Don Shooter


Don Shooter is an American politician from Arizona. Shooter, a Republican, was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 13 from January 14, 2017, until February 1, 2018, when he was expelled from the House after several women accused Shooter of sexual harassment.
Shooter is a former chair of the Yuma Tea Party. Shooter served as chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, until November 2017, when he was suspended from the chairmanship amid the sexual harassment allegations.

Education

Shooter attended the University of Southern California.

Elections

In 2013, Shooter was charged by the Yuma city prosecutor with three misdemeanor counts. The charges related to an incident in which Shooter charged into a charter school classroom and confronted a special education teacher about his grandson. Upon payment of $1,000 in restitution to the school and a $1,500 fee to the city, Shooter's prosecution was deferred on condition that he not violate any criminal law during the following year. Shooter denied knowledge of specifics, claiming he “didn't read all the details” of the agreement.
In 2013 Shooter filed a campaign finance report claiming $20,000 for fuel and mileage costs. In 2014 he filed an amended report to cut that amount in half.

Sexual harassment claims and expulsion from the state House

In November 2017, multiple women came forward to accuse Shooter of sexual harassment. Representative Michelle Ugenti-Rita recalled an instance when he came to her office and asked her about her chest. She also did not open the door when he invited himself to her hotel room with a six-pack of beer. State Representatives Wenona Benally and Athena Salman have also made public allegations against him. On November 7, Mi-Ai Parrish, publisher of the Arizona Republic, described sexual and racial comments made to her by Shooter. As of November 14, 2017, nine women have accused Shooter of sexual harassment.
On February 1, 2018, the Arizona House of Representatives voted 56–3 to expel Rep. Shooter. The House approved a resolution stating that "the House of Representatives finds that Representative Don Shooter's pattern of conduct was dishonorable and unbecoming of a member." This was the first occasion since 1991 that a member had been expelled from the Arizona Legislature.