Embattled (former) Democrat (current Independent) state Rep. Daniel Patterson succeeded today in convincing Pima County Superior Court Commissioner Frederic J. Dardis to quash the Order of Protection recently obtained by his ex-wife Jeneiene Schaffer in the wake of Patterson's high-profile run ins with Georgette Escobar.
Patterson, though not present on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives, also survived an effort by House Minority Leader Chad Campbell to have the entire membership of the House vote to expel him. As a result of yesterday's release of the report of the House Ethics committee investigators, the situation seemed to be coming to a head. However, the GOP supermajority punted. The Tucson Weekly's blow by blow account does a good job of putting you in the situation to see how it all went down.
In the meantime, Patterson has until next week to respond to the report. The Ethics committee meets to consider the situation further on April 10.
Exhibits attached to the investigative report, released today with some information redacted can be found here, here and here.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE
Jeneiene Schaffer (Patterson's ex-wife) needs assistance with legal fees. If you can help with a donation, please contact Schaffer's attorney, Terri Cappozi at 928-782-2722
Thank you for posting, Steve. Like many Arizonans, Jeneiene has only been able to find part-time work, so paying for an attorney has been an ongoing struggle. Patterson, on the other hand, appears to have deep pockets when it comes to legal support, which makes an already unlevel playing field even worse and scarier given the volatility of the circumstances.
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