Arizona: "Judge OKs removal of legislator"
The Arizona Republic reports: A judge concluded Tuesday that a legislator should forfeit his office and pay heavy fines for overspending his public campaign funds.
The judgment probably sets up a challenge to the constitutionality of the state's campaign financing system.
Administrative Law Judge Daniel Martin said the Citizens Clean Elections Commission was right on all counts when it voted unanimously in March to oust freshman Rep. David Burnell Smith, a Republican from Scottsdale.
The commission's investigation showed Smith overspent his budget by more than $6,000, or 17 percent, in the course of winning a tough primary election in 2002.
The voter-approved Clean Elections law says a candidate who overspends by more than 10 percent must be removed from office. -- Judge OKs removal of legislator