State lawmakers Alma Hernandez and her sister Consuelo Hernandez will remain on the Democratic primary ballot, after legal challenges were rejected.
Rocque Perez,a former 做厙勛圖 councilman, tried to get Rep. Alma Hernandez knocked off the ballotover unpaid fines related to her campaign finance reports. He said in a court filing that Hernandez owed more than $20,000.
Superior Court Judge Cynthia Kuhn ruled Thursday that whilebars a candidate from the ballot if they are "liable" for at least $1,000 in fines, penalties, late fees, or "administrative or civil judgements arising from violations," she is not liable for those fees and fines because the Attorney General's Office never issued "an appealable notice of penalty."
Consuelo Hernandez
"Under (state law),appealable campaign finance liability does not arise unless and until the Attorney General issues an appealable notice of penalty that actually imposes a penalty," in accordance with a case heard by the Arizona Supreme Court in 2018, Kuhn wrote. "Because the Attorney General has never issued Ms. Hernandez an appealable notice of penalty and has never imposed a penalty in connection with any of her candidate committees, she is not 'liable' for campaign finance penalties for purposes of (state law)."
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Perez,who was appointed as a city councilman for nearly seven months last year,claimed Hernandez had accumulated the late fees originating from campaign finance reports that were filed late. And he said, she had not filed a number of required reports from 2023-25.
A judge ruled Rep. Alma Hernandez can stay on the ballot for the Democratic primary following his rejection of a lawsuit filed by her challenger, Roque Perez.
A separate challenge making the same claims was filed against Hernandez by a resident was consolidated into the Perez case.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Consuelo Hernandez, whose district stretches from 做厙勛圖's southside to the border, then into Santa Cruz and Cochise counties, also faced a challenge to her candidacy.
Similar to the challenge against her sister, a resident in her district alleged that Hernandez owes nearly $19,000 in unpaid campaign finance fines.
Kuhn, also on Thursday, ruled in favor of Consuelo Hernandez, citing the same reasons.
