1. Chair Lemon called the meeting to order at approximately 9:30 am.

   Chair Lemon acknowledged that Commissioner Detrick was present telephonically.

2. Approval of Minutes of November 18, 2003 Meeting

   Commissioner McKay moved to approve the November 18, 2003 minutes. Commissioner Busching seconded. Motion carried.

3. Executive Director’s Report
   • Campaign Finance Software is complete for 2004. The Secretary of State’s Office has made beneficial improvements to the software, such as the “help feature.”
   • Secretary of State Brewer issued a press release regarding the next Commissioner appointment. The application is posted on the CCEC website. Staff has received numerous phone calls regarding the application process. The application deadline is December 31, 2003.
   • There were approximately 20 people who attended the candidate training class held December 10, 2003. Ads for the training classes will run in The Capitol Time, The Arizona Republic, and The Tucson Citizen. Postcard notices will continue to be mailed to candidates when they file their Statement of Organization.
   • Staff is developing training classes for campaign treasurers. The Secretary of State’s Office training classes for candidates began in November and will be offered throughout the State.
   • Autumn Southard, Voter Education Manager, has almost completed the first quarterly newsletter. We anticipate a January date release.
   • The State Procurement Office is going through a transitional period for a new on-line filing process. Jean Clark with the State Procurement Office is here to give an update to the Commission on the status of this process.
   • Tax Donation credits to date are $33,777. The $3,825,577 was transferred to the State General Fund on December 2, 2003. The balance after the transfer is approximately $10.6 million.
   Chair Lemon moved to switch order of Agenda Items VIII and IV.

4. Decision to Accept, Reject or Modify Recommendation of Administrative Law Judge in MUR No.: 02-0059, Yuri Downing

   Joe Kanefield, from the Attorney General’s Office, was present to act as independent counsel to advice the Commission on the Yuri Downing matter.

   Mr. Kanefield advised that the Commission that Mr. Downing withdrew his appeal of the Commission’s decision to have Mr. Downing repay the clean election funding he received in the 2002 election. Mr. Downing has 30 days from the effective date of the final decision to repay $41,155.43. Assistant Attorney General Diana Varela reported that Mr. Downing assured the administrative law judge that he understood the consequences of withdrawing his appeal. The judge asked Mr. Downing a series of questions to ensure that Mr. Downing was making a knowing and voluntary decision in withdrawing his appeal.

   The Commission reviewed the recommendation. Commissioner Bushing moved to approve the recommendation to dismiss the appeal. Commissioner McKay seconded. Motion carried.

5. Nomination and Election of Chair for 2004

   Chair Lemon asked for nominations for the 2004 chairman. Commissioner Jolley nominated Commissioner McKay. Commissioner Detrick seconded. Motion carried.

6. Report from the State Procurement Office Regarding the Request for Proposal for Auditor Contract

   Jean Clark, Deputy Administrator, State Procurement Office (SPO), gave an update on the status of the State Procurement Office’s new on-line procurement process, Spirit Application System. SPO is currently in the process of registering vendors. In addition, SPO is training staff from other state agencies how to use the new system. The Commission staff were first to use the new on-line system for the graphic services contract. As soon as the registration is complete, (early January 2004), the Commission’s auditing contract will be one of the first to be processed.

7. Discussion of Voter Education and Public Relations Activities

   Monica Apodaca from Barclay Communications addressed the Commission with an update on the public relations and marketing.

   • Media Relations- Barclay continues to work with media across the state to secure opportunities for the CCEC. Currently, Barclay is working on a statewide media pitch to educate Arizonans on the $5 qualifying contribution process, preparing them for the candidates who will soon be knocking on their doors.
   • Speaking Engagements- 43 speaking opportunities have been secured at locations across Arizona. Barclay continues to book speaking engagements for 2004.
   • CPA Outreach- Barclay and L3 implemented an educational outreach program to CPAs across Arizona. They have distributed informational brochures and letters to CPAs notifying them of the dollar-for-dollar tax credit and the $5 check-the-box tax credit. The outreach also included an article in an e-mail newsletter to 4500 CPAs across the state. A letter went out to all previous dollar-for-dollar tax credit donors and ads were run in newspapers as well as CPA magazines across the state.
   • School Outreach- Autumn Southard, Voter Education Manager, took part in a presentation to a political science class at the University of Arizona. Barclay is in the midst of scheduling presentations to high school students.
   • News Release- 11 news releases have been developed and released.
   • Civic Events- Barclay helped secure involvement and represent the CCEC in 5 public events during 2003, the most recent being Tucson Family Fiesta. Barclay is currently researching civic events for 2004.
   • Promotions- L3, Autumn Southard, and Barclay are in the process of moving forward with the revised budget for the CCEC’s upcoming grassroots marketing efforts.
   • Research- Pursuing focus groups to take place in January, one in Tucson and one in Phoenix.
   • Youth Sports Management- Participation with the Arizona Youth Soccer Organization will allow the CCEC to hit demographics as shown as not being as knowledgeable about the Act.
   • Account Management- Continue to provide weekly activity reports. Barclay will provide the Commission with a monthly activity report at the end of each month, starting December 31, 2003.

   • Consideration and Approval of Debate Sponsor Applications

     Eric Gorsegner, Deputy Director, provided the Commission with the debate committee summary. The debate committee, Eric Gorsegner, Autumn Southard, and Paula Ortiz, evaluated the debate sponsor applications based on the organizations method of approach, debate experience and expertise, cost, and perception of nonpartisanship. Mr. Gorsegner informed the Commission that the Arizona Community College Association withdrew its application because it was interested in sponsoring all legislative debates.

     The debate committee recommended the Commission approve the following organizations as debate sponsors:

     • Arizona State University
     • Arizona Students’ Association
     • Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council
     • Children’s Action Alliance
     • Help Us Get Good Government (HUGGG)

     Other than the 12 legislative districts for the Arizona Community College Association, Commissioner Busching moved to approve the recommended debate sponsors. Commissioner McKay seconded. Motion carried.

     • Legal Report from Assistant Attorney General Diana Varela

       Assistant Attorney General Diana Varela, reported that Mr. Downing assured the administrative law judge that he understood the consequences of withdrawing his appeal Mr. Downing chose not to seek any sort of settlement negotiation with the Commission.

       With regard to the decision in the McCain-Feingold Act, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its final decision upholding the ban on soft money and upholding the limits on electioneering communication.

     • Call for Public Comment

       Barb Lubin, Executive Director from the Clean Elections Institute, presented to the Commission charts from 1998 and 2002 that represented and compared contributions from around the state of Arizona from people who were involved in the political process.

     • Adjournment

       The Commission moved to change the next Commission meeting date from 1/27/04 to 1/28/04. Chair Lemon moved to adjourn.

       Next Meeting: January 28, 2004 at 9:30 a.m., Citizens Clean Elections
       Commission, 1616 W. Adams, Suite 110, Phoenix AZ 85007.

Dated this 18^th day of December, 2003

Citizens Clean Elections Commission