PHOENIX - Facing a near-certain expulsion by his colleagues, Daniel Patterson resigned abruptly Wednesday from his state House seat - setting the stage for Pima County's supervisors to choose his replacement.
Patterson's move came just hours after the Ethics Committee unanimously recommended he be ousted for "disorderly behavior."
Committee members rejected Patterson's apology and even his concession that some of his actions toward fellow lawmakers may have crossed the line. "I just don't believe they rise to the level of expulsion," he told the panel.
The move avoids what would have been the first House vote to expel a member since two Democrats were ousted in 1948.
Patterson said later that he felt he had no choice. He said the Ethics Committee refused to allow him to present a full case of his own and cross-examine witnesses, violating its own rules. He said Rep. Ted Vogt, R-Tucson, who chairs the panel, clearly was not interested in what he had to say, as shown by the fact Vogt already had a draft motion prepared to recommend ouster.
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"At some point when it's real clear you're not in a fair fight … I've got to consider what's best for me and my family," Patterson said.
It is unclear how the process to choose a successor will proceed.
By law, the county Board of Supervisors is required to select someone from the same political party. But Patterson's status is uncertain. He was a Democrat until he became an independent earlier this month, before reregistering as a Democrat immediately before resigning - although that can't be verified until today.
Patterson said he believes the Arizona Democratic Party wants him out of the Legislature because it wants a Latino candidate to run in the district, now that its lines have been redrawn. He said that's not the only reason for the move to oust him, but "a contributing factor."
He also criticized the Ethics Committee for refusing his request for a full-blown hearing so he could challenge his accusers.
Vogt acknowledged the panel's officially adopted rules include the right to a hearing. But he said the committee effectively suspended those rules by voting Wednesday to allow Patterson to speak and answer questions, nothing more.
The committee vote was based on findings of an investigative report by an outside law firm that found multiple times when other lawmakers said they were intimidated or harassed by Patterson.
Patterson conceded some of the events occurred but insisted the intimidation was never intentional, and he's working to change.
Patterson said much of the report consisted of anonymous comments and unsubstantiated allegations not made under oath. He also said it was improper for his colleagues to consider the four criminal charges of domestic violence pending in Tucson City Court, the result of an accusation that he hit his former live-in girlfriend.
Rep. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, said she did pay attention to the Tucson incident. She said even if Georgette Escobar did recant, and even though Patterson has yet to be tried on the charges, there is still the statement to Tucson police by a witness who said Patterson "backhanded" Escobar and "the strike was hard enough to knock the female to the ground."
McCune Davis said that conduct "suggests the very same pattern of behavior we see here at the Legislature."
The resignation came after Rep. Cecil Ash, R-Mesa, unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a deal: Patterson would be censured and agree to stay away from the Legislature for the remainder of his term, and get mental-health treatment.
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What's next depends on Patterson's political affiliation
Pima County will begin the process today of finding a replacement for ex-state Rep. Daniel Patterson.
But what process they'll use won't be known until this morning because of questions about Patterson's political status at the time he quit.
State law requires replacement lawmakers to come from the same party as the person they are replacing.
Patterson was elected as a Democrat in 2008 and 2010, but reregistered earlier this month as an independent.
However, Chris Roads, deputy Pima County recorder, said Wednesday Patterson told him he had changed his registration back to Democrat.
But the switch, and the exact time it happened, can't be verified until today because it was done on the Motor Vehicle Division website, which has a reporting delay. The deciding factor will be what Patterson's registration was at 1:36 p.m. Wednesday, when the House session convened.
If Patterson was a Democrat at that time, the process requires the chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party to notify all elected precinct committeemen in his south-side Legislative District 29. Within five days, they have to nominate three Democrats as replacements. The Board of Supervisors must choose one of those three.
If Patterson was still an independent when he resigned, the supervisors must choose a citizens panel made up entirely of political independents. Those panelists then get seven days to select three nominees for consideration.
In either scenario, the supervisors then have five days to choose from the list.
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
