Michael Moore's October visit to the UA is still causing controversy, and one Tucson man says the UA violated federal campaign finance laws by paying the filmmaker to speak on campus.
Tucson attorney David Hardy, co-author of the book "Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man," has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission saying the money the UA and other universities paid Moore to speak amounted to illegal campaign contributions for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
Moore, director of "Fahrenheit 9/11," was paid $27,500 to speak in McKale Center and was the only paid speaker in a series of political speakers sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. Moore's visit was paid for entirely through public ticket sales, with tickets selling at $5 apiece.
Moore was one of seven in a speaker series designed to bring a balance of political views to campus in an election year, said Alistair Chapman, president of ASUA.
"We were trying to get speakers who were expressing different ideologies and I think we did that very well," Chapman said. "Obviously Michael Moore is partisan, just as our other speakers were."
Because Moore specifically advocated for the election of John Kerry during his speech, Hardy said the money he was paid should be considered illegal campaign contributions, regardless of whether the cost was covered by ticket sales.
"However you pay for it, it's still a political expenditure," Hardy said.
Hardy, a Libertarian who voted for George W. Bush in the last election, also spoke in the ASUA-sponsored speaker series, which included speakers like Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
But Hardy said his speech, unlike Moore's, was not designed to influence voters.
"I wasn't advocating a candidate, and I didn't take any money for it," Hardy said.
Instead, Hardy's speech was primarily aimed at criticizing Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Hardy said if Moore had limited himself to talking only about his films or about politics in general, he would not have filed the complaint.
Hardy said he hopes an FEC investigation into Moore's paid appearances on college campuses will set a precedent for future elections.
"What I'd really like is a ruling that says this can't happen again," Hardy said. "I'm not looking for anyone to be penalized."
The FEC could not comment on Hardy's complaint because it is an unresolved matter.
Chase Clendenen, a mechanical engineering freshman who voted for Kerry in the last election, said he does not think the UA was wrong for inviting Moore to speak but said he understands why conservative students and community members might have been put off by Moore's appearance.
"It wasn't too nice for all the Republican students to have such a strong liberal presence on campus and nothing to balance it," Clendenen said.
Clendenen also said the amount Moore was paid for his appearance seems "a little excessive."
Chapman said Moore's visit was actually the least expensive in the speaker series for ASUA, since standard speaker venue and marketing costs were fully covered by Moore's ticket sales.
Deanna Shutt-Wood, a pre-physiological sciences sophomore who voted for Bush, said she thinks the controversy over Moore has gone on long enough.
Shutt-Wood said while she doesn't agree with Moore's views and did not attend his speech, she doesn't think the university was wrong to have him on campus.
"He came, he went, just drop it," Shutt-Wood said. "It's over. Kerry didn't win."