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I find it quite interesting that the upcoming Recall Election for August 27, 2013, pitting pro-mine advocate Mila Lira against current Council Member “Kiki” Peralta, really IS all about the mine! In searching public records for campaign financial disclosures, I obtained the list of contributors to Ms. Lira’s campaign. The majority of these individuals do not live in Superior, BUT they are also closely affiliated with the Resolution Copper project.
Records indicate that the Vote Mila 2013 Political Action Committee received substantial monetary assistance from the following:
• Kimberly Wold, Donor, the past Arizona State Director for US Senator Jon Kyle from 1998 – 2013
• Snell & Wilmer, a full-service business law firm with more than 400 attorneys practicing in eight locations throughout the western United States and in Mexico, including Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Reno, Salt Lake City, Tucson, and Los Cabos. This is a firm with a long history of providing quality legal services to the mining industry, including Resolution Copper (RCM). They have brought some of the toughest mining projects in the Southwest to fruition, and they understand the issues of heavily contested mining projects.
– Richard Mallery, Senior Partner and Attorney, Donor
• DMB Associates, a high-powered real estate company based in Scottsdale whose common link with Resolution Copper is that they share, or have shared, the same public relations firm, Gordon C. James Public Relations Co. This firm develops branding and media campaigns, and they list RCM as a client.
– Charley Freericks, Executive President, Donor
– Karrin Kunasek Taylor, Executive Vice President, Donor
– Dea McDonald, Senior Vice President, Donor
– Michael Davenport, Real Estate Broker, Donor
• Sundt Construction, a Phoenix-based construction company who specializes in mining and industrial projects. They installed the RCM #10 shaft cooling system, receiving over $9,000,000 for the job. They were also contracted by RCM to repave a 1 ½-mile segment of the roadway from the US Highway 60 to the #9 and #10 mine site.
– David Crawford, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, Donor
– G. Michael Hoover, Chief Operations Officer, Donor
– Jeff Williamson, Senior Vice President, Donor
– Clint Sundt, Mining Area Manager, Donor
• Superior Copper Alliance, Donor, Recall Committee formed after the Superior Town Council took action to not support the RCM land exchange legislation. Their membership is made-up of RCM supporters.
• The remainder of the list I identified as local donors—who are also RCM supporters.
You can read the full report on the Town’s website at: http://bit.ly/13vOAsx
The campaign financial report (as of August 6) indicates that over $3,200 was collected. This is surprising since I hear that most local candidates receive under $500 for their campaign. However, the biggest surprise for me is that the majority of Mila’s funds came from outside our community—and more specifically, from companies doing business with RCM.
You have to ask yourself: WHY does the funding for a local recall campaign in a small, rural community come from big-name contributors, outside of Superior, who all have done business with and profited from this mining project?
In my opinion, this recall election is nothing more than blatant support of the RCM project and land exchange before many critical questions and issues are resolved.
It is for this reason that I support the Town Council’s decision to oppose the legislation and based on this, I fully support Soyla “Kiki” Peralta for re-election. She is not all about the mine; she’s all about the entire community.
Sincerely,
/s/ Sonnie Sansom
Superior resident
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