Tucson Region

Pima GOP says county Demo chief acts illegally

Pima County Republicans are accusing the chairman of the county Democratic Party of engaging in "prohibited political activities" while working as an assistant Arizona attorney general, a possible violation of state law. In a complaint Tuesday to Attorney General Terry Goddard, Republicans called for "an independent agency and authority" to investigate their claim that Paul Eckerstrom is being paid by taxpayers as he promotes partisan goals. "He's an operative of the Democratic Party," said Judi White, the GOP party chairwoman who made the complaint. "I don't have a problem with that. The problem I have is that he's also an employee of the state. Do one or the other." Although Eckerstrom has been party chairman since 2003, White said Republicans only recently became aware of the state law that says a state employee "shall not take any part in the management or affairs of any political party or in the management of any partisan or nonpartisan campaign." The complaint is being lodged now, White said, because Eckerstrom has become increasingly "vocal and obnoxious" in the run-up to the Nov. 8 City Council election. "He's on the radio all the time," she said. "Did he not know it was against the law?" Eckerstrom said he was not aware of the complaint until he was contacted by a reporter Tuesday afternoon. He declined to comment, saying he needed to read the two-page letter. A graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, Eckerstrom is a prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office. He has long been involved in Democratic politics and has worked on the campaigns of former Gov. Bruce Babbitt, Gov. Janet Napolitano and U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva. The complaint says Eckerstrom's specific violations of the law include discussing politics "during regular state business hours" on a radio show hosted by John C. Scott and appearing at a political event outside City Hall on Oct. 28. Andrea M. Esquer, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, promised a quick review of the complaint. "If we determine there is substance to the issues outlined, we will act accordingly," she said . Like Eckerstrom, Goddard is a Democrat.