law.
Rep. David Burnell Smith, a Scottsdale Republican, overspent his spending limit by as much as 22 percent, according to an independent audit presented to the Clean Elections Commission on Thursday morning. A state law says that a candidate who overshoots his spending limit by more than 10 percent shall be removed from office.
On Thursday a group of Republican legislators said publicly for the first time that the commission must follow the law in Smith's case. In short, they are saying that Smith, a fellow GOP lawmaker, should be removed from the state Legislature for his violations. -- Political pressure building to oust Arizona legislator