Connie Wilhelm

As the TIME Coalition tries to fight its way back onto the ballot through the courts, there are a lot of questions being asked about how the Coalition - backed by Gov. Janet Napolitano and supported by some of the top political consultantcy firms in Arizona - found itself in this position.

The Coalition is trying to put a 1 cent sales tax increase before voters to pay for improvements in transportation infrastructure - an initiative the governor considers vital for Arizona's future. Yet Secretary of State Jan Brewer invalidated a large number of signatures collected in the effort, and unless the Arizona Supreme Court rules otherwise, TIME will not appear on the November ballot.

Much of the blame is being placed with Ziemba Wade, the relatively new but high profile consulting firm that was ultimately in charge of the campaign. Though not many political insiders are speaking publicly, behind the scenes there is talk that Ziemba Wade failed its first major test as a power in Arizona politics.

In the controversy that has followed the deal reached between TIME Coalition and the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona to bring the developers' group on board with an infrastructure improvement ballot initiative, TIME members have stayed relatively mum.

Now Tom Ziemba, political consultant and TIME Coalition member, is speaking out on the deal to PolitickerAZ.com. Ziemba maintains that there was nothing unethical or illegal in leveraging a $100,000 contribution from the HBACA, and minimized the role of Gov. Janet Napolitano in finalizing the agreement.

Connie Wilhelm, President of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, has told PolitickerAZ.com that their $100,000 contribution to the TIME Coalition was not something they suggested.

The East Valley Tribune last week revealed the deal that TIME and the governor struck with the HBACA in order to gain their support for a transportation package that may be on the ballot in November. Some Republican commentators and legislators contended that the bargain, in which HBACA was let off the hook on impact fees in exchange for a $100,000 contribution to TIME Coalition's signature gathering efforts, was unethical at best and illegal at worst. For some, the difference hinged on whether the contribution was solicited from the HBACA or offered by them.

According to Connie Wilhelm, it was the former. 

Gov. Janet Napolitano: Getty Images PhotoSince the story broke last week of Gov. Janet Napolitano's deal with the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, there's been a massive outcry from Napolitano's critics.

Opponents charge that the agreement -- where the homebuilders would pledge support and $100,000 for a ballot initiative that would raise the sales tax by one cent, while they would get let off the hook for paying part of a proposed $42 billion transportation plan -- is tantamount to "extortion" and represents a "scandal."

Today, on KJZZ, Napolitano refuted such claims, and said the sales tax represents the "simplest and best" option for the state. She dismissed the notion that the deal was unethical and chose instead to address the upside of moving the initiative forward.