AZ Campaign to Adopt Nonpartisan Elections Suspended after Key Donor Drops Out

image
Author: Greg Parker
Published: 11 Mar, 2016
Updated: 16 Oct, 2022
1 min read

Correction note: This article originally said that Open Primaries spent $300,000 in support of the donation disclosure initiative. It was the coalition in support of both initiatives. The article has been corrected.

Salon reported Thursday that a campaign to adopt nonpartisan elections in Arizona suspended its efforts after a major donor dropped out.

Texas billionaire John Arnold had contributed at least $1 million in support of the campaign to adopt a nonpartisan, top-two open primary similar to the systems in California and Washington state through the organization Open Primaries. He later learned that nearly half of his donations were going toward another initiative.

This second ballot measure would require that groups who spend money to influence elections disclose any donations exceeding $10,000. The coalition in support of both initiatives spent $300,000 of his donations in support of this initiative.

Arnold voiced his opposition to this funding and $178,000 of his donation was returned this week. The two former Phoenix mayors who were benefiting from Arnold’s contributions have suspended their campaign in support of the nonpartisan, top-two primary until they can find alternate sources of funds.

Read the full article here.

Photo Credit: Niyazz / shutterstock.com

Latest articles

Tyson points at Trump with a marijuana leaf behind him.
Mike Tyson Calls Out Donald Trump to Make Good on Cannabis Rescheduling Promise
Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion known as “Iron Mike,” is calling on President Donald Trump to make good on a campaign promise to reclassify cannabis under federal law....
11 Jul, 2025
-
2 min read
Football in grass.
Texas, Football, Bobcats, Pac-12, and a Corrections Officer Who Performed a Miracle
Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers Spotlight Kelly Damphousse, a Former Correctional Officer Who Transformed a University....
10 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
Lorena Gonzalez with teamsters
Lorena Gonzalez, California’s Top Labor Leader, Blasts ‘Anti-Labor Left’ Over Abundance Movement
Lorena Gonzalez, one of California’s most influential labor leaders, entered the fray this week in a growing Democratic debate over the so-called “abundance” movement. ...
09 Jul, 2025
-
2 min read