The following press release was submitted to the Arizona Progress & Gazette. We would be happy to post a reponse from the Valenzuela campaign if one is available.
Earlier this year, a young woman came forward with allegations of illegal activity and sexual misconduct committed by Daniel Valenzuela, a former Phoenix City Councilperson, current candidate for Mayor of the City of Phoenix, and currently employed as a firefighter for the City of Glendale. On January 29, 2018, this young woman agreed to participate in a videotaped interview, during which she described her relationship with Mr. Valenzuela to the best of her abilities, as follows:
- In 2011, at 19 years old, she began working as an exotic dancer for Christie’s Cabaret, previously located at 32nd Street and Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Mr. Valenzuela, who was 35 years old at the time, was a known regular at Christie’s Cabaret. She described Mr. Valenzuela as being “popular” at the club, recalling that he knew many of the dancers by name.
- Soon after she started working at Christie’s Cabaret, Mr. Valenzuela became one of her regular customers. Mr. Valenzuela visited her around lunchtime nearly every Thursday, usually staying around two hours at a time.
- Mr. Valenzuela’s visits continued over the course of the next year, during which he was elected by his district as a member of the Phoenix City Council.
- About a year after Mr. Valenzuela began to visit her regularly, he asked her to dinner and she obliged. Mr. Valenzuela took her to City Hall Steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona. After dinner, in a hotel room Mr. Valenzuela booked at a nearby Scottsdale hotel, he paid her in cash to have sex with him.
- This arrangement continued thereafter, with Mr. Valenzuela paying her, in cash, to have sex with him in hotel rooms that he booked and paid for. Presumably, the rooms were paid for with his credit card. During these encounters, Mr. Valenzuela observed her use cocaine before he would have sex with her in exchange for cash. Mr. Valenzuela never attempted to dissuade or prevent her from using cocaine prior to having sex with him, nor did he at any point encourage her to get help for her addiction.
- On at least one occasion, Mr. Valenzuela introduced her to several male friends so they could enter into similar arrangements with her.
If these allegations are true, Mr. Valenzuela has committed criminal acts in violation of Arizona Revised Statutes §13-3214, Phoenix City Code §23-52, and Scottsdale City Code §19-5. For this reason, her videotaped statement, together with other corroborating information, will be submitted to the Phoenix Police Department, the Scottsdale Police Department, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review. It is incumbent upon these law enforcement agencies to fully investigate these allegations of criminal conduct. It is important to note that if Mr. Valenzuela is questioned by law enforcement, then any false or misleading statements made by him are punishable by law.