PHOENIX — The head of the Arizona House Ethics Committee vowed Tuesday to conduct a fair, thorough and speedy inquiry into allegations that a lawmaker had an improper relationship with a lobbyist and used his power to help her personally.
Rep. John Allen said the complaints against fellow Republican Rep. David Cook must be completely investigated and vowed to do so quickly. That's important for both Cook and voters who may be asked to reelect him in November, he said.
“This is one of those things that Mr. Cook, if we are going be able to prove these allegations one way or another, deserves to have that decided as soon as possible,” Allen said after a meeting of his committee. “I’m an elected official, and if I was wrongly accused I’d want this out of my way as quick as possible.”
Cook faces two ethics complaints, and the House has hired outside lawyers to investigate them.
Cook, who is married, had an alleged improper relationship with lobbyist AnnaMarie Knorr that involved “unethical behavior, conflict of interest, and appearance of corruption," according to the complaint. The second complaint alleges he pressured the Pinal County sheriff to cancel a property seizure in exchange for a campaign contribution. Knorr, her husband or companies owned by the family owed about $140,000 in taxes on the property.
Cook and Knorr have denied having an improper relationship or crossing ethical lines. Cook didn't attend Tuesday's meeting.
Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has said he halted the seizure when he learned of it from Cook, but he never discussed a campaign contribution. Rather, he said, he wasn't aware of the pending seizure and wanted to first come up with protocols for property seizures before proceeding.
Cook is from Globe and represents large swaths of Pinal and Gila counties.
Tuesday's Ethics Committee meeting was mainly held behind closed doors so the three Republicans and two Democrats on the panel could hear from House lawyers and the outside counsel they've hired to investigate the allegations.
After the closed door session, Allen told reporters that the committee will follow the evidence where it leads, and noted that the panel is aware of other issues raised in news reports or elsewhere. Some are well within the scope of the current investigation, while others “don't seem to be, but go to a pattern of behavior" the panel may decide merits inclusion.
“But he’s going to get a fair shake from me," Allen said. "This is my overarching goal, is to be just to all.”
Allen said the goal is to be thorough and ensure that "Mr. Cook has an opportunity to defend himself all at once, and that we don’t have to go through this twice or three times as other allegations come up.”
The House has seen a series of ethics complaints in recent years, with one resulting in the expulsion of then-Rep. Don Shooter for sexual harassment in 2018. Another led to the resignation of Rep. David Stringer last year after it was revealed that he was arrested in 1983 for paying teenage boys for sex. Stringer denied that and said he struck a deferred prosecution agreement because of a chance that he could lose.
Shooter and Stringer are Republicans.
