Drexel Height Fire District Firefighter General MEDLEY COMMUNICATIONS INSTALLATION PROFESSIONAL Part Time Employment AVIVA Children's Services Monitor: Parent-Child Visits Tucson Region3 supervisors far outpace challengers on fundraisingArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.01.2008
Fueled by huge contributions from developers and other business interests, the three Pima County supervisors facing primary challenges out-raised their opponents nearly 10 to 1.
Democratic Supervisor Sharon Bronson, who faces a primary challenge from Democratic Party activist Donna Branch-Gilby and then, if successful, a general election challenge from Republican Barney Brenner, led all the supervisors in fundraising. From the time she organized her re-election committee in May 2007 until the end of May 2008, she brought in $77,668 and ended the reporting period with more than $126,000.
The campaign-finance reports filed Monday reflect fundraising activity through the end of May. For the incumbents, the figures include contributions carried forward from previous campaigns.
Developers, real estate interests, home builders and planning and engineering firms accounted for $23,475 in donations, more than a third of all the money she raised.
Developer Don Diamond, his relatives and executives and employees of Diamond Ventures, gave $3,850 to Bronson. The same donors gave $3,820 to Democratic Supervisor Ramón Valadez, who raised $15,767 from growth-related interests, and $2,775 to Republican Supervisor Ann Day, who raised $17,080 from growth-related interests.
United Food and Commercial Workers' Political Action Committee gave $2,000 each to Bronson and Valadez.
Executives from University Physicians Healthcare, which has a contract to run the county-owned hospital at Kino, also were generous to incumbents, giving $1,570 to Bronson and $780 to Valadez. Day received $100 from an attorney for UPH.
Day, who faces a primary challenge from businessman Joe Higgins, raised $34,350 from last August to the end of May and ended the reporting period with $65,207.
Higgins, in contrast, raised $5,039, including in-kind contributions, and ended the reporting period with $1,818. His cash donations came from attorneys, business owners, housewives and relatives.
Valadez raised a total of $41,587 since last August and ended the reporting period with $34,712.
His opponent, Sahuarita resident Robert Robuck, raised $1,465 and ended the reporting period with $1,054. His two largest contributors were attorney Bill Risner, who represented the Pima County Democratic Party in a lawsuit against Pima County over access to elections databases, and Risner's assistant, Susan Adler. They gave Robuck $390 each. Robuck received 16 contributions of $50 or less.
Bronson's opponents did far better at raising money, though they still raised a fraction of what Bronson has.
Branch-Gilby raised $22,838 between Jan. 1 and May 31. Of 249 contributors, 196 gave $100 or less and just 16 gave the maximum individual contribution of $390, including Branch-Gilby herself.
Many of the party activists who spurred the elections lawsuit against the county gave money to Branch-Gilby, as did Risner and Adler.
Brenner, a retired business owner who came within 1,400 votes of ousting Bronson in 2000, raised $22,962, including $4,000 he gave his own campaign. His 120 donors include people active in Pima County Republican Party politics, business owners, lawyers and real estate agents and developers.
Brenner will face the winner of the Democratic Party primary in November.
Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall has raised $60,213 since mid-2006, when she first organized her re-election committee and ended the reporting period with $48,490.
Her opponent, Republican Brad Roach, raised $23,875, including $9,500 he loaned to his own campaign, and ended the reporting period with a little more than $4,000.
Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, a Democrat, raised $1,190 from five donations, one from former Pima County Supervisor Dan Eckstrom and the others from women who have the same last names as Dupnik's top commanders. Republican challenger Harry Shaw raised $220.
Contact reporter Erica Meltzer at 807-7790 or emeltzer@azstarnet.com.
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