The Clean Elections Commission on Aug. 27 ordered its executive director to continue to investigate three fringe statewide candidates suspected of falsely obtaining millions in public funds for their campaigns. When that investigation is completed, they want him to make a recommendation about whether any of the $4.7 million they collectively received should be repaid.
The unanimous votes of the four-person commission to order the completion of the investigations came two days after the Arizona Mirror published an exclusive report that six Arizonans said Green Party candidate for governor Risa Lombardo, Green Party candidate for secretary of state Duwayne Collier and Republican candidate for governor Scott Neely had falsely used their names on donations to help the candidates qualify for public campaign funding.
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