The Glendale fire-fighter's union helped fund the lawsuit against repeal of the City's sales tax on food, according to an amended financial report filed last month.
Glendale Citizens for Excellence (GCE) reported a $3,500 contribution on March 1 from the Glendale Chapter of United Phoenix Fire Fighters Local 493. The contribution was disclosed in an amended report after The Glendale Star reported a $3,500 discrepancy in GCE's financial report filed April 12.
The citizens group won a Superior Court ruling in March that kept the food tax repeal initiative off the May 21 ballot.
According to GCE's April 12 report, the group spent $6,500, but received only $3,000 from Moving Glendale Forward, a committee formed last July to provide education about the transportation tax initiative. The committee dissolved late last month, according to records filed with the city clerk's office.
Kathleen Goeppinger, then chairman of Moving Glendale Forward, said the committee had money left over from the transportation campaign and decided to contribute to GCE.
There are no limits on contributions to ballot measures, said Jill Kennedy of the Maricopa County Attorney's office.
The amended filing from GCE showed a "retainer" payment of $5,000 to Squire Sanders & Dempsey," a Phoenix law firm, and $1,500 to Sakman Software of Gilbert for "Internet services."
Sakman Software is listed as the Webmaster for the Glendale firefighter's Web site.
Several phone calls to officers of GCE and to firefighters union representatives were not returned, as were calls to Squire Sanders & Dempsey, who represented GCE in the court case brought against the food tax repeal inititative.