Quelland on his way out

From AZCentral.com -

For the second time this year, a state authority has determined that Rep. Doug Quelland must forfeit his office over campaign-finance violations.

On Monday, a state administrative law judge upheld the May finding of the Citizens
Clean Elections Commission that Quelland violated a number of campaign-finance laws, including using private funding while running under the state's public campaign-finance scheme, and failing to report a $15,000 contract with political consultant Larry Davis.

The penalty for these violations is removal from office and $30,500 in fines, judge Thomas Shedden concluded.

Quelland was out of town when the decision was handed down, but his attorney promised to appeal the decision. Of course.

The judge's decision, also courtesy AZCentral.com, is here.

He'll fight it, but like David Burnell Smith before him, he'll lose this one.

Soon-to-be-former Rep. Quelland may have been unavailable for comment today, but Don Bivens, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party was -

"Rep. Quelland pledged to follow the rules when he agreed to run as a Clean Elections candidate. When public officials violate the law, they also violate the trust of Arizona voters. The residents of District 10 deserve better during these difficult times."

Quelland may be in office during the still-only-a-rumor special session on tap for next week, but unless the courts completely shut down due to lack of funds or something (not entirely out of the realm of possibility with this travesty of a legislature), he should be out of office by the time the 2nd session of the 49th Arizona Legislature begins in January.