An independent counsel is calling for the expulsion of Tucson Democratic Rep. Daniel Patterson from the Arizona House of Representatives, according to a report released on Monday.
Patterson has served as a representative of Legislative District 29 since 2009. The report details allegations against him, including his alleged violations of house rules and court orders and sought personal favors in exchange for his votes on certain issues, among other things.
A team of attorneys hired by the House Ethics Committee compiled the report based on interviews with legislators, legislative staff and Patterson himself.
The report states that, while it is unclear whether Patterson violated any criminal laws, his behavior merits expulsion.
“Rep. Patterson simply lacks any credibility with regards to the allegations of misconduct outlined in this report and has failed to provide us with any reason to believe that the sworn allegations made against him in the various Declarations presented with this report and our other witness statements are inaccurate or over-stated,” the report concludes.
Democratic House Minority Leader Chad Campbell called on Patterson to resign immediately.
“I have been calling on Rep. Patterson to resign since this all began,” Campbell said in a release. “The behavior highlighted in the investigative report is both reprehensible and intolerable.”
Campbell said that if Patterson does not resign, then the House should expel him.
“We must take immediate and decisive action,” Campbell said. “Removing him from this body is the only appropriate recourse.”
The report also states that this is not the first time someone has considered filing an ethics complaint against Patterson, though it was the first to actually be filed. In April 2011, Republican Rep. Terri Proud drafted an ethics complaint based on Patterson’s “acts of domestic violence, criminal record and disorderly conduct against another legislator.”
Patterson has denied all claims, according to the report. After the report was released, Patterson posted on Twitter that he thinks the investigation had a “pre-determined outcome” and was based on lies. He also called Campbell a “hack” and accused him of violating both due process and the truth and said that, though he isn’t afraid to “stir things up” as a legislator, he never means to offend anyone.