A Republican running for an Arizona college district’s governing board suspended his campaign Tuesday, two weeks after he was arrested for allegedly masturbating outside a preschool at one of the colleges he was hoping to represent.
Police found candidate Randy Kaufman on Oct. 4 parked outside the child center at Rio Salado College with his pants down to his mid-thigh and “manipulating his genitals in a masturbatory manner,” according to a police report.
Kaufman was in full view of the campus’s Wirtzie’s Preschool and Child Care Center, where several preschool-age children were playing outside, the report said.
“Seriously?” the officer said upon finding the Republican playing with himself.
“I’m sorry,” Kaufman allegedly told the officer. “I f–ked up. I’m really stressed.”
Kaufman said he was out buying rebar nearby but was so stressed out that he pulled into the lot to relieve himself without realizing what the lot was for.
The alleged pervert quit his campaign Tuesday to be on the Maricopa County Community College Governing Board after media reports detailing the arrest were circulated, 12 News reported. The panel oversees 10 colleges, including the one Kaufman was caught fondling himself in.
Kaufman admitted to watching “interracial porn” and masturbating in his Ford truck, which was parked across three parking spaces, but claimed he did not realize how close he was to the preschool.
After repeatedly admitting that he “f–ked up,” Kaufman tried to weasel his way out of the arrest by detailing his relationship with another campus police officer.
“Can I say something off the record?” Kaufman asked. “I know officer Jim Hill; he works with you guys … and … I’m running for the Governing Board for the colleges. I didn’t even know this was one of your sites but now I see the signs all over the parking lot.”
Instead, the officer left the statements in the report and notified his direct supervisor of what Kaufman had said.
Kaufman was charged with public sexual indecency but could face a felony charge because of his proximity to the childcare center, News 12 said.
Despite his campaign suspension, Kaufman’s name will still appear on the ballot, CBS 3 reported.
In a statement about his suspended campaign, Kaufman didn’t address the arrest but said he “will never stop fighting to protect the United States Constitution and the values that make America the greatest country in the world,” according to Huffington Post.