Mailer evokes strong reactions from Gilbert residents, who said the mention of faith was out of bounds
By Parker Leavitt
The Arizona Republic
Acting under a blanket of anonymity guaranteed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 “Citizens United” ruling, a Phoenix-based corporation last week launched a religious attack on three Gilbert Town Council hopefuls, urging voters not to support the Mormon candidates.
Political leaders from both sides of a tense campaign battle in Gilbert have denounced the negative mailer paid for by Concerned Arizona Taxpayers, a limited-liability corporation that formed just four days before the flyers arrived in voters’ mailboxes.
The mailer is critical of Gilbert Mayor John Lewis, Councilwoman Jenn Daniels and council candidate Jared Taylor, who are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It accuses the trio of “Loading Da Slate,” playing off of the commonly-used acronym for the church, “LDS.”
