ARIZONA

Democratic leadership calls on indicted Arizona lawmaker to resign

Alia Beard Rau
The Republic | azcentral.com
State Democratic leaders are calling on Rep. Ceci Velasquez to resign from the Legislature in the face of criminal charges alleging food stamp fraud.

State Democratic leaders are calling on Rep. Ceci Velasquez to resign from the Legislature in the face of criminal charges alleging food stamp fraud.

House Minority Leader Eric Meyer, D-Paradise Valley, said that he and the other House Democratic leaders discussed the issue and agreed Velasquez, D-Litchfield Park, should step down.

However, the first-term lawmaker did withdraw from her planned re-election bid, filing paperwork late Friday with the Arizona Secretary of State that directs election officials to not print her name on the ballot. Precinct committee members in her westside district will meet Monday to name a replacement for her ballot spot.

As of Friday evening, she had not publicly responded to Meyer's request and remains a state lawmaker.

Meyer said the gravity of the charges argues for her to step down.

"These are allegations of misconduct, and they are serious allegations," Meyer said. "The courts will have to work their way through them ... but this is a major distraction."

Velasquez was charged by the Arizona State Grand Jury in May with three felony counts: fraudulent schemes and practices; unlawful use of food stamps; and theft. The court documents were unsealed this week.

According to a news release from the Arizona Department of Economic Security, the state got a tip in November 2014 of possible fraudulent activity. Court documents allege Velasquez between 2013 and 2015 fraudulently used $1,726 worth of food stamps. Court documents do not document the details of the allegations. Velasquez is scheduled to appear in court July 5.

Meyer said he spoke with Velasquez on Wednesday and that she was upset by the request. He said she wasn't ready to make a decision, but he planned to speak with her again in the next day or two.

Velasquez has not returned calls from The Republic seeking comment. But shortly after the indictment was announced, a statement was posted to her Twitter account: "I have done nothing wrong! This is a political witch hunt. I'm confident that justice WILL prevail once all the facts are known!"

Political career began amid controversy

Meyer said he and other members of leadership have tried to talk to all House Democrats about the situation. He said the response from members was mixed.

"Some of them had concerns about not knowing enough yet," he said. "But given the fact that this is a grand jury indictment and I would hope we aren't spending our tax dollars in a frivolous way or on a witch hunt, and I don't think that's the case ... people need to be held accountable. I think this is the best way to go."

Velasquez, an Arizona native and paralegal, was elected to the Legislature in 2014. Her political career began amid controversy, when it was discovered there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest for $2,000 in unpaid court fines stemming from charges of driving on a suspended license and without insurance.

If she is convicted of the felony charges announced Wednesday, Velasquez would be required to resign her office.

If Velasquez were to resign, she would be the third Democratic House member in recent years to do so while facing a felony indictment.

In 2012, Rep. Richard Miranda abruptly resigned from the Legislature and later pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud and attempted tax evasion for selling a Surprise building owned by a non-profit he ran and pocketing the money. Miranda received a 27-month federal prison sentence and was ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That same year, Rep. Ben Arredondo, a former Tempe City Council member, pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign his legislative seat after being indicted for demanding tickets to sporting events and gifts from a fake company that ostensibly wanted to do development deals in Tempe. The company was a ruse fronted by undercover FBI agents.