The Solomon Chronicles. Part 3. Who funded Solomon’s 2016 Town Council campaign?

With the Town Council election on the horizon, LOVE will be presenting a series of articles entitled, “The Solomon Chronicles,” highlighting the abysmal record of Councilmember Steve Solomon who is running for re-election. This weekly series will highlight his 4-year record of incivility and his interdependent relationship with local developers. This series was written by a LOVE contributor and contains a synopsis of previous LOVE articles plus new information.
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Solomon plays hide and seek with the voters
The following information was obtained from Solomon’s Campaign Finance Report covering the period from June 1 through August 18, 2016. Of note is that this report was due between August 19-26 and Solomon submitted it to the Town Clerk on the very last day at the very last minute…August 26th at 4:45 PM.

One can only assume that he was attempting to withhold this information from the public for as long as possible, knowing that local media would report on it and he didn’t want Oro Valley voters to know that his campaign was entirely funded by wealthy special interests.

Another indicator that he was trying to hide his donor funding came during the August 16, 2016 candidate forum when the candidates were asked how they financed their campaign. Rather than admitting that his campaign was funded by wealthy developers and builders, Solomon answered that his campaign was funded by people "who share my values."

 
Solomon’s 2016 Town Council election donations

HSL Properties                       $17,912.
Venture West                              1,000.
Peter Fasseas (Developer)         1,000.
Diamond Ventures                      1,900.
David Godlewski (SAHBA)            145.
Realtors of Arizona PAC             1,000.
SAHBA PAC                                  250.

TOTAL                                    $23,207.

Solomon received no campaign funds from Oro Valley residents

Of note is that only one contribution ($145.00) “technically” came from an Oro Valley resident, but this resident also happens to be the Director of the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association. All other donations (totaling $23,000) came from individuals who do not even live in Oro Valley!

Questions to ponder
• Why did no Oro Valley residents contribute to Steve Solomon’s campaign?
• Why were developers and builders so driven to get him elected?
• Why was Solomon so compelled to keep his campaign donors hidden from voters?

NOTE: A $5000. donation from Jim and Vicki Click was included with the HSL donations because they have a cross-donating agreement with HSL on other matters.
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The Solomon Chronicles: Part 4. “Conflict of Interest” will be published next Wednesday.

LOVE Exclusive: HSL Money Poured Into Rodman and Solomon 2016 Campaign

This is the third of a three part series on the influence of developer and contractor donations on Oro Valley politics. Our first article covered the special funding of the 2014 campaign.  Our second article discussed the special interest donations in the recall election of 2015 and in the primary election of 2018. This final article focuses on the special interest money that poured into the Rodman and Solomon candidacies in 2016. 
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The 2016 election of Bill Rodman and Steve Solomon
2016 was the only year between 2014 and 2018 in which Mayor Hiremath and his council majority were not on the ballot. There were six candidates that year. Three were incumbents. The incumbents raised a total of a few thousand dollars for that election.  Bill Rodman and Steve Solomon raised $47,600.

91% of Rodman and Solomon contributions came from special interest developers and contractors
In 2016, then candidates Bill Rodman and Steve Solomon were introduced to the big money special interests that Mayor Hiremath and his majority had solicited for the 2014 and 2015 elections.  Rodman and Solomon drank from this well of money. They took a huge gulp.

76% of Rodman and Solomon contributions were from HSL Properties
HSL Properties is the company that had so generously donated to the campaigns of Mayor Hiremath and his majority council members.

Somehow, current council members Rodman and Solomon had found the same "pot of gold" that Hiremath had uncovered in 2013; a source so rich that it literally financed all Oro Valley council majority campaigns from 2014 to 2018.

Two building related PACS further emphasized their funding financial dependence on the developer community. Rodman and Solomon each received $1,000 from the Southern Arizona Realtors PAC and $250 from the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association (SAHBA).

Rodman and Solomon virtually had no public financial support
What is also striking is the lack of general public financial support of either candidate. Solomon received $33.38 while Rodman raised $925 from the public. Seven donors were listed on his report. Only three had residences listed as Oro Valley.

Does the past behavior predict future behavior?
Is it likely that Candidates Rodman and Solomon will raise funds from the special interest community for this election? It is, if past behavior predicts future behavior. We won't know who are their contributors until they file their campaign finance reports. One report is due at the end of this month. The other is due before the August election. Even then, we're not sure that information is accurate. Our review of the election reports revealed that information is sometimes left off of these reports, information that is reported later as amended campaign election reports.

So do stay tuned on this.

We will review and report what we learn when we learn it.
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Source: The campaign financing information in these three articles was from the campaign finance reports filed by the candidates. There were about a hundred of these. A few of them were clear and concise. Many reports, especially those of Mayor Hiremath, were difficult to follow. Sometimes, the information on current contributions was in the wrong column; or the contributions called "campaign to date" were wrong. In some instances the "occupation" of the contributor was incorrect or their affiliated employer was wrong. We don't know nor did we ask if these reports are reviewed and audited by the town. But they should be audited and verified before being accepted.

Incumbents being financed by wealthy special interests once again

Synopsis of Incumbents’ Campaign Finance Reports
Campaign Finance Reports through June 30th reveal that Mayor Hiremath and Councilmembers Hornat, Waters, and Snider have received a total of $61,580 in campaign contributions with $50,000 coming from developers, builders, land speculators, and others in the real estate industry.

Mayor Hiremath raised $21,430 in donations.

It’s worth noting that the incumbents have continued to solicit donations from developers and special interests despite knowing that over-development and special interest influence are the major issues that are angering Oro Valley residents.

LOVE readers will be familiar with “the usual suspects” who are once again the top contributors. These include Humberto Lopez/HSL Properties ($14,000), the Kai family ($20,000), and Jeff Grobstein, President of Meritage Homes ($4000).

As you will see in the charts at the end of this article, the top five donors contributed $46,500 accounting for a whopping 76% of the total contributions.

Mayoral challenger, Joe Winfield stated in a press release, “Special Interest influence on Oro Valley land use decisions is the major complaint I hear from voters. I thought the incumbents would reconsider relying on Special Interest money in this election in light of allegations of ‘Pay to Play’ by residents of the town.” Winfield further stated that the challengers promise to neither “seek nor accept contributions from special interests but will represent Oro Valley residents in our council decisions.”

Synopsis of Challengers’ Campaign Finance Reports
Joe Winfield, Melanie Barrett, Josh Nicolson, and Joyce Jones-Ivey raised a combined total of $28,397 and have done so without any special interest donations.

If elected, this ensures that all their decisions will be citizen-based and not influenced by wealthy benefactors. This will result in future developments adhering to the standards in the voter-approved General Plan and Town zoning codes rather than catering to the whims of developers.

Joe Winfield raised $13,687
     (plus an additional $5000 that Winfield donated to his own campaign for a total of $18,687).

A Comparison Study
56 Oro Valley residents contributed a total of $13,687 to Joe Winfield’s campaign.

Only 6 Oro Valley residents contributed a total of $475.00 to Mayor Hiremath’s campaign.
     (7 residents and $575.00 total if you count the $100 donation from Councilmember Rodman)

Here’s why the incumbents rely on special interest donations:
Only 6 Oro Valley residents contributed to Mayor Hiremath’s campaign.
Only 2 Oro Valley residents contributed to Lou Waters’ campaign.
Only 2 Oro Valley residents contributed to Joe Hornat’s campaign.
Only 4 Oro Valley residents contributed to Mary Snider’s campaign.

Meanwhile…
56 Oro Valley residents contributed to Joe Winfield’s campaign.
27 Oro Valley residents contributed to Melanie Barrett’s campaign.
17 Oro Valley residents contributed to Josh Nicholson’s campaign.
9 Oro Valley residents contributed to Joyce Jones-Ivey’s campaign.

[Click on the charts to enlarge]

This Just In! No Surprise ~ Campaign Finance Report for Yes on 454 PAC reveals major funding from the development community.

Before you complete and mail your ballot for the $17 million Naranja Park Bond election, you should be aware of who funded the Yes on 454 PAC. LOVE recently reviewed their Campaign Finance Report (submitted October 11th). Here’s what it reveals.

As usual, anything that is wanted by Mayor Hiremath and his loyal followers (to include the 6 members of his Town Council) is always generously funded by what we like to call “the usual suspects.” Keep in mind that these substantial donations were made in large part by wealthy builders and developers whose development applications will be presented before the Town Council for a vote over the next year. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours?

In a nutshell, Yes on 454 collected $36,600 and spent all of it ($35,886) on the Phoenix consulting firm of Saguaro Strategies (yes, this is the same firm that was hired by the mayor and all six current councilmembers during their election campaigns). The majority of donations came from the development community including Humberto Lopez of HSL Properties.

Humberto Lopez (famous for his “back room deal” with Mayor Hiremath for the town to purchase the run-down community center and golf courses) donated a total of $5000 to the cause. Do you think that he is scratching Hiremath’s back as a thank you for being allowed to unload his money-sucking golf courses on the town?

The attached slide gives the breakdown of these contributions.

How do you feel about wealthy developers having such a substantial say in what goes on in our town? They are pushing for the building of multiple ball fields, nighttime lighting intruding on the surrounding residential neighborhood, plus sports tourism and an event center along with all of the noise and traffic it will bring…all in a residential neighborhood and all to be paid for with your tax dollars. 

Also of note, if it's "For the Kids" where are all the contributions from the parents and coaches?

We urge you to VOTE NO on Prop 454 – The $17 million Naranja Park Bond.

You can read the entire Campaign Finance Report HERE