Shope Accuses Democrats Of Filing “Bogus” Ethics Complaint To Score “Cheap Campaign Points”

President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope is calling out his Democrat colleagues for filing what he says is a “bogus ethics complaint in a desperate publicity stunt to score cheap campaign points with their radical Left base.”

Arizona Senate Democrats are filing an ethics complaint against Shope and Senate President Warren Petersen, alleging they violated “parliamentary procedures” last Wednesday, specifically referring to Mason’s Rules and the chamber’s own guidelines.

“Shame on Arizona Senate Democrats for stooping so low in their desperate attempt to weaponize the Legislature’s policies on ethics investigations,” said Shope.

“Neither I, nor President Petersen, who wasn’t even present in his chair at the time of the alleged offense, engaged in any sort of ethical violation by any stretch of the imagination. Democrats’ actions are nothing more than a publicity stunt to cater to their radical Left campaign supporters and to garner media attention on an incredibly sensitive issue that they’re only exploiting simply for political gain. These sick and twisted actions have led to nothing more than a spectacle at the Legislature on the taxpayers’ dime, and only the citizens of Arizona stand to lose. If we mimicked their same logic, Senate Republicans would have grounds to file dozens of ethics complaints against Senate Democrats for a variety of reasons. It’s incredibly sad they not only attempted to hold the entire Senate body hostage with their irresponsible motion, but they did so on a day when more than 20 percent of their Democrat members didn’t even bother to show up for work. The people of this state elected us to report for duty on the floor and to solve issues important to them, not to waste time engaging in theatre and gamesmanship. I’m incredibly disappointed in the so-called leadership of Senate Democrats, but this is par for the course when those who’ve been elected to office have nothing more than selfish motivations driving their decisions.”

According to The Center Square, “the Democrats say that their attempts to motion were not properly recognized, including a motion that Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, tried to make for a late introduction of bills that would allow a process to kick off for a bill that would repeal the 1864 abortion law.”