State Representative Leezah Sun acknowledged interfering in a child custody matter in mid-June, but denied that she had behaved in a hostile or intimidating manner in a letter to a Maricopa County judge shortly after the encounter.
Sun, a Phoenix Democrat running for an Arizona Senate seat, addressed the two-page letter to Family Law Judge Melissa Zabor just days after she intervened in a controversial case involving the children of an Avondale school board member went. Sun’s letter is part of the public court filing in the custody case.
The account in Sun’s letter offers a conflicting view of an incident that is now part of an ethics complaint against her. The letter also offers perspective in Sun’s own words. When contacted by The Arizona Republic, she declined to comment on the ethics complaint and the letter.
Sun disputes a guardian’s report that she was hostile and claimed to be acting on behalf of Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes.
“I did not say that I was directed by the attorney general’s office, nor did I represent that I was acting in any official capacity,” Sun wrote. “I haven’t said anything about there being a conflict or spoken to Kris Mayes.”
Democratic leaders in the Arizona House of Representatives filed a complaint last week calling for an investigation into Sun, citing a pattern of behavior they described as troubling.
Objections raised:Arizona Rep. Leezah Sun complains about “false statements” as court issues temporary restraining order against her
Her complaint publicly revealed the custody interference lawsuit for the first time. It also cited a temporary restraining order granted to three Tolleson employees after they raised concerns about Sun’s behavior and threats she was accused of making, including “killing” an employee. Sun admitted to using violent language at times, but told The Republic she was not a violent person.
Sun has until November 15 to respond to the complaint. Then the House Ethics Committee will determine next steps, including whether to conduct a formal investigation.
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Lawmakers provided the following account of the situation that unfolded June 16 in the parking lot of an Avondale Dairy Queen.
“I have identified myself as an elected official, but have not indicated that I serve there in any official capacity,” Sun’s letter said. She said a report by custody director Kristyn Alcott, which is the basis for the ethics complaint, “contains a number of inaccuracies and omissions.”
According to Sun’s report, she was neither hostile nor intimidating when she met Alcott, who spent an hour trying to get the children to leave with their father. The children refused to do this. Sun said the children were frightened and dehydrated as they sat with their stepfather in a car without air conditioning.
“I also identified myself as a family friend and told them that as an elected representative I want to look out for all of my constituents,” Sun wrote. Sun said she was “in the process of collecting parents’ stories to send to the attorney general’s office.”
Sun said her intention was to de-escalate the situation, which she said was “clearly emotionally and physically stressful for all parties.” Ultimately, Sun wrote that she commended Alcott for following “due process,” which I (perhaps incorrectly) expressed as a synonym for following the processes and procedures assigned to her by the court to the best of her ability.
Sun wrote that she “wanted to clarify the facts so that the court is accurately informed of my involvement in the situation.”
Must answer:The lawmaker accused of threatening to “kill” staff members faces a reprieve over an ethics complaint
Alcott had written in her own June report that Sun said she was “there at the direction of ‘Attorney General Kris Mayes'” and “was there in an official capacity.” Alcott wrote that Sun was “confrontational” and stated several times that he would let the children go.
“Representative Sun informed me that she initially thought it would be a conflict to appear today, but after speaking with Kris Mayes, she told me that I absolutely had to be here,” Alcott wrote. Mayes’ office denied any involvement in the situation.
Alcott wrote that she viewed Sun’s actions and comments as hostile and threatening and an attempt to intimidate her.
Zabor, the judge, ultimately sided with Alcott. Zabor’s order highlights the complexity and many conflicting allegations in the underlying custody case.
“This interaction was inappropriate, intimidating and hostile,” Zabor’s order reads. “The purpose was to interfere with the task assigned to her by the court and that interference was successful.”
The judge wrote, “It is likely that mother or a member of her family contacted Representative Sun to assist in interfering with the court order.” Zabor ruled that Alcott should monitor the mother’s time with the children because the Mother is trying to spread a “false and unfounded narrative” and because she “had no intention of complying with any court orders” in the past.
The mother, Rachel Cardona Barnett, told The Republic this week that although she spoke to Sun on the day of the exchange, she did not ask her to intervene.
Barnett was elected to the Littleton Elementary School District board in Avondale last year. According to Barnett, she met Sun this way a month or two before the custody exchange.
Sun became interested in a group of parents that Barnett leads who believe domestic violence survivors are mistreated by the family court system and children are placed with abusers. Barnett said she believes that was the case in her case. Barnett said the parents were collecting paperwork telling their stories, and Sun said she would submit them to the attorney general’s office.
“I certainly didn’t ask her to go there, no I didn’t,” Barnett said. “This is a very personal matter and while I think she is a nice woman and I appreciate her interest in the matter, she is not my friend.”
Accusations made:Democrats file ethics complaint against Leezah Sun, who is accused of “threatening to kill” Tolleson aide
Barnett said Sun can be “abrasive” and “not really my thing.”
“But what I will say is that I and many other people have been very active in trying to seek support for this issue,” she said. “And what impressed me about Representative Sun is that she’s the only one who actually listened.”
The children’s father could not be reached by The Republic. His attorney did not respond to a message about the case.
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.
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