Arizona House Majority Whip Kelly Townsend decided not to participate in the investigations of sexual harassment at the Legislature.

Townsend is one of the Arizona lawmakers who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviors at the State Capitol.

In a statement last week, Townsend said she personally witnessed “sexist comments and maltreatments” towards her colleague Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita. She added that she also experienced “unwanted sexual advances by more than one person.”

Additionally, Townsend claimed that another person in power displayed “intimidating behavior and retaliation” towards her over the past years.

Townsend does not want to revisit a painful issue

In a post on Facebook on Monday, Townsend wrote that she decided not to participate in the investigation regarding her experiences with sexual harassment at the Legislature.

According to her, she already delivered all the evidentiary information regarding the previous situations. She said, “There is no further need to revisit a painful issue. My concerns are not new, and have been fully investigated and resolved.”

However, Townsend emphasized that she wants to “focus in creating a permanent structure and a standard procedure where every member knows exactly what will happen should they choose to engage in this type of behavior.”

Multiple sexual harassment allegations against State Rep. Shooter

Last week, Arizona State House Speaker J.D. Mesnard launched multiple investigations of sexual harassment at the Legislature. The move came after Representatives Ugenti-Rita, Townsend, and others made their claims in public. Mesnard formed a bipartisan team of investigators to review all allegations. 

Rep. Ugenti-Rita alleged that Rep. Don Shooter, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee has been sexually harassing her for years. Severn other women accused Shooter of inappropriate sexual remarks to unwanted touching.

In response to the allegations, Mesnard suspended Shooter as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. He also approved the recommendation of the investigative team to hire outside investigators.

On Tuesday, another woman accused Shooter of sexual harassment. Tara Zika, the director of business development at Ashton Tiffanny LLC, said the lawmaker made sexual comments and obscene gestures to her. The incident happened during the League of Arizona Cities and Towns meeting in August.