Foster, Juarez To Return Controversial Campaign Contributions

On Wednesday, Tucson Unified School District Governing Board member Kristel Foster returned a $5,000 campaign contribution she had received from Phoenix businessman whose business had just won a $21 million contract with the District. The controversial nature of the contribution had become problematic for Foster, who is already facing stiff opposition to her re-election bid.

Earlier this week, Board member Michael Hicks had called for an investigation into the usually high contributions listed on both Juarez’s and Foster’s campaign finance reports as coming from Carly Brooks. On both reports, Juarez and Foster omitted Ms. Brooks’ husband’s name. Her husband, Robert Brooks, is a principal in ESI, a Phoenix-based company that provides temporary teachers to the District.

In June, Foster had joined Juarez and Board president Adelita Grijalva in approving the $21 million ESI contract. Hicks and fellow Board member Mark Stegeman voted against the contract. Campaign finance reports show contributions made later in August by Carly Brooks. According to the Three Sonorans website, “this single donation made up over 60% of Kristel’s total fundraising in the most recent reporting cycle and made up a whopping 80% of Cam’s total funds raised.”

KGUN9 reporter Valerie Cavasos, who reported on the contributions after Hicks had called for the investigation, received a letter from Brooks’ attorneys in which they claimed that it was not the Brooks who were attempting to mislead the public. They claimed that both Rob and Carly’s name appeared on the checks. That claim, if true, would have left the responsibility for the omission squarely on Foster and Juarez’s shoulders.

ARS 16-907: prohibited contributions; standing political committees; classification, makes any person who knowingly accepts a contribution made by one person in the name of another person guilty of a class 6 felony.

Later on Wednesday, in an interview on the James T. Harris show, Cavasos reported that Foster claimed she did not know Carly was married to Rob. Foster claimed “when I received this contribution, I was not aware that the donor is married to an individual who works for a company that does business with TUSD.”

Juarez had told one member of the public that the donation was made by a Phoenix doctor’s wife.

It wasn’t until after word got out that the Pima County Elections Integrity Committee’s  Friday’s agenda included an item intended to get clarification on election campaign Ffnance complaint procedures for school board races, that Foster reported giving the contribution back.

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Campaign Contributions To TUSD’s Juarez, Foster Raise Concerns

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