A Republican candidate for the Maricopa County Community College Governing Board in Arizona was arrested in early October after he was allegedly caught masturbating in his truck near a child care center.
A report by the Maricopa County Community College Police stated that Randy Kaufman, who announced on Tuesday that he was suspending his campaign, was cited for public sexual indecency on Oct. 4.
According to the report, Kaufman was allegedly caught when an officer noticed that the way the truck was parked in the parking lot of Rio Salado Community College Lifelong Learning Center “seemed unusual” (it was allegedly positioned across three spaces), and he approached the vehicle to investigate.
The officer saw Kaufman “had his pants down mid-thigh and was exposed showing his fully erect nude penis,” the report stated.
The Wirtzels Preschool and Child Care Center was allegedly nearby, and the officer stated in the report that he saw several preschool-age kids outside in the playground.
The candidate, who allegedly admitted he was watching porn on his phone, said he “didn’t notice” the child center until the officer confronted him, per the report.
“I fucked up,” Kaufman allegedly lamented.
Asked why he would do this, Kaufman allegedly replied: “I’m just really stressed out. I have a lot of things going on.”
At one point, Kaufman, who had previously been endorsed by the Maricopa County Colleges Police Officers Association, name-dropped the association’s president, Jim Hill, in his conversation with the cop, the police report said.
“Can I say something off the record?” Kaufman allegedly asked.
“Ok. You can, go ahead and tell me,” the officer replied, according to the record.
Like many Republican candidates, Kaufman has previously painted Democrats as child predators during his campaign: According to HuffPost, he declared in a Facebook post in May that he wanted “our children protected [from] the progressive left.”
Kaufman’s Facebook profile is no longer accessible.
Though Kaufman stated on Tuesday that he was suspending his campaign due to a “personal legal matter,” it’s too late to take his name off the ballot, the Maricopa County Elections Department told local outlet 12News.
* Article from: talkingpointsmemo.com
“I know Officer Jim Hill; he works with you guys … and … I’m running for the Governing Board for the colleges,” Kaufman allegedly said.