During the recall election here in Mesa, there was a lot of going back and fourth between the members of the LDS community, in so much that it was said you could feel the tension in the air during their meetings. One of the things that we heard a lot about was the involvement of the LDS church in this election. That intervention wasn't necessarily from Salt Lake City but from here on a local level.

It was rumored that Jerry Lewis and his close supporters had gone and talked with stake presidents and bishops about supporting Lewis. This was done in order to influence the members of their wards. Well the truth now comes out that, that is exactly what they did even though at the time Jerry Lewis completely denied it. What kind of Mormons are these people, that if one day they will lie about it and the next day they will admit to it? 


Now that it has been admitted to by Jerry Lewis and Tyler Montague what other lies have they told people? I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Arizona Capitol Times
Grassroots ‘Mormon Fall’ aided Lewis victory
by Evan Wyloge
Published: November 10th, 2011
...
Though Jerry Lewis was cautious about saying exactly how important the Mormon church was to his campaign, the political newcomer’s upset win over Senate President Russell Pearce largely relied on a quiet, grassroots effort among Mesa’s faithful.

As the final results of the Nov. 8 recall election became clear, Tyler Montague, an integral campaign insider for Lewis, revealed how vital early support was among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Yes. I can finally say it. From the beginning, we went to stake presidents and bishops to get their support,” Montague said of high-ranking Mormon members.

“I heard someone call it the ‘Mormon Fall,’ and I think that totally fits,” he said, comparing the recall election to the mass protests in North Africa and the Middle East known as the “Arab Spring.”

Their approach: Offer a simple choice to the most influential Mormons in Mesa. We said, ‘Here’s what the Mormon Church says about immigration, and here’s what Russell Pearce says about it. Where do you come down?’” Montague said.

...Daryl M. Williams, a member of the Paradise Valley Stake High Council and a trial attorney, said he could see the way the Mormon community responded to the church’s stance, and that he believes it played heavily in Lewis’ success.

“It was more than just a useful tool. It was a critical turning point in Mr. Lewis’ campaign,” Williams said.

Although Williams wasn’t officially part of the Lewis campaign, he said he developed the view that Pearce was damaging for the church and that he couldn’t back away from getting involved himself.

So Williams organized meetings where he tried to explain to everyday Mormon voters what the church’s stance meant.

“I held what’s called in the Mormon world a ‘fireside’ in Russell Pearce’s district. There were a lot of Mormons there,” Williams said. “I was not campaigning for Lewis, as much as I was campaigning for what is right and moral.”

Williams said Lewis attended one of the meetings where Williams spoke, and that Lewis took him aside afterward to express his agreement and encourage Williams’ message.

Springing from those initial conversations, the Lewis campaign felt it could build an alliance with the influential members in Mesa’s Mormon community.

“It’s a small community and we knew we needed to target opinion-makers at a neighborhood level,” Montague said.

Lewis said he knew early on that getting the support from leaders in the church and in the community more broadly would be a key to his success. That would happen, Lewis said, by approaching those leaders early in the campaign and on an individual basis.