PHOENIX, AZ — An Arizona lawmaker who received national attention last year for his remarks on race and immigration was under fire once again Friday after a newspaper reported that he was charged with sex offenses in 1983.
Quoting from what it said were Maryland State Court records, the Phoenix New Times reported Arizona State Representative David Stringer was charged with multiple sex offenses, including child pornography. The New Times story says two of the five charges were later dropped, Stringer was ordered to seek treatment at a clinic for sexual disorders and sentenced to five-year probation. Once he completed probation, Stringer's case was expunged.
The New Times story was met instantly by calls for the Prescott lawmaker to resign.
House Minority Whip Reginald Bolding Jr. from Phoenix said, "We don't want to get to an expulsion. We want to make sure Representative David Stringer does the noble thing and resign. The people of his district deserve to be represented by someone who is not divisive. We are held to higher standard."
In a conversation with Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers on Friday, Stringer gave no indication he will resign from office. Bowers told Stringer, while he may have fulfilled the legal consequences of his actions, charges of this nature cast a shadow over the entire legislature and his ability to be an effective legislator.
On Thursday, Stringer stood on the floor of the house and apologized for making racist remarks on several occasions last year. Representative Bolding Jr. was leading an effort to censure Stringer for those comments. Stringer ignored the requests of the Governor and House leadership to resign then. But a censure vote is the least of his problems now.
Republican Representative Kelly Townsend, who also wants to Stringer to resign, will file an ethics complaint Monday, adding more pressure on the beleaguered lawmaker to resign or face expulsion.
