State high court OKs ballot spot for candidate Shooter
The decision is final: Don Shooter will be a candidate on the ballot for Arizona Senate despite accusations that he doesn’t live in the district where he’s running.
In a ruling late Wednesday afternoon, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to keep Shooter on the ballot in the Aug. 28 Republican primary for Legislative District 13.
Shooter, a former lawmaker, was ousted from the Arizona House in February after an investigation found he sexually harassed numerous women.
He made national headlines and was the first state lawmaker expelled in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Despite his expulsion, Shooter filed paperwork May 31 to run for state Senate in the same district, which stretches from the Valley’s western edges to Yuma, where Shooter has an apartment.
But an opponent in the race filed a lawsuit alleging Shooter is ineligible because he lives in the Biltmore area of Phoenix, not Yuma.
Under state law, Arizona lawmakers are required to be residents of the district they represent.
The Supreme Court noted in its ruling that Shooter still pays rent on his Yuma apartment, uses the address on his driver’s license, has his cars registered there and was registered to vote there when he filed to run.
“In sum, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Shooter is a resident of Yuma with actual physical presence there combined with an intent to remain,” the court said.
The court rejected an appeal from Brent Backus, a businessman also running for the seat, who filed the lawsuit challenging Shooter’s residency in the district.
Backus and his attorney, Timothy La Sota, argued that the Arizona Constitution requires a legislative candidate live in the district for one year. They contend Shooter moved to Phoenix after his Feb. 1 expulsion from the Legislature.
Meanwhile, Shooter is expected to soon file a lawsuit against the state, alleging the process used to remove him from office was rigged.