Paradise Valley School Board Candidates Bought By Contractors
A review of 2022 PVUSD School Board Candidates records shows that contractors are donating to some of their campaigns. I wonder what these contractors are hoping they get in return?
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Kerry Baker reported raising $14,169 in her 3rd Quarter Campaign Finance Report. At least $11,000 of these ‘donations’ came from contractors or people affiliated with the contractors. So who are her top donors? Pay attention to these company names:
Lance Little, owner of Stone Cold Masonry donated $1000
Suzanne Bergen, Office Manager of Wholesale Floors donated $2500
Ben Barcon, owner of ADM Group donated $2500
Lauren Farrell, “homemaker” residing in Tempe (wife of Mark Farrell, President of Progressive Roofing) donated $2500
Travis Brewer, Operations Manager for A.C.E. donated $2500
source: https://recorder.maricopa.gov/CampFinDocs/pdf/2022_48282.pdf
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Tony Pantera reported raising $16,250 is his 3rd Quarter Campaign Finance Report. At least $11,000 of these ‘donations’ came from contractors or people affiliated with the contractors.
Lance Little, owner of Stone Cold Masonry donated $1000
Suzanne Bergen, Office Manager of Wholesale Floors donated $2500
Ben Barcon, owner of ADM Group donated $2500
Lauren Farrell, “homemaker” residing in Tempe (wife of Mark Farrell, President of Progressive Roofing) donated $2500
Travis Brewer, Operations Manager for A.C.E. donated $2500
source: https://recorder.maricopa.gov/CampFinDocs/pdf/2022_48251.pdf
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Former Board Member Susan Matura reported raising $18,234 in her 3rd Quarter Campaign Finance Report. $14,000 came from individuals donating over $100.
Lance Little, owner of Stone Cold Masonry donated $1000
Suzanne Bergen, Office Manager of Wholesale Floors donated $2500
Ben Barcon, owner of ADM Group donated $2500
Lauren Farrell, “homemaker” residing in Tempe (wife of Mark Farrell, President of Progressive Roofing) donated $2500
Charles Hink, Engineer for Pueblo Mechanical donated $2500
Travis Brewer, Operations Manager for A.C.E. donated $2500
source: https://recorder.maricopa.gov/CampFinDocs/pdf/2022_48252.pdf
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According to district public records, these companies received the following bond funds in fiscal year 2022-2023:
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Wholesale Floors received $6,269,217
Progressive Roofing received $3,596,868
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So who is Suzanne Bergen, Office Manager at Wholesale Floors and why would she want to donate $7,500 to Paradise Valley School Board Candidates? According to campaign finance disclosure documents, the Bergens live in Peoria USD, not Paradise Valley USD. It appears that Suzanne's husband is also employed at Wholesale Floors as the Director of Sales, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Wholesale Floors also contributed $5,000 to the 2022 M&O Override campaign, as well as $3,000 to the 2023 Bond campaign. Which begs the question, are the Bergens laundering money for Wholesale Floors?
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