Felecia Rotellini
Felecia Rotellini was a Democratic candidate for Attorney General of Arizona in 2014. Felecia Rotellini lost the general election on November 4, 2014.
Rotellini ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2010, losing to Tom Horne (R) in the general election.[1]
Rotellini is an attorney for a Phoenix-based private practice law firm. She previously served as Superintendent of the State Banking Department in Arizona, from 2006-2009.
Biography
Rotellini was raised in Sheridan, Wyoming. She attended Rocky Mountain College for her undergraduate studies, earning dual bachelor's degrees in history and political science. She graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1986 and launched her legal career in Arizona, her adoptive state.[2]
Following six years in private practice as a trial attorney, Rotellini joined the Arizona Attorney General's Office, alternating between the civil and criminal divisions, prosecuting complex real estate and financial fraud cases.
In late August 2009, Rotellini resigned from her appointed position as Superintendent to join the Phoenix law firm of Zwillinger & Greek PC.[2]
She was also a trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix Foundation from 1990-2002.
Education
- B.A.,, history and political science, Rocky Mountain College (1981) (magna cum laude)
- J.D., Notre Dame Law School (1986)
Political career
Superintendent of the Arizona Banking Department (2006-2009)
In 2006, after first operating as an assistant, Rotellini was appointed by then-Governor Janet Napolitano to serve as the Superintendent of the State Banking Department, now known as the State Department of Financial Institutions. Her responsibilities in this role included overseeing the financial services in the state, such as the banks and credit unions, consumer lenders, escrow agents, mortgage and collection companies. In late August 2009, she resigned her post as to join the Phoenix law firm of Zwillinger & Greek PC.[2]
Elections
2014
- See also: Arizona attorney general election, 2014
On February 25, 2013, Rotellini confirmed reports that she would run for attorney general of Arizona in 2014.[1][3] Rotellini previously ran for attorney general in 2010. She finished second in the general election behind Tom Horne (R), who lost his bid for re-election in 2014. Horne was ousted by challenger Mark Brnovich in the GOP primary on August 26, 2014.
Rotellini was uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the primary on August 26, 2014, and was defeated by Mark Brnovich (R) in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Results
| Attorney General of Arizona, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mark Brnovich |
52.9% | 782,361 | |
| Democratic | Felecia Rotellini | 47.1% | 696,054 | |
| Nonpartisan | Anthony Camboni (Write-in) | 0% | 265 | |
| Total Votes | 1,478,680 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
Race background
Incumbent Tom Horne, a Republican first elected in 2010, lost his bid for renomination in the August 26 Republican primary, creating an open seat race for the general election.[4]
Midway through his first term as attorney general, Horne was the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation stemming from an alleged hit-and-run incident. This investigation led Horne to forgo his gubernatorial campaign in favor of seeking another term in his current post.[5] These incidents led Governing to rate Arizona's attorney general seat as "vulnerable" to partisan switch in the 2014 elections.
Horne lost to Republican challenger Mark Brnovich by six points in the party's primary. Brnovich, the former director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, faced 2010 gubernatorial candidate and Assistant Attorney General Felecia Rotellini in the general election.[4]
Rotellini was ultimately defeated by Brnovich, and the attorney general's office remained under Republican control.
Debates
September 30 debate
Mark Brnovich (R) and Felecia Rotellini (D) participated in a debate hosted by public affairs program Arizona Horizon. Brnovich argued that Rotellini lacked experience as a prosecutor while highlighting his past work as a county prosecutor and assistant U.S. Attorney. Rotellini responded that Brnovich misunderstood the attorney general's responsibilities, saying that the office doesn't handle prosecutions, which are handled by county attorneys.[6]
Rotellini said that Brnovich had attempted to bring ideology to the office, and criticized his support for private prisons. She also argued that his advocacy for pro-life positions was a distraction for anyone aspiring to the office. Brnovich responded by pointing out the lack of partisan divide over private prisons, citing the Obama administration's advocacy for these types of facilities. He also suggested that Rotellini's criticism was hypocritical because she accepted contributions from private-prison operators.[6]
Polls
General election polls
| Arizona Attorney General, General election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mark Brnovich (R) | Felecia Rotellini (D) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| American Encore October 20-22, 2014 | 41% | 38% | 17% | +/-4 | 601 | ||||||||||||||
| Arizona Free Enterprise Club October 13-16, 2014 | 48% | 39% | 13% | +/-4.5 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Moore Information October 7-8, 2014 | 39% | 42% | 19% | +/-4.9 | 400 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 42.67% | 39.67% | 16.33% | +/-4.47 | 500.33 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Primary polls
| Arizona Attorney General, Republican primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Mark Brnovich | Tom Horne* | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Harper Polling August 19-20, 2014 | 40% | 37% | 24% | +/-3.44 | 812 | ||||||||||||||
| Gravis Marketing July 14, 2014 | 44% | 29% | 27% | +/-4.0 | 691 | ||||||||||||||
| Magellan Strategies July 9-10, 2014 | 39% | 25% | 36% | +/-4.02 | 593 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 41% | 30.33% | 29% | +/-3.82 | 698.67 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.
2010
- See also: Arizona Attorney General election, 2010
On October 27, 2009, she announced her candidacy for the statewide office of attorney general, the seat that was being vacated by Democrat Terry Goddard, who ran for governor.[7]
Two days after Arizona voters went to the polls on Tuesday, August 24, David Lujan conceded to Rotellini after he realized "he could not make up the more than 1,400 votes he would need to take the lead in the three-way race."[8] Three months later, however, she lost in the general election on November 2 to Republican then-State Superintendent Tom Horne after receiving 48 percent of the vote.
Results
General election
- 2010 General Election
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  Tom Horne
|
51.9% | |
| Democratic Party | Felecia Rotellini | 48.1% | |
| Total Votes | 1,677,668 | ||
- 2010 Primary Race
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary[10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | Felecia Rotellini
|
41.5% | |
| Democratic Party | David M. Lujan | 40.7% | |
| Democratic Party | Vince Rabago | 17.8% | |
| Total Votes | 290,114 | ||
2010 donor controversy
During her 2010 campaign, Rotellini came under criticism for accepting contributions from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). The UFCW had been encouraging a boycott of Arizona products in response to the passage of SB 1070, a highly controversial anti-illegal immigration measure. Rotellini claimed to be unaware of the UFCW's actions.[11]
Campaign contributions
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
| Felecia Rotellini campaign contribution history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2014 | Arizona Attorney General |  |
$566,724 | |
| 2010 | Arizona Attorney General | |
$699,739 | |
| Grand total raised | $1,266,463 | |||
| Source: [[12] Follow the Money] | ||||
2014
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Felecia Rotellini.[13] Click [show] for more information.
| Felecia Rotellini Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Arizona Attorney General | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total raised | $566,724 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total raised by opponents | $540,626 (Republican) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Phoenix Fire Fighters Local 493 | $9,120 | |||||||||||||||||
| Food & Commercial Workers Local 99 | $9,120 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rotellini, Felecia Ann | $8,734 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona List | $6,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Armstrong, James D | $4,912 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $528,036 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $38,010 | ||||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $545,049 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $21,675 | ||||||||||||||||||
2010
According to Follow the Money, Rotellini has raised $289,967 in 2010 for her state attorney general campaign as of September 20, 2010.[14]
Listed below are the top five contributors:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| United Food & Commercial Workers - Local 99 | $4,176 |
| Arizona List | $4,176 |
| Arizona Association of Realtors | $4,176 |
| Teresa L. Hall | $1,680 |
| Felecia Ann Rotellini | $1,428 |
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Rotellini received the Excellence in Cooperative Law Enforcement Award from the United States Attorney's Office in 2009.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Felecia + Rotellini + Arizona + Attorney + General"
- All stories may not be relevant to this individual due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Janet Napolitano
- Attorney General of Arizona
- Tom Horne
- Arizona attorney general election, 2014
- Arizona Attorney General election, 2010
- State executive debates, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arizona Republic, "All eyes on 2014 race for governor," November 11, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Felicia for Arizona, "About Felicia," accessed January 11, 2013
- ↑ Phoenix News Times, "Felecia Rotellini Making Another Run at Attorney General," February 26, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 abc15.com, "Arizona Election Results," accessed August 27, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Governing, "The 2013-2014 Attorneys General Races: Who's Vulnerable?" March 25, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Phoenix New Times, "Felecia Rotellini and Mark Brnovich Battle in Debate for Arizona Attorney General," October 1, 2014
- ↑ Phoenix New Times, "Felecia Rotellini First Candidate to Announce Officially for Attorney General Race" 27 Oct. 2009
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "Lujan concedes AG race to Rotellini" 27 Aug. 2010
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State - 2010 Primary Election Results
- ↑ Seeing Red AZ "GOP AG nominee Horne calls on Rotellini to return AZ boycott supporters’ donations" 1 Sept. 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Career fundraising for Rotellini, Felecia," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Home," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Follow the Money - Campaign Contributions for Felecia Rotellini, 2010
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