A couple of campaign fliers circulating around District 8 slam Kate Widland Gallego for her ties to Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio's political allies -- and apparently for not being a minority.
One of the bright yellow fliers, tucked on doors of homes throughout the district, call the council candidate a "sell out" and urge voters to "follow the money."
See also: - Black Leaders Struggle to Retain Power in District They've Historically Controlled - Montgomery's Endorsement Rejected by Stewart in District 8 City Council Race
Widland Gallego, who nearly won the August primary election with just shy of 50 percent of the vote, is no doubt a threat to her challenger Pastor Warren Stewart.
He only received about 22 percent of the vote -- less than half of the 47 percent Widland Gallego captured on Election Night.
She is pictured on the flier above photos of Councilman Sal DiCiccio, Arpaio, Councilman Michael Nowakowski and Brian Murray, a consultant with Summit Group.
Murray gave Widland Gallego's campaign $100 on August 8, a relatively small drop in the bucket of more than $200,000 in political donations her campaign amassed.
What rankles left-leaning politicos is that there exists any connection between the candidate's campaign and Summit Group, a firm with a client list that includes the disgraced ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce, disbarred Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Arpaio, DiCiccio and the Arizona Republican Party.
See, among Widland Gallego's field consultants are the same undocumented activists who have heavily campaigned for the DREAM Act and immigrants' rights and against the likes of Arpaio and Pearce.
Murray also gave political contributions to DiCiccio, who successfully retained his seat in the District 6, and to Councilman Jim Warring, who won his August election to continue representing District 2.
Nowakowski, a so-called union guy who has formed an alliance with anit-union DiCiccio, made a $450 max contribution to Widland Gallego. And, she happens to be married to Ruben Gallego, a state lawmaker and Nowakowski's former campaign manager.
Stewart has also come under scrutiny for his chummy relationship with Jason Rose, a political operative who long served as a consultant for Arpaio and donated $430 to the Stewart campaign.
And, depending on who you ask, Stewart's campaign may have proudly sought an endorsement from County Attorney Bill Montgomery, who pushes for the harshest penalties against immigrants who cross his path.
The intended message of the second flier is far less clear.
Other than just putting a photo of Gallego next to one of Paula Deen, the one-time Queen of Southern Cooking whose show was yanked off the Food Network after she admitted to using the n-word and was accused of being racially insensitive.
"What do Paula Deen and Kate Widland Gallego have in common?" the flier asks. "They both want to make money off minorities."
