Accused politicians looking for ballot box redemption
YUMA, Ariz. — In Arizona, the list of women accusing former state Rep. Don Shooter of sexual harassment includes a Republican colleague, a Democratic legislator, at least two lobbyists, a newspaper intern and the former publisher of the Arizona Republic.
“I’m a sucker for the pretty ladies,” Shooter is said to have told one woman while shaking his pelvis in her face.
More than 1,000 miles to the northwest, state Rep. David Sawyer, D-Wash., has been accused of unwelcome advances, inappropriate remarks or other misconduct by at least eight women, including former legislative aides and a lobbyist he asked to be his “arm candy.”
Almost a year into an anti-harassment movement that has prompted a coastto-coast cultural reckoning, Shooter and Sawyer are among more than a dozen politicians who have been accused of misconduct and are running for state legislatures again anyway.
Among them are a Kentucky legislator accused of sending racy text messages to an aide, a Pennsylvania lawmaker involved in a six-figure sexual harassment settlement, and a Wisconsin representative accused of forcible kissing.
Some candidates hope that voters will accept their apologies. Others believe constituents will dismiss the allegations as untrue — or deem them unimportant at a time when state legislatures could play crucial roles either in advancing the Trump administration’s agenda or forming bulwarks against it.
“I say stupid stuff, I admit it, big deal — I admitted it in my apology,” said Shooter, who believes Arizonans will vote for him because he has promised to root out corruption.
Apologies alone do not satisfy some of those who are working to ensure that candidates accused of harassment do not retain political power.
“It’s about making sure we’re going to hold people accountable,” said Jessica Gavre, 34, a former statehouse aide in Washington who said Sawyer sent her sexually suggestive text messages at all hours. She now leads a group dedicated to informing voters about the accusations against Sawyer; the committee has spent more than $78,000 to influence Tuesday’s election.
“This is where we decide what the #MeToo movement is going to mean,” she said.
Shooter, 66, joined the Arizona Legislature in 2011. He was a tea party candidate, pitching a small-government, lowtax ethos, and rose to become chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Then nine women came forward with accusations of harassment.
“I wish I was that baby,” he is said to have told Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, a Republican, when she explained she would have to leave a meeting to breastfeed. “You’ll be a nice view to look at,” he is accused of saying when Rep. Athena Salman, a Democrat, joined the Legislature. An intern at the Arizona Capitol
Times, Kendra Penningroth, said Shooter pulled her into an extended embrace before telling her he “promised to be good.”
In another episode, the former publisher of the Arizona Republic, Mi-Ai Parrish, who is Korean-American, met with Shooter to discuss a bill affecting newspapers.
In the meeting, Shooter described himself as an independent thinker who had done most everything on his bucket list. When Parrish asked what he had not done, he responded: “Those Asian twins in Mexico.”
Investigators found many of the allegations to be credible, and in February, Shooter’s colleagues voted 56-3 to expel him. Shooter, who had apologized for any demeaning comments, then dropped his microphone in a defiant clatter. Security guards escorted him off the Capitol grounds. “I’ve been thrown out of better places than this,” he told a reporter.
Now Shooter is running for office again, hoping to jump from the state House to the Senate He maintains that he was ousted not for his coarse behavior but because he was scrutinizing alleged spending violations in state government.
His campaign strategy includes a billboard he has placed on a highway leading into Yuma. “Vote Shooter,” it reads, “Make a Liberal’s Head Explode.”