Several women accuse Arizona state Rep. Don Shooter of sexual harassment
Dustin Gardiner
The number of women accusing state Rep. Don Shooter of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior grew Wednesday, and the Arizona House of Representatives launched multiple investigations into the Republican lawmaker's conduct.
At least five women have publicly accused Shooter, R-Yuma, of making sexually charged comments, touching them inappropriately or making unwanted sexual advances.
State Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, first accused Shooter of harassment in a Twitter post. She detailed her allegations during a television interview on Tuesday, alleging Shooter made comments about her breasts and relentlessly sought a romantic relationship.
But the number of accusers grew dramatically Wednesday afternoon.
A story first published by the Arizona Capitol Times included several unnamed accusers, including several lobbyists, in addition to the five women who have made public allegations. Shooter's accusers include three state lawmakers, a lobbyist and an intern for the Capitol Times.
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Marilyn Rodriguez, a Democratic lobbyist, said she met with Shooter at a north-central Phoenix restaurant in 2013 to lobby him about a budget issue. Shooter was the then-chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which reviews funding requests.
Rodriguez said Shooter put his hand on her knee toward the end of their roughly two-hour meeting.
“I didn’t know what to do," Rodriguez said. "I froze. I don’t know what I could have done, honestly. I was a brand-new lobbyist, he was a very powerful senator."
Rodriguez said she quickly excused herself from the meeting and stopped contact with Shooter going forward. She said she felt "shocked and ashamed" by the touching, which she described as overtly sexual in nature.
Shooter, who has vehemently denied Ugenti-Rita's accusations, declined to respond to any new allegations on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, he requested that the House investigate the matter. Shooter also accused Ugenti-Rita of having an inappropriate relationship with a legislative staff member and making a comment about masturbation to a male colleague in a public hearing, which was recorded on video.
"I requested an investigation by the House which is now underway," Shooter said in a public statement that his attorney released Wednesday afternoon. "Therefore I am unable to comment further except to provide my full support and cooperation.”
The Arizona House of Representatives has launched at least three investigations into accusations against Shooter, according to spokesman Matt Specht.
House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said each harassment allegation against Shooter, or any other lawmaker, would be treated as a separate investigation.
Mesnard has also started an investigation into Shooter's accusations against Ugenti-Rita.
A separate, fifth investigation will look at an allegation by House Majority Whip Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, that she was harassed by unnamed lawmakers.
Allegations of sexual harassment at the Arizona Capitol first broke more than two weeks ago, when Ugenti-Rita posted a public letter on social media stating that she had been harassed by male lawmakers and faced retaliation for reporting it.
On Tuesday, she said Shooter was one of several colleagues who has harassed her in the past, but she has not named any of her other alleged harassers.
Two other lawmakers also have accused Shooter of making sexually inappropriate comments at the Arizona Capitol. State Reps. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, and Wenona Benally, D-Window Rock, posted on Twitter Wednesday that they also have experienced inappropriate conduct at the Legislature.
Salman said she met Shooter shortly after joining the Legislature in January. She said Shooter told her she "would be a nice view to look at." She said she found the comment unsettling.
Benally, meanwhile, released a press statement describing another incident earlier this year when, she alleges, Shooter used sexually inappropriate language. She said she was sitting in the House members lounge when Shooter and another male legislator "engaged in a joking but graphic conversation" in front of her.
"Rep. Shooter repeatedly referred to his male genitalia as a ‘gun,' " Benally wrote. "The conversation made me extremely uncomfortable."
Allegations against Shooter led several Democrats and the state Democratic Party to call for his resignation. No Republican lawmakers have called for his resignation.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey also released a statement supporting Mesnard's promise of a thorough investigation, saying, "There can be absolutely no tolerance for sexual harassment in the halls of our state Capitol, or any other organization — private or public."
Mesnard, who recently issued a House harassment policy, said the allegations against Shooter and other lawmakers will be investigated by a bipartisan team of attorneys. He declined to speculate about Shooter's future.
“I think everybody deserves a full and fair investigation," Mesnard said Wednesday evening. “Until that’s complete, you can’t really decide what the next steps are."
Under the House's policy, someone who commits unlawful harassment could face penalties, ranging from a written reprimand to expulsion from the chamber. Lawmakers have the power to remove a colleague from office, but such instances are rare.
Gretchen Jacobs, a lobbyist and friend of Shooter, said she got the "impression that he could be a sexual harasser" when she first met him. But, she said, she questioned Shooter about his behavior and found him deeply apologetic.
After years of friendship, Jacobs said she's realized Shooter's flirtatious behavior is intended to be funny, not taken seriously. She said she's chalked up his persona to small-town roots.
"I think he doesn’t understand he’s in the big city now, in a pretty rough business," Jacobs said. “Even me, as one of his good friends, didn’t know what to think of him at first. Since I’ve gotten to know him, he really has been a breath of fresh air down here, in terms of his compassion."
While accusations against Shooter have jolted the Capitol community, some at the Capitol said they were not surprised by multiple accusations of harassment at the Legislature.
"It’s not like this is a new thing," said Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix. "It’s not surprising to me that it’s happened at all, because the Legislature is a patriarchal institution."
Shooter, a real-estate developer, was first elected to the Senate in 2010. He ran the Senate Appropriations Committee for more than five years before winning election to the state House in 2016, where he now chairs the House Appropriations Committee.
Colleagues and lobbyists say Shooter is known for his joking demeanor. He has worn costumes at the Capitol and held after-hours cocktail parties in his office.
Hobbs described an incident three years ago, when she said Shooter hosted an after-hours party in his Senate office on the last day of the session.
Attendees were directed to sign a non-disclosure agreement to enter the soiree, she said.
Hobbs said while the agreement might have been intended as a joke, the fact that lawmakers felt comfortable with it speaks to the Capitol's inappropriate, sexist culture. Shooter said the agreement was a party gag.
“That was 100 percent a joke and if people took it the wrong way, I’m sorry they took it the wrong way," Shooter told The Republic when asked about the party in October.
Arizona lawmakers' accusations of sexual harassment come as a chorus of women nationwide have spoken out about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault in the wake of the scandal enveloping Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
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