Amid ethics controversy, Arizona State Rep. Leezah Sun resigns

PHOENIX - A Democratic state lawmaker has announced her resignation, a day after an ethics report sparked controversy over her behavior.

In a brief statement jointly released by Democratic leaders in the State House, it was announced that Leezah Sun, a Democratic lawmaker who represented the state's 22nd Legislative District, resigned on Jan. 31.

"Sun resigned shortly before today's House floor session effective immediately," a part of the statement reads.

Former lawmaker resigned following ethics probe

Sun's resignation came a day after the Arizona House Ethics Committee released a final report on complaints that were filed against her in November 2023.

The report states that the complaints were filed by House Minority Leader Lupe Contreras, House Assistant Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos, and House Minority Whips Nancy Gutierrez and Melody Hernandez. All four are Democrats.

The report details findings on various incidents involving Sun, including one that happened before she took office in 2023.

December 14, 2022

This incident, the report states, happened during a meeting between Sun and the Superintendent of the Littleton Elementary School District, Dr. Roger Freeman. The meeting was requested by Sun to "discuss potential legislation for her upcoming first term."

"But the meeting soon turned into what Dr. Freeman characterized as a series of ‘lectures’ by Representative Sun on multiple subjects, including her displeasure with the Littleton School Board president for writing about one of her campaign aides. Representative Sun told Dr. Freeman that 'the only reason she hadn't already 'gone after' the District was because [the aide] asked her not to,' the report states.

According to the report, Sun also asked Dr. Freeman if he was "familiar with SB 1487."

"When [Dr. Freeman] replied that he was not, [Sun] stated that it was a bill that would allow her, as a state legislator, to have ‘anybody investigated for any reason.’ Dr. Freeman inquired what allegation Representative Sun would make, to which she reiterated that 'it didn't matter because she could say anything,'" investigators wrote in the report. "Dr. Freeman took this as a threat to either his job or the district as a whole and believed that Representative Sun's conduct and remark was an act of intimidation."

June 16, 2023

This incident, the report states, involves an incident where "four minor children involved in a private custodial matter were to be transferred, pursuant to a court order, from their mother to their father for his scheduled visitation." The transfer was supervised as part of a court order, but the children refused to leave their car and go with the supervisors for their father's parenting time.

Investigators wrote that nearly an hour was spent to convince the children to comply with the court order before Sun arrived at the scene, wearing a badge that identified her as ‘Rep. Leezah Sun." It was noted that Sun "is not a party or otherwise involved in the legal case."

The report states that Sun told the supervisor at the scene that the family members involved were her friends, and that she "just wanted to see what was going on because she had ‘heard [they were] stuck in this situation.'" She later told one of the supervisors on scene to ‘call it a day' and reschedule the transfer, but the supervisor refused because a court order cannot be rescheduled.

"When [the supervisor] restated that she was following the court's orders, Representative Sun stated that she did not believe [the supervisor] was and again repeated her suggestion that she ‘call it a day,’" the report wrote. "Although Representative Sun stated that she was there as a family friend, when [the supervisor] addressed her as ‘Miss,’ Representative Sun corrected her: 'No, it's Representative Leezah Sun.'"

Sun, according to the report, later became "more assertive in her remarks toward the court-appointed supervisor and in her stance that the transfer should not occur." Eventually, the supervisor told the children involved that "she would report back to the court that the order could not be carried out and that they would try again the next week for the father's next scheduled visitation."

"After [the supervisor] went back to her car, Representative Sun told the children that their mother was waiting for them at home and praised them for ‘doing a wonderful job’ and ‘doing everything right’ by refusing to comply with the court-ordered transfer," the ethics report states.

The supervisor, according to investigators, later filed a report with the court on what had happened.

Mid 2023 to late 2023

Investigators say this incident involved three City of Tolleson employees who "petitioned for an injunction against workplace harassment against Representative Sun." Three incidents that the employees claim were aggressive and threatening were documented in the report, and they allege the incidents, as a whole, amounted to harassment. The employees were identified as Tolleson City Manager Reyes Medrano, Chief Government Affairs Officer Pilar Sinawi, and Government Affairs Support Specialist Alicia Guzman.

The first of the incidents, the report states, happened on May 31, with the last incident having happened on Sept. 13. In the May incident, it was alleged that Sun became "agitated and aggressive" after she was not able to meet with a member of the city council without an appointment, and "began yelling, using profanities, and responding to the employees' efforts to calm the situation by instead escalating the intensity of her behaviors."

"The petition described that, eventually, Representative Sun ‘aggressively leaned towards [Mr. Medrano] and stared at him for several seconds in what seemed to be a trance, and in a manner suggesting she wanted to physically hurt’ him," the report reads. "The employees further said that they ‘observed Ms. Sun reach into her purse as though she were looking for something,’ and that given the totality of her behavior during the meeting, they feared that she ‘might be looking for a weapon in her purse.’"

Investigators wrote that the second incident happened in late August during a League of Arizona Cities and Towns conference in Tucson.

"Although none of the three Tolleson employees attended, they had heard from a witness that during a conversation about the City of Tolleson, Representative Sun exclaimed, ‘Pilar Sinawi better not show her face here, or I will smack her in the face and throw her off this balcony to kill her!’ The employees then reported it to police. Given the nature of their previous interaction with Representative Sun, the employees alleged in the petition that this second incident made them fear for their safety," a part of the report reads.

The third incident, according to the report, involved Sun allegedly sending a friend request on Instagram to Medrano's daughter and Sinawi's spouse.

"The employees interpreted these requests as attempts to threaten and intimidate them through their family members," investigators wrote. "The Maricopa County Superior Court granted the petition that same day, prohibiting Representative Sun from having contact with any of the three employees and from going to the Tolleson Civic Center. The court further ordered that Representative Sun not possess, receive, or purchase firearms for the duration of the order. Absent court-ordered changes, the injunction order remains effective until October 18, 2024."

The report also states that in response to the injunction and subsequent media inquiries, Sun, in a written response, categorized the allegations "as being part of an ‘ongoing defamation campaign" against her and an affirmative effort to prevent her from fulfilling her obligations as an elected state representative.’"

Committee found rule violation

Investigators wrote that the Arizona House Ethics Committee found the following:

• That Sun "levied a death threat towards the Tolleson official while acting in her official capacity as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives."
• That Sun "misused her title and position as a state representative when she knowingly prevented the execution of a lawful court order in a private custodial matter to which she was not a party."
• That "the Littleton Elementary School District incident Is further evidence that Representative Sun engaged in a pattern of abusing her official title and position."

In their report, the committee wrote that "evidence sufficiently supports a conclusion that Representative Sun engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior in her official capacity and under the color of her office as a state representative."

"The Committee finds that this pattern constitutes disorderly behavior in violation of Rule 1 of the Arizona House of Representatives," the report reads.

According to a document posted on the Arizona State Legislature's website, Rule 1 states that the house " may punish its members for disorderly behavior and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected to the House, expel any member (Arizona Constitution, Article IV, Part 2, Section 11)."

"Based on this finding, and because Representative Sun's violation of Rule 1 occurred in connection with her official capacity as a member of this House, the Committee deems it appropriate for the House as a whole to decide what disciplinary measures should be taken," a portion of the report reads.

"Our Democratic leadership team is grateful to the Ethics Committee for its diligent, intensive and transparent work on this report, and to the witnesses who came forward to share their stories under incredibly difficult circumstances. The facts are overwhelmingly clear and speak for themselves. Representative Sun engaged in a pattern of disorderly behavior that damaged the reputation of the House. This is a solemn day, but Representative Sun did what's best for our state and for the integrity of this body," read the statement released by House Democratic leaders.

We have reached out to State House Democrats, as well as Sun, for an interview, but have not heard back.

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