Thursday, August 25th, 2005...5:16 pm
Smith Update
This is the latest from the Clean Elections Commission on the case of Rep. David Burnell Smith, which I commented on yesterday:
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has accepted the decision of Administrative Law Judge Daniel G. Martin in the matter of David Burnell Smith. Earlier this week, Martin upheld the Commission’s original March 25th order that Smith 1) forfeit his office as State Representative for District 7; 2) repay his Clean Elections grants totaling $34,625.09; and 3) pay a fine of $10,000.
Smith now has 14 days to ask the Commission for a rehearing. The Commission could meet the next day after the request is filed (giving 24 hours notice) and decide if a rehearing is warranted. Once the rehearing matter is satisfied, case law appears to say that Smith’s office then becomes legally vacant.
At that point, our attorneys believe the Attorney General’s office could petition the Arizona Supreme Court to order Smith out of office. That would be the most expeditious scenario. Smith can also appeal to the Superior Court and has 35 days to do so from the effective date of today’s Commission order. The Superior Court’s decision can be appealed to the Court of Appeals or directly to the Supreme Court.
This is all new legal territory so there are no previous cases to determine the exact legal course.
However, the case is proceeding and we feel confident that the Clean Elections law will be upheld. This is critical to ensuring the integrity of the law.
We will keep you posted.
It sounds as though will go on for at least another month. Smith ought to realize that the writing is on the wall here, and the best thing to do will be to resign.
2 Comments
August 25th, 2005 at 9:33 pm
Smith won’t resign. He’ll continue appealing his case until his term is over, making a complete joke out of the Clean Election rules. The Arizona courts will allow him to do this. Wait and see if I’m not right.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:31 pm
I agree. Smith is himself hostile to Clean Elections (though he used the program) and is certainly being urged and financed to try to make a hash of any precedent allowing Clean Elections to eject a lawmaker from office.
No, Smith will only leave kicking and screaming. Then next cycle he’ll be back and will be running as the wrongly deposed sovereign of his district and a cause celebre of the GOP. I can imagine the black helicopter conspiracy theorizing even now…