The Prescott City Attorney has issued a stinging rebuke to failed mayoral candidate Mary Beth Hrin and her false claims against the Arizona Voter Education Project and its chairman, consultant Max Fose.

“This office finds that there is not reasonable cause to believe a violation of state campaign finance laws occurred,” wrote Jon Paladini, the City Attorney in his November 22, 2017, ruling against Hrin. “The Arizona Voter Education Project was not organized and does not have the primary purpose of influencing the result or outcome of an election.”

Hrin, who filed a lawsuit against Fose in a move political observers have labeled as calculated for political effect, was one of a trio of candidates who ran for Prescott Mayor in the August 29th primary. As the last-place loser in that race, Hrin was eliminated from the November 7th general election race ultimately won by Greg Mengarelli.

Fose, who has worked for a number of high profile candidates across the state and the nation, sees Paladini’s decision as “a complete and total victory.”

“Mary Beth Hrin lost badly at the polls and now she’s lost in the eyes of the law,” said Fose. “It’s not unusual for a political candidate to sling mud when they are criticized during a campaign, but most candidates don’t take it as far as Hrin and her lawyer. Fortunately, the City Attorney saw right through her silly political stunt.”

Last week, Hrin settled a related lawsuit on unfavorable terms.  Under the settlement, the defendants won’t admit liability or pay Hrin anything.  An insurance company will pay Hrin less than the value of their legal fees.  This embarrassing conclusion to the case was Hrin’s third loss in just a few months, involving what attorneys refer to as the “nuisance value” of a meritless case.

Said Fose: “While I would have been happy to go to stand on principle and defeat her in court, insurance companies prefer to settle claims for less than their attorneys’ fees whenever possible. But looking at the big picture, she lost the election, her campaign finance complaints were dismissed, and she couldn’t persuade an insurance company to pay her even the value of their projected legal bills—so I’m pretty sure she’ll always remember this episode as a string of unhappy losses.”