David Stringer is an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician who was elected in 2016 to represent district 1 in the Arizona House of Representatives. After being reelected in 2018, he resigned in March 2019 after refusing to cooperate with an ethics investigation into 1983 charges against him for sexually molesting two boys. A member of the Republican Party, Stringer has been co-chair of the GOP finance committee for

Yavapai County Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

, in addition to a Republican precinct committeeman and state committeeman.

Education

Stringer is a graduate of

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

and the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

. He earned an MA in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State University in 2018.

Political career

Prior to running for state office, Stringer was elected as a Republican precinct committeeman and state committeeman for Yavapai County, and had been co-chair of the county's GOP finance committee. In 2016, Stringer and incumbent Noel W. Campbell won the two seats in the Republican primary for district 1 of the Arizona House of Representatives, defeating Yavapai County Supervisor Chip Davis. They went on to defeat Democratic candidate Peter Pierson and

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

candidate Haryaksha Gregor Knauer in the general election.

Allegations and resignation

In early 2018, Stringer had been recorded as saying that sex trafficking was not a concern and that, "I don't like to demonize it." In June 2018, during a livestreamed speech at the

Republican Men's Forum, Stringer commented that "there aren't enough white kids to go around", in reference to public school integration. He went on to say that illegal immigration is "politically destabilizing" and is "an existential threat to the United States". Stringer's comments were derided as racist by the Anti-Defamation League and ProgressNow Arizona, while the

Arizona Republican Party The Arizona Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. The party currently controls four of Arizona's nine U.S. House seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the governorship ...

and denounced his comments. Stringer defended his statements by saying he "wasn't making a value judgement" and "wasn't denigrating anybody", while apologizing to anyone he offended. In November 2018, Stringer was pressured to resign from leadership positions in House committees due to remarks made to Arizona State University students following a presentation at a political history and leadership club. Stringer stated that when European immigrants come to the United States that "After the second or third generation, everybody looks the same, everybody talks the same. But that's not the case with African Americans and other racial groups, because they don't melt in, they don't blend in." Stringer subsequently resigned from his position as chair of the House Sentencing and Recidivism Reform Committee. On December 4, the Prescott City Council voted six to one to pass a resolution "that demands Stringer step down immediately so that a replacement can be named before the legislative session begins in 2019", which was supported by the mayor. However, he ran to keep his seat and was reelected in the general election, coming in second after fellow incumbent Noel Campbell and defeating Democrats Jan Manolis and Ed Gogek. On January 25, 2019, the ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...

'' reported that Stringer had been charged in 1983 with five sex offenses, including two child pornography charges, while he was living in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He had accepted a plea bargain on charges of paying two boys for sex, one of whom was developmentally disabled, and was sentenced to five years' probation. In 1990, he had the charges expunged from his record. In response to calls for his resignation, Stringer confirmed that he had been arrested and charged with the offenses but stated that he would not be resigning from the Arizona House. On March 27, 2019, facing a deadline to hand over documents regarding his 2018 comments and the 1983 sex offenses, he abruptly resigned from the Arizona House.

References

External links

Biography
at Ballotpedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, David Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Politicians from Prescott, Arizona George Washington University alumni University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Arizona State University alumni Arizona politicians convicted of crimes