Pima County Prop 415 consultants, strategists win big
Selling higher taxes to the residents of the 8th poorest metropolitan area in the country is no easy task. Selling them on the idea that they are saving “pets,” is easier, but it is not cheap. It takes considerable cash to convince people that writing a blank check to Pima County will be put to the use you intended for it.
As evidence of the colossal task, out of the over $150,000 raised by the Pima County pro-Prop 415 PAWS committee, $75,000 was spent on the services of DWE Management Consultants Inc., operated by Dan Eckstrom and the “strategists” from Strategic Issues Management Group.
Another $5000 was spent at Old Pueblo Printers, owned by the Elias family, and over $2000 was spent by Moret & Associates, owned by Bruce Ash’s brother in-law Rich Moret, on radio ads.
According to campaign finance reports, Eckstrom’s company was paid $19,148.31 for “campaign consulting and coordination services.” The filings are mute as to as the specifics of his services.
However, his consultation on bond measures is not a new career path for Eckstrom. After leaving government under a cloud of controversy in 2003, Eckstrom became a consultant for Pima Community College. He worked as a consultant for PCC to lobby the County to place a $45 million bond for a health-care campus on the County’s bond request.
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