Shouldn’t campaign finance outrage apply to Hamadeh, too?

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Tuesday, Oct. 27 is the last day Independent Newsmedia will publish new election-related letters online, to allow candidates the right to respond to criticisms about their candidacy before Election Day. We will resume Nov. 4. Candidates may submit a 150-word reply addressing criticisms only and should email them to azopinions@iniusa.org along with their name, address, contact number and the headline of the letter they’re addressing.

OPINION — Campaign finance outrage? Apply it to Abe Hamadeh, too.

Jacquelyn Loiselle’s Oct. 7 letter asks whether Bernadette Greene-Placentia’s financial reporting problems reflect “incompetence or something worse.” That insinuation outruns the evidence she presents, in my opinion.

First, Federal Election Commission compliance notices simply seek corrections or explanations. They do not establish corruption or dishonest intent.

Second, Loiselle’s assertion that Greene-Placentia failed to act after the debate is factually incorrect. Her campaign filed an amended quarterly report May 13 — the next day. Whether that amendment resolved every discrepancy is a separate question. The filing establishes that action was taken.

Third, federal rules permit additional authorized campaign committees, including committees remaining from earlier elections. They require one principal committee. If two committees were improperly designated, that warrants correction and explanation. Two active committees alone do not establish a sinister financial arrangement.

Now apply Loiselle’s fitness-for-office test to Abe Hamadeh.

Hamadeh’s campaign received three FEC notices concerning apparently excessive contributions and incorrect financial totals during his run for U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona's 8th Congressional District in 2023. His own disclosure record goes further: During his 2022 run for Arizona Attorney General, Hamadeh admitted that his initial state financial disclosure form was incorrect because it omitted income from two jobs, business interests, property and a board position. Even his late amendment left required information undisclosed.

Hamadeh admitted: “That document was wrong.”

If Loiselle considers reporting failures grounds to question a challenger’s fitness for Congress, how does the incumbent escape her test?

Accountability is a standard for both candidates. Loiselle cannot credibly demand it from Greene-Placentia while giving Hamadeh a pass.

Voters deserve accurate disclosures from both candidates.